Goodbye to 2024. Hello to New Year 2025
As the year 2024 comes to an end it seems very much to be a turning point for many aspects of what we do, not the least of which for me and my daughter and brother is a series of changes in our own practices. So now, as we all wave goodbye to 2024 as […]
Continue readingWould the Polio Vaccine Be At Risk Under Robert Kennedy, Jr.?
On December 13, 2024, the New York Times published an article by Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg that raised the question whether a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Robert Kennedy, Jr., the prospective Trump nominee, might place polio vaccines at risk. The article was entitled “Kennedy’s Lawyer Has Asked the F.D.A. […]
Continue readingSo, Maybe Small Corporations Do Not Need to File Under the Corporate Transparency Act
Just when you thought you knew the one and only answer to a legal question regarding what your client should or should not do something happens to change all that. In this case the question is whether “beneficial owners” of certain mostly smaller corporations and entities are required to file some very personal information with […]
Continue readingTax Complications Might Arise When You Live In One State and Work in Another
As we move toward April 15, the dreaded “tax day” one question that might arise for those who live in one state but work in another is where should the taxpayer pay his/her state taxes. Is it in the state of his/her residence or the location of his/her employment? Or maybe in both or neither? […]
Continue readingWhat Is the Difference Between Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage
During this time of year attention is focused on Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D prescription plans during what is known as the Open Enrollment period. No matter how many times I describe the differences between Medicare Advantage and a Medicare Supplement plan I usually find it necessary to redefine the differences as clients […]
Continue readingMuddling Through Is Stressful With Post Covid – and Current Changes
For several months now at least it has come to my attention that the stresses people are subject to post-COVID are very different from the stressors most of us experienced before. This is important to my law practice partially because, as an elder law attorney, my office is dealing with clients often under stress either […]
Continue readingA View – Looking Ahead to an Uncertain Future
As I write this column I do not know the results of the Tuesday, November 5, 2024 Presidential Election or of the multiple races for Senate, House of Representatives and statewide and local positions throughout the country. Regardless how these turn out, though, there will be issues to be confronted as a nation. Hopefully they […]
Continue readingFortunately Everyone Gets One Vote and No One More or Less
For gamblers in our midst the chances of winning Powerball or Mega Millions has been estimated at about 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.6 million for Mega Millions. See “What To Know About Playing the Lottery…” NBC Bay Area, Updated March 3, 2024. You can, of course, buy several tickets and […]
Continue readingWhat I Learned About Truth As a High School Social Studies Teacher
Years before I attended and graduated from law school what most people do not know about me is that I worked as a high school social studies teacher in South Philadelphia. It was an all-girls Catholic high school and I tried to teach practical lessons my students could carry with them after graduation. The course, […]
Continue readingMail In Ballots In a Crucial Presidential Election Year
If you have already voted by Mail in Ballot in the Presidential/General Election in Pennsylvania for 2024, you can skip this column and move on to next week’s column in your local paper. If you have not yet voted and have delayed or have felt uncertain since there have been so many reports regarding how […]
Continue readingShould You Include Additional Instructions With Your Will
I have frequently written about letters of intent as a means for parents of disabled children to express their wishes regarding care for their child if the parent should die. There are other reasons why, when drafting your Will and related documents you might consider a Letter of Instruction in another context. Wills typically do […]
Continue readingWhen Bankers Say You Need A Trust, Do You Really
One of the most confusing questions involved in estate planning is whether you need a Trust or will a simple Will work just as well. The answer in an individual case depends on the facts of your case and also what you are trying to accomplish. You might be told that you must have a […]
Continue readingHow To Criticize Anything About the Economy (and Still Be Right or Wrong)
This column begins with a confession. I am not an economist. The last course I remember taking in economics specifically was in college but, in fairness, I did study government budgeting during one graduate program at West Chester University years ago. Still, what I have to say I believe applies to most commentaries on the […]
Continue readingWhat You May Need to Know About Pennsylvania Medicaid
To try to explain Medicaid to the average Pennsylvanian (or resident of any other state for that matter) is like jumping through a minefield of contradictory information. There are, however, a few points that can safely be made, most of them describing the overall complexity of a very complicated system. So here goes the leap […]
Continue readingAs 2026 Approaches Clients Ask About QPRT’s
If you do not own a house, any house, and/or your total assets including real estate on the date of your death will very likely not exceed $5,000,000 you probably could skip reading this column – that would be unless your curiosity is piqued or you think your financial picture might change. Real estate generally […]
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