As a follow up to last week’s column on the 21st Century Cures Act it is only fair to fill you in on additional provisions of the soon to be new law that explicitly concern Special Needs Trusts, a portion known as the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act, and also relief from some IRS penalties. […]
Continue readingJust when we thought nothing could pass in a divided Congress, a proposed law referred to as the 21st Century Cures Act made its way through the U.S. House of Representatives and is slated to go to the Senate. It might well soon become law since President Obama has indicated his agreement as well as […]
Continue readingMost clients know when planning their Wills who they want to name as their primary or most important beneficiary. They do struggle, though, sometimes for years, as to how to benefit others further down the line. There are ways to remember other beneficiaries at the time of your death. For married couples, using the typical […]
Continue readingTruth took a serious hit in this election. It seemed that anything could be said. In fact, truth might have taken enough of a hit to cause us to question the point of taking Ethics courses as professionals or why bother to try. At the risk of sounding like a lecturer I would say that […]
Continue readingAs luck would have it, my Tuesday column falls on Presidential Election Day and elections for several other national, state and local candidates so it was necessary to have some absolutely final final thoughts. Tuesday I expect to be monitoring at the polls so any comments on my comments would likely be received and reviewed […]
Continue readingIn case you have not heard enough about the Presidential Election being held on November 8, a week from today, here is some additional information regarding what to expect on your ballot on election day. Judicial Ballot Question. If you thought that the only choice was between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, you would be […]
Continue readingIt’s Medicare Open Enrollment time again and that means time for another refresher on what that expression means. The first thing you need to know, by the way, is not to get Medicare Open Enrollment confused with Open Enrollment for the Healthcare Marketplace. Medicare Open Enrollment is for those age 65 and older or disabled […]
Continue readingChange is not always good and when it comes to banking, local banks, smaller banks, and credit unions may be found to have significant advantages over many of the larger behemoths that have been created or that have grown to unmanageable proportions in the past several years. Chester County may have experienced this with acquisition […]
Continue readingMaximizing Social Security benefits has joined the ranks of other planning techniques to add to retirement income. Recognizing just one fact, for instance, that there can be a 32% increase in benefits between collecting benefits at age 70 instead of at full retirement age at age 66, can make most people think. How many safe […]
Continue readingIn this area of Southeastern Pennsylvania we are well accustomed to our smaller banks being eaten up by ever larger banks and the transitions these moves involve. One of the transitions for which we might not be prepared is that 9 of 10 larger banks have been found in a recent study by Pew Charitable […]
Continue readingWhen clients ask me to review an agreement to enter a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), the most frequently asked question is “what happens if I run out of money?” The issue may be presented in another way such as “what are the major risks?” or “Will I have to move if I run out […]
Continue readingUntil now I have managed to steer clear of commenting on the Presidential campaign season hoping, I suppose, for an opportunity to discover more about policy positions of the candidates. That hope seems naïve considering the amount of time consumed by television and, for that matter, Facebook, Twitter and social media generally on such topics […]
Continue readingMuch of the furor over parent-adult child relations when it comes to money has focused on the adult child who receives funds from his or her parent. Just as important is the reverse situation, parents who run out of funds. It is not hard to see the causes. As parents live longer and some of […]
Continue readingJust as I was delving through an excellent article by Karen Simmons, President and CEO of the Chester County Community Foundation in the Summer, 2016 Edition of the Chester County Bar Association magazine, “New Matter,” I happened upon another related column in the on-line version of Money on a similar subject. Both discussed what is […]
Continue readingIf you find it more difficult in recent years to have your Power of Attorney recognized by banks and financial institutions than previously, it might help to know some of the history behind both changes in the law and in attitude. As one example, where documents designate your children as agents, the difference of one […]
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