Category Archives for 2021

What Do Elder Law Attorneys Do?

What_Do_Elder_Law_Attorneys_Do

In an age of specialization it is not uncommon to wonder specifically where one professional category begins and another ends. This can especially be true in the matter of defining “elder law” and understanding what an elder law attorney can or cannot accomplish. An easy answer sometimes used to differentiate elder law from estate planning […]

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Ways to Protect Yourself When Appointing a Power of Attorney

Choosing_Power_of_Attorney

Whether to appoint someone as your Power of Attorney (technically speaking your “Agent under Power of Attorney”) is a personal decision but one, as an elder law attorney I generally recommend. Experienced lawyers from The Law Office of Deidra N. Haynes LLC serving Indianapolis says that sometimes, though, seniors especially can experience difficulty deciding who […]

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Should You Move To A Senior Community?

Senior_Community_Considerations

This is the time, if you are a senior, when you begin to receive multiple flyers espousing the benefits of senior communities and inviting you to visit. The photographs are tempting. You probably also noted receipt of postcards, flyers and even phone calls asking you to sell your house “as is” making no repairs. Admittedly […]

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A Business Checklist of Things To Know When Your Loved One Dies

Business_of_Death_in_Family

The most difficult time of your life might also be the time when you most need to pull everything together businesswise for gaming and forge ahead. If your husband, wife, mother, father, child or sibling dies you need to know your rights and responsibilities and what to do next. Here is some information to help. […]

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Is Income Tax Due on Inheritance?

Income_Tax_On_Inheritance

To avoid suspense and provide a spoiler alert I can say, generally speaking, federal income tax is not payable on inheritances. This should come as a relief to potential beneficiaries concerned that a prospective inheritance would move them to a higher tax bracket. Not so. However, there are other taxes that, depending on the jurisdiction, […]

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The Trials of Administering a Hoarder’s Estate

Administering_Hoarder_Estate

Suppose when your great uncle Jim died you did not know you were appointed executor of his estate or that he was a hoarder. You had heard of hoarding as a national problem and maybe even listened to the television series. If you found yourself in this situation or it might occur in the future, […]

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Combined Families – When Does It Work?

Combined_Family_Living

COVID-19 changed many things – not the least of which may be how and where we live. In working with clients I noticed repeated patterns of children moving in with parents and grandparents, where adult children often bring along their own extended families. While in the earlier days of COVID much was made of how […]

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The Affordable Care Act Survives – Again

Affordable_Care_Act_Survives

On November 10, 2020 I wrote a column “The Affordable Care Act Is On the Line – Again” referencing a case before the United States Supreme Court. This past week on June 17, the U.S. Supreme Court in the same case, Texas v. California, as I predicted, upheld the Act – again. This was the […]

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What Makes a Resilient Business?

What_Makes_a_Resilient_Business

Just returned from a brief vacation to Long Beach Island, New Jersey, I had a chance while there to browse and make some observations about The Five Most Important Types of Business Management, businesses reopened, redesigned, and those not to reopen probably ever again. There were triumphs and tragedies. One of my favorite book stores […]

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Long Term Care – Where You Live Makes a Difference

Long_term_Care_location

There is a reason why elder law attorneys serious about the practice decide to join the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and, in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (PAELA). The reason is that the laws, regulations and practices can differ widely from state to state and sometimes even from different […]

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Are You Ready For a Change?

Ready_For_Change_Post_Covid

In my column last week I asked the question why did so many people – at least so far – not return to work. This was based on national reports that employers are experiencing difficulties locating employees to fill positions. The phrasing of the question might have been a bit unfair. There could have simply […]

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Why Aren’t People Going Back To Work?

Return_to_Work_Post_Covid

One mystifying feature, among many, of the COVID-19 pandemic is that, now when employers are cautiously reopening and looking for employees to return to work, employers are experiencing difficulty. The April, 2021 jobs report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov showed the U.S. economy added and filled 266,000 jobs. As commentators have noted, […]

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How Your Divorce Affects Your Estate Plan

Divorce_and_Estate_Planning

As Bill and Melinda Gates prepare for their upcoming divorce, questions arose regarding what that does to their overall plans for the future, like anyone who approaches divorce attorneys or child support lawyers. When a couple worth megabillions splits what happens to all they have built together? One answer is they have a previously arranged […]

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What Is a Right of First Refusal?

Right_of_First_Refusal

One baffling question when dealing with Wills and Estate Plans is what should happen to your residence when you die. If one of your children expresses an interest in buying it and you agree, how do you incorporate that desire into the Will? The question is not limited to your home. There may be a […]

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Voting In the Primary – More Instructions

Pennsylvania Primary Election USA

Last October I authored a few columns outlining procedures for voting under Pennsylvania’s relatively recent voter laws. We are now into primary voting season with election day on May 18 and it seemed time to revisit those observations. As with interpretation of any new laws, this process is at the writer’s peril. So, here goes […]

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