A few years ago during a prior Congress and prior presidential administration a federal law known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement or SECURE Act, became effective on January 1, 2020. Generally speaking, it delayed the required minimum distribution (RMD) age to 72 for seniors and established a 10 year distribution rule […]
Continue readingAn outgoing columnist with the Washington Post recently penned an article entitled “Individual Retirement Accounts: Readers Offer Post-Career Advice.” Washington Post, John Kelly, December 17. 2023. The title might have been misconstrued to indicate there was some tax planning involved but, far from it, the columnist broached a subject surprisingly not very often discussed. It […]
Continue readingIf you ever wondered about medical bills and summaries you receive after a recent hospitalization or summaries received from your insurance carrier concerning recent medical expenses and then question the difference between the amount charged and the amount owed then this column might help. Note, however, first, that medical bills are mystifying to all of […]
Continue readingAs the 2023 calendar year comes to an end the Social Security Administration and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services have both issued their figures for the new 2024 year. It would probably come as no surprise that both Social Security benefits and Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductibles are trending upward. The impact […]
Continue readingFor taxpayers who stress over annual Required Minimum Distributions and are also inclined to charitable giving, Qualified Charitable Distributions or QCD’s have been a useful tool to accommodate both relief over federal income tax angst and the desire to donate. QCD’s can use the federal tax code to benefit taxpayers, mostly in the upper income […]
Continue readingWhen you own a home and, after your last vacation, are considering buying another residence it should come as no surprise that there are tax and financial consequences, both positive and otherwise to owning more than one property. You might have been smitten by the location or just decided you wanted a change without giving […]
Continue readingIf you have worked with a financial planner, there is a good chance your planner used Monte Carlo simulations and frankly that is a good starting point to determine future financial needs. However, the simulation is only as good as the data input. Kathleen Coxwell in www.newretirement.com describes “Monte Carlo Simulations: A Sophisticated Way to […]
Continue readingAs an elder law attorney the question inevitably arises in my practice “what is old?” Is old a specific age beyond which you can be expected to decline physically and mentally from then on out? If such an age exists what is that age? I have not defined it to date and have seen many […]
Continue readingTuesday, November 7, 2023 is the date for general elections in Pennsylvania. Some local and county officials, school boards and several judges including statewide judicial races are on the ballot. If you have reached this date and have not voted by mail yet you might have some concern whether the mail to your local Voter […]
Continue readingA recent article in the “AARP Bulletin,” titled “7 Things to Know About Term Life Insurance,” Tamara E. Holmes, October, 2023, brought to mind several ways in which life insurance, in this case term life insurance, can, among other things, plug up holes in an estate plan. Term life insurance, as the name implies, runs […]
Continue readingAbout this time most years I pull out my most recent information on Medicare Advantage plans, dust it off, and address that information in one of my columns. The reason is simple. During this time, between October 15 and December 7, Medicare recipients, primarily Medicare Advantage recipients, are given the opportunity to choose among several […]
Continue readingAlthough it is possible to continue to practice law without relearning legal technology on a regular basis I never thought that was a good idea. The end result is that at least once annually I travel to a lawyers’ technology conference, CLIO CON specifically, to update my knowledge and see what new practices and strategies […]
Continue readingSome time ago I wrote a column regarding “Practicing Law Out of Place,” see March 29, 2022. Recently the Pennsylvania Bar News, a newspaper of the Pennsylvania Bar Association published a similar article titled “Staying Out of Trouble While Out of State,” October 9, 2023 edition, by Andrew M. Lamberton, Esq. and Paul C. Troy, […]
Continue readingIf you are one of many Americans anticipating retirement one serious and often unanswered question is how your change in status might affect your health care coverage. It is not a casual question. Here are some issues and possibilities. Your employer, especially if you have worked for a major corporation, might have a retiree plan […]
Continue readingIt seems sometimes that everywhere you go and in every news media you consult a major subject of interest is Artificial Intelligence otherwise known as AI. What AI is and what it means for the future has been the subject of television interviews such as the one appearing on the popular television program “Sixty Minutes” […]
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