Category Archives for Blog
Should 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 readingThe Major Difference Between Admission and Under Observation for Hospital Stays
If you are on traditional Medicare, either alone or with a Medicare Supplement plan or on Medicare Advantage and are taken to the hospital one important distinction in describing your status can make a very sizeable difference in your bill both on your leaving and on receiving rehabilitative care. It is the difference between the […]
Continue readingUS Senate Special Committee on Hoarding Meets in Montgomery County
On August 7 I had the opportunity to attend and participate in a program known as a “Listening Session” on Hoarding conducted by Senator Bob Casey’s U.S. Senate Special Committee on Hoarding. Not even having been aware of the Committee I was fortunate to have as a good friend (and one might say mentor) Annie […]
Continue readingWhat Happens If You Live Together and Do Not Marry
Historically marriage has been considered the appropriate way for individuals to live together over time. Also historically this arrangement has been considered to result in the couple having children together. Of course, living arrangements have changed considerably and accepted arrangements are more flexible than in prior years. Couples may be same sex or traditionally male […]
Continue readingThe Highs and Lows of Today’s AI Technology
Last week I had the opportunity once again to attend the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Continuing Legal Education two day program, The Elder Law Institute, in Harrisburg. Having participated in this forum for about twenty years now I have seen it as an opportunity to catch up with old friends, elder law attorneys throughout the state, […]
Continue readingHow AI and Technology Have Affected the Way We Plan
When I graduated from law school we still did legal research often from books. Law firms had libraries. In fact, having worked my way through Beasley-Temple Law School as a law clerk for a Philadelphia firm, I spent quite a bit of time researching the latest cases to draft legal explanations why our clients deserved […]
Continue readingWhat Do You Want To Do With Your Vacation Home?
If you have the good fortune to own two “homes,” one being your regular residence and the other you have regarded as your “escape,” the thought may have crossed your mind that one day you would surrender one of them entirely and continue on with the other. There are many reasons this might occur. Expense […]
Continue readingWhy Beneficiary Designations Should Be Saved With Your Will
Most parties know the importance of saving original Wills. They are executed with great formality, notarized, and regarded as the final work in distribution of property. What many, if not most, people do not realize is the at least equally important significance of saving documents naming beneficiary designations for accounts. Life insurance, annuities, retirement accounts […]
Continue readingMuddling Through Is Stressful With Post Covid 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 readingHow Medicare Services At Home Differ From At-Home Medicaid
When asked how they would like to receive long term care services many consumers, probably most, indicate they would like to receive them at home. Expectations for extensive help at home with government support often exceed what is available and this, considering shortages in available health care workers and limited funding is likely to continue. […]
Continue readingDivorce Can Ruin an Estate Plan – What to Do
Just when you thought you had everything planned for your estate down to the last beneficiary designations and the age at which your children would inherit, you might find an unpleasant reality that slips in not only to wreck your day to day living but also how your assets are to be distributed if you […]
Continue readingElder Scams Come of Age With Recent Technology
A recent online article from the Association of Health Care Journalists detailed problems associated with common scams and noted increased levels of sophistication employed by the scammers. While it recognized that “Elder scams are nothing new… It also went on to state ‘But artificial intelligence has made them elder scams so sophisticated that it’s increasingly […]
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