South Florida Estate Planning News
Recent Posts and Articles
Long-Term Care Insurance Policyholder Wins Suit Against Company for Hiking Premiums
A long-term care policyholder has successfully sued her insurance company for breach of contract after the company raised her premiums. At age 56, Margery Newman bought a long-term care insurance policy from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. She chose an option called “Reduced-Pay at 65” in which she paid higher premiums…
Read MoreNew Federal Law Puts Focus on Preventing Elder Abuse
A new federal law is designed to address the growing problem of elder abuse. The law supports efforts to better understand, prevent, and combat both financial and physical elder abuse. The prevalence of elder abuse is hard to calculate because it is underreported, but according to the National Council on…
Read MoreDispute Between Brothers Demonstrates Need to Plan for Long-Term Care
A recent New Jersey appeals court case demonstrates how important it is for families to come up with a long-term care plan before an emergency strikes. The case involves two brothers who got into a fight over whether to place their mother in a nursing home – a dispute that…
Read MoreAvoid Sibling Disputes Over Caregiving By Putting It in Writing
Caring for an elderly parent can be stressful for families. Siblings may disagree over how to provide care or where a parent will live, and if these squabbles escalate into a guardianship battle, it can cost the family thousands of dollars. To avoid this, lawyers have begun drafting sibling agreements…
Read MoreA Guidebook to Planning for Old Age
Joy Loverde. Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 2017. 313 pages. Click here to order book via IndieBound.org Millions of Americans are facing old age essentially alone. One in three…
Read MoreEstate Planning and Retirement Considerations for Late-in-Life Parents
Older parents are becoming more common, driven in part by changing cultural mores and surrogate motherhood. Comedian and author Steve Martin had his first child at age 67. Singer Billy Joel just welcomed his third daughter. Janet Jackson had a child at age 50. But later-in-life parents have some special…
Read MoreCongrats! Your child is accepted to college… now what?
Preparing to send your son or daughter to college is one of the most exciting, and nerve-wrecking times for a parent! You’ll worry whether they will eat properly, study enough, and get enough sleep. While you can’t help these everyday concerns, you can prepare for the big ones: if your…
Read MoreCosts of Some New Long-Term Care Insurance Policies Going Down in 2018
While long-term care insurance costs are up in general, some policies are going down in 2018, according to the 2018 Long Term Care Insurance Price Index, an annual report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), an industry group. A married couple who are both 60 years old…
Read MoreWhat Happens When a Nursing Home Closes?
A nursing home closure can be traumatic for residents who are forced to move. While there may not be much that can be done to prevent a closure, residents do have some rights. Moving into a nursing home can be a stressful experience on its own. If that nursing home…
Read MoreHave a Happy New Year: Five Resolutions for a Stress-Free 2018
Estate planning can be an unsettling process for many people. An estate plan is the strategy you develop at any age, for your life and future, to provide yourself and your family peace of mind, so you can enjoy the years to come worry free. There are a few things…
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