Elder Financial Abuse: How an Elder Law Attorney Can Help
Elder financial abuse is a significant issue affecting many older adults nationwide. It involves someone exploiting or misusing an older person’s finances or assets for personal gain. Often, the perpetrator is in a position of [...]
In One Year, Close to 1 Million More U.S. Seniors Living in Poverty
Over the course of just one year, from 2020 to 2021, nearly 1 million more seniors in the United States found themselves living below the poverty line, according to data in a newly released government report. [...]
Ability to Withdraw Money Early from Retirement Plan Without Penalty Expires at the End of the Year
If you are experiencing financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic, you may want to consider withdrawing money from your retirement account while you still can. The special exemption allowing early withdrawals without a penalty [...]
Big Changes to the Veterans Pension: What You Need to Know
On October 18, 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) instituted a number of important rule changes affecting a service member’s eligibility for the Veterans Pension, a needs-based benefit for certain wartime veterans, their surviving [...]
Inheritance Shouldn’t Be a Secret
Family wealth and inheritance can have a significant impact on the younger generation’s options and standard of living. But, contrary to popular belief, that impact isn’t always positive. In one 25-year study of thousands of [...]
Managing Your Inheritance
Receiving a significant inheritance can be life-altering. For those just starting out or just making ends meet, an inheritance may mean the ability to establish a retirement account or purchase a home. Inherited money can [...]
Financial Exploitation of the Elderly Takes Many Forms
When you think of financial elder abuse, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a caregiver siphoning off an older person’s life savings or a shady new “friend” worming his way into a [...]
When a Bank Won’t Accept Your New Jersey Power of Attorney
When you make the investment in choosing a trusted person to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated and executing a power of attorney, you should be able to rest assured that your interests are [...]
Protect Yourself with a Financial Power of Attorney
It may not be immediately obvious how giving another person the potential to control your bank accounts and financial transactions will protect you. Granting someone else financial power of attorney may feel risky. In fact, [...]
U.S. Seniors Lose Billions Each Year to Fraud and Financial Abuse
Estimates of the annual cost of fraud and exploitation of the elderly in the United States vary significantly. However, there is no disagreement on one key point: those losses are counted in billions of dollars. [...]
Identity Theft Can Reach Beyond the Grave
When you lose a loved one, identity theft is probably the furthest thing from your mind. Clearly, it’s not an issue that you want to or should have to concern yourself with when a family [...]
Millennial Wealth Management and Estate Planning
The popular press has a lot to say about Millennials—a loosely defined classification including those who are currently in their late teens to late thirties—and their money. We read that they’re broke, that they’re living [...]
How Does an IRA Fit Into Your Estate Plan?
When you think of IRAs, you probably think of retirement. But what happens to your IRA money after you’re gone? The answer depends on how you go about creating your estate plan and selecting beneficiaries, [...]
The Role of Life Insurance in Estate Planning
Many people think of life insurance as nothing more than a means to ensure that dependents are provided for. While that is obviously a key benefit of a good life insurance policy, there are other [...]
Don’t Overlook Liquidity in Estate Planning
The purpose of an estate plan is to protect your family, loved ones, business partners and others who will be impacted by your death. Most people think in terms of the big issues, such as [...]
DOL Announces That Fiduciary Rule Will Go Into Effect June 9
After initially delaying a rule intended to prevent financial advisers from steering their clients to bad retirement investments, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the rule will go into effect on June 9, 2017, [...]
Protecting New Jersey’s Elderly from Financial Predators
We all want our parents’ and other loved ones’ golden years to be peaceful and worry free. Unfortunately, many older people share characteristics that make them especially attractive to predators. For example, the elderly [...]
Joint Accounts & Elder Abuse
At first glance, it may appear that opening a joint account with an elderly loved one is a great way to avoid probate or help that loved one manage his or her affairs. While joint [...]
How to Pass Your Home to Your Children Tax-Free
Giving your house to your children can have tax consequences, but there are ways to accomplish it tax-free. The best method to use will depend on your individual circumstances and needs. Leave the house in [...]
Is a Financial Plan Enough? Why Experts Say You Need an Estate Plan, Too
If you want to leave a robust financial legacy for your family, a financial plan alone is like trying to guide a boat with just one oar. It’s only part of the big picture for [...]
How Will Brexit Impact Your Financial Planning?
Market volatility is a constant in our modern world. But so-called Black Swan events sometimes take the concept of volatility to the next level. On June 23, voters in the U.K. passed a referendum supporting [...]
How to Make Your Inheritance Last
A 2012 study by Ohio State researcher Jay Zagorsky found that about one-third of Americans who receive an inheritance have negative savings within two years of getting their money, and of those who receive $100,000 [...]
5 Most Expensive States for Retirees in 2015
While there are many factors to consider when choosing the place where you will retire, the ones that will impact your wallet may be the most important. Why? Because having a low crime rate and [...]
Financial Firms Roll Out Form Aimed at Stopping Financial Elder Abuse
With cases of financial exploitation of the elderly on the rise, advisors who work with older clients are looking for ways to head off the abuse before it happens. Enter the “Emergency Contact Authorization Form,” [...]