Everything we know about successful, healthy aging is contingent upon connection to those around us. The opportunities for people to laugh, move, and learn together is foundational to aging success. Enter the coronavirus pandemic to change all of that. Now aging Americans must stay socially engag...
You may be asked to be power of attorney for a member of your family or a close friend. Your person may be planning for when they might become unable to take care of their affairs. For example, they might become disabled or incapacitated, and they would need a trusted person to step in and manage...
Senior home-sharing is experiencing an uptick in popularity among American seniors during the coronavirus pandemic. The danger of COVID-19 infection in nursing homes and other long-term care living facilities, coupled with the isolation seniors have been facing, makes the idea of two, three, or m...
Wills and trusts have specific yet different benefits for the purpose of estate planning. Each state has specific laws and regulations governing these legal documents. You can have both a will and a trust; however, the information in each should compliment the other. As a standalone, it is not ac...
Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) are becoming popular retirement choices. Sometimes referred to as life plan communities, the goal is to provide a long-term care option for older residents. These residents prefer to live in the same community, though in different phase locations, dur...
It is essential that as your parents age, you have speak with them about their finances and estate plans. To broach the topic, you might bring up current events like the coronavirus pandemic, its effect on economic conditions, and how it relates to the security of their financial future. The conv...
It is easy to give in to depression at any phase of life. Life is full of surprises and twists, and not all of them have a positive effect on our mental health. However, once a senior is in the grasp of depression, it is often difficult to find release. More than 6.5 million Americans aged 65 and...
Telemedicine has become the digital source of healthcare-related services. Not long-ago telemedicine was an innovative practice, primarily a supplement to hospitals' information strategy managing patient care and their data more efficiently. During the coronavirus pandemic and its associated urge...
Living arrangements for aging Americans are commonly aimed at aging in place. Nearly all older adults prefer to age in the comfort of their long time homes and familiar community surroundings. Aging in place often means living alone. Pew Research findings show that older people are more likely to...
The use of emotional support animals is becoming more commonplace. An emotional support animal is a companion animal that provides benefits to a person who has an emotional or mental health disorder. In order to be characterized as an emotional support animal, documentation from a health professi...
You should check your estate planning documents regularly, to make sure they're still good, especially with big life changes like births, marriages, divorces, and moving to another state. Children grow up, marriages dissolve, property gets sold, residences change. That's why we recommend that you...
It is not uncommon for family members to argue over their parent's favorite items when that parent dies. Arguments can take place over things like a coffee mug, a piece of jewelry or a painting. These types of arguments can be eliminated by filling out a personal property memorandum and keeping i...
Older Americans at the greatest risk of COVID-19 are the least likely demographic to respond well to a vaccine. A vaccine shot works by fooling the body into believing it has been infected with a virus, thereby prompting its immune system to fight the intruding pathogen by making antibodies. Unfo...
You have the right to decide what kind of medical treatment you would want to receive from doctors and health-care providers. If you can speak up at the time, you can express your wishes yourself. But if you become incapable because you're ill or injured, you need to plan in advance. Designate a ...
A primary element of the American Dream is home ownership. People work hard all their lives to own a home, and it is often their most valuable and significant possession. So when health begins to fail and the need for long-term care arises, we often get this fear-filled question from our clients:...
Your right to vote is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be a citizen – yet you could lose your right if you become a ward in a guardianship. Having a strong power of attorney is essential to avoid that drastic, but little-known, consequence.A power of attorney gives a trusted person the ...
The Senior Safe Act was designed to protect our elders from financial abuse from either within a family or support system, or by scam artists preying upon them. Tens of billions of dollars each year are illegally taken from US seniors and these numbers only reflect the crimes being reported. SOU...
We owe deep gratitude to those who are caring for the sick, and to those who support those workers. At the same time, we should be skeptical of bills which may be presented for that care.The struggle to contain health-care costs in this country is now a fixture in the national policy debate. Our ...
Americans aged 50 or more are experiencing gray divorce in larger numbers than ever before. The term gray divorce generally refers to the baby boomer generation and affects all classes and education levels. Research shows that splitting during middle age is particularly damaging to your financial...
Family members frequently wish to assist in the care of their aging relatives. The love and care many adult children receive growing up become reciprocal, particularly in the case of their aging parents. But with the advent of longer lives, it is not atypical that a senior parent may still be car...
As we age, the simple things we took for granted as kids become more difficult -- and more expensive. That's a truth all of us know. What you may not realize is that the aging middle class will face unique difficulties going forward. The private market offers options for assisted living, but at a...
Recent events have caused many of us to consider our mortality and how we can make sure our loved ones are taken care of, especially if the unexpected happens. Life insurance can be an affordable way to provide for our children, a spouse, a sibling, aging parents, and other loved ones. Life insur...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it has increased access to Medicare telehealth services. This means that Medicare beneficiaries can receive more benefits from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare fa...
Suppose that you or your loved one has been so badly hurt by a nursing facility's negligence or abuse that you need to sue. You would want a jury of your peers to decide whether and how much the facility should compensate you for your loss.However, you are at risk of signing away that important r...
There are very few individuals without a digital footprint anymore. From social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitch.tv and Twitter, blogs and licensed domain names, email, music, photos, seller accounts on eBay, Amazon, or Itsy, gaming accounts, even your financial, utility, and m...