Financial Planning

Careful planning, whether in advance or in response to an unanticipated need for care, can help protect your estate while still meeting Medicaid's strict asset limits. Drill down into the details here. ...

If you own a device that contains digital content, you can pass that device on to your heirs, but there is no guarantee the content will remain. You can also give your heirs access to your passwords so they can access your account. Some estate planners are suggesting that people set up a trust to purchase online content. ...

Qualifying for Medicare hardly means free health care -- there are still premiums and deductibles. However, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (called “dual eligibility”) receive help with paying their out-of-pocket costs.  ...

Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans can have a coverage gap—called the "donut hole" which limits how much Medicare will pay for your drugs until you pay a certain amount out of pocket. Although the gap has gotten much smaller since Medicare Part D was introduced in 2006, there still may be a difference in what you pay during your initial coverage compared to what you might pay while caught in the coverage gap.  ...

This July marks the 56th anniversary of Medicare. If you’re eligible for Medicare at age 65, your initial enrollment period begins three months before your 65th birthday and ends three months after that birthday. The official Medicare website at Medicare.gov offers many online services where you can find answers to your questions. ...

Too many times, adult children struggle – not only with the grief of losing a parent – but also in putting together the financial puzzle their parents may have left for them. Unlike a puzzle that comes with the picture to solve, children often are left with pieces that don’t seem to fit together and are both frustrating and costly to manage. ...

 Attorneys often see great trust documents that don't do all that's intended because the clients' assets are still titled in the clients' names. You can avoid probate and make sure that the estate tax protections in your trust operate as planned through retitling assets in the name of the trust ...

If you want to make a gift to family members but have exceeded the annual gifting limit, there is another way. Payments for a family member’s education or health care expenses are exempt from the gift tax. ...