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Women Live Longer than Men but Not Healthier

April 4th, 2016

A new study reveals that women can still expect to live longer than men on average. However, women suffer from more disabilities in those extra years. For some time, estate planning for older married couples has been based in part on the assumption t… Read More

Tags: Elder Law, estate planning

Splitting a Farm to Keep It in the Family

April 1st, 2016

Farmers who have more than one child have an estate planning dilemma. The most valuable property that they have is almost always the land and the farm equipment. If all of the children are not interested in farming, it can be difficult to give them a… Read More

Tags: estate planning, Farms, succession

How to Apply for Social Security

March 31st, 2016

When to apply for Social Security benefits is an important decision that requires careful consideration, but it is also important to know how to apply. It is very easy to find advice about when you should apply for Social Security benefits. Informati… Read More

Tags: aging issues, apply, Elder Law, , timing

The End for 'To Kill a Mockingbird' in Schools?

March 30th, 2016

A controversial decision by author Harper Lee's estate has many people wondering if 'To Kill a Mockingbird' will continue to be assigned reading in school. Reading Harper Lee's anti-segregation novel To Kill a Mockingbird has beco… Read More

Tags: Beneficiaries, books, current affairs, Estate, Heirs, paperback, reading, schools, to kill a mockingbird

Postnuptial Agreements for Estate Planning

March 29th, 2016

Americans are familiar with prenuptial agreements that detail how a couple's property will be divided in the event of a divorce or death. In most states spouses can reach similar agreements after they get married. The Wall Street Journal reports… Read More

Tags: estate planning, Postnuptial Agreement, probate, , succession, trust, will

Hospice Director Charged with Murder

March 28th, 2016

Hospices are supposed to provide humane end of life care. Most do. However, one hospice in Texas shows why we should always be vigilant in protecting against abuse of the elderly. Monica Patterson was the director of a hospice in Edinburg, Texas. It… Read More

Tags: aging issues, care, Elder Abuse, Elder Law, help, home care, hospice, law, long-term care, nursing home

New Nursing Home Quality Measurements

March 25th, 2016

The federal government has announced six new measurements for its system of comparing the quality of care patients receive at nursing homes. Anyone interested in information about the quality of a nursing home can go to Medicare's website and us… Read More

Tags: care, Elder Abuse, Elder Law, homes, housing, level of care, long-term care, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing Homes, quality of care, Special Needs, weblogs

Japan Debating Living Wills

March 24th, 2016

The right to refuse life-extending medical care is well-established in the U.S. Millions of Americans have living wills instructing doctors not to give them certain kinds of treatment. In Japan the idea is a novel one and being hotly debated. In the… Read More

Tags: aging issues, estate planning, Living Will, power of attorney, web blogs, Wills

Gaddafi's Estate in Limbo

March 23rd, 2016

Muammar Gaddafi's son might have stolen money from the Libyan government and stashed it in a foreign bank. The new Libyan government would like it back, but questions over the legitimacy of the new government make that difficult. Muammar Gaddafi… Read More

Tags: Estate, International Law

Nursing Homes Abandoning Residents

March 22nd, 2016

Under federal law if a nursing home patient goes to a hospital and the nursing home subsequently refuses to readmit the resident, the resident is entitled to an administrative hearing conducted by state government. However, even when residents win th… Read More

Tags: Elder Abuse, Elder Law, hospitals, long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing Homes, senior care