The American College of Financial Services recently had survey participants aged 60 to 75 take a quiz to determine their level of financial literacy, especially as it relates to retirement. The unsettling news is that only 35 percent of men passed the quiz. The shocking news is that only 18 percent of women did. It is a rather challenging quiz, but it’s important. It might be tempting simply to follow the outline of Read More

The good news is there’s no obvious age at which a normally healthy person loses cognitive ability. People who are experiencing normal cognitive aging can often manage their financial affairs competently well into their 70s and 80s. For those who have cognitive impairments, however, the stakes can be high. A serious financial misstep during retirement can cause a loss of income or assets that is hard to make up for. Read More

It can be hard to talk to our parents and loved ones about what would happen in a health crisis, or about end-of-life decision-making. Emotions can run high. If you’re having trouble talking to your parents about planning for the future, consider using another person’s situation as a springboard. Ultimately, your loved ones will need to set up their estate plan on their own, but knowing the existence and location of Read More

Long-term care is an essential part of estate planning for those who are no longer able to care for themselves or suffer from serious health issues.  Long-term care can be provided in many ways, and there are numerous options available when planning for the future of you and your loved ones.  Long-Term Care Issues in Estate Planning  Long-term care allows individuals to meet their daily needs. These include bathing, Read More

Your elderly parent needs long-term care, and you know it has the potential to be expensive. You want to protect your loved one’s assets, but you also are aware of Medicaid’s look-back rule. If you don’t move your parent’s assets soon enough or correctly, you could end up having to exhaust them for his or her care. To understand how to protect your funds, you need to recognize the look-back period. This is the period Read More

The decision to put an aging loved one, such as a parent, into an assisted living or nursing home facility is a difficult one. After all, you want to do the best you can by your loved one, and chances are that he or she would prefer to live at home for as long as possible. No matter how strong-willed someone is, however, there comes a point when around-the-clock care and monitoring become medically necessary. Perhaps Read More

Second marriages result in a unique set of needs when planning for your estate’s future. In most cases, two families are brought together, which makes the process of allocating and distributing assets a bit more complex. Planning for the financial wellbeing of your entire family requires you to have the right tools and resources to protect your assets, minimize estate planning costs, and ensure that all of your Read More

The best estate plans are comprehensive and plan for a wide range of potential life circumstances. Ideally, you will live a full and healthy life for many years after the creation of your last will and estate plan. However, life can sometimes take surprising courses, and your estate plan should take common life issues into consideration. Even if you are currently healthy, you could experience a sudden illness, injury Read More

As you create an estate plan, you’ll soon turn your attention to creating a will or trust. While you may consider this the most important part of your plan, as it dictates who will receive your assets upon your death, there are other legal documents to consider. For example, a health care power of attorney is something to consider. With this legal document, you can grant another party, such as a family member or Read More

As your parents age, you might have to consider having them somewhere that can provide them with the help they need to do daily tasks. In the early days of them needing help, you might be able to hire a home health agency, but when your parents begin to move beyond the point of only needing sporadic care, you might have to help them find a long-term care facility. Choosing a long-term care facility is a huge Read More