One of the most remarkable changes from the electronic age has been the introduction of online accounts and cloud storage. Whether or not you intentionally store your photos, stories, blog posts, and email correspondence on a cloud-based storage platform, you’re probably using the cloud. Much of what you write, photograph and value is probably online on a social media platform like Facebook or Instagram. At the same Read More

Many Georgia residents include health care directives as part of their estate plans. The estate planning process is easily customized; so, although there are commonly used documents in many types of plans, each person is able to choose what or what not to include to suit individual needs and long-term goals. When it comes to living wills (otherwise known as health care directives) there’s some misguided information Read More

Parents who have a special needs child usually want to make sure that the child will be cared for as long as necessary. No one is immortal, so they need to plan for what is going to happen when they pass away. This isn’t pleasant to think about, but if your child isn’t able to care for himself or herself, you need to take this important step. One thing that you don’t likely want is for your child to have to rely on Read More

According to a Associated Press-University of Chicago NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, 57 percent of Americans surveyed said they plan to rely on Medicare to provide any long-term care services and supports they may need. That’s regrettable because Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care. Medicaid does, but it’s a program meant for the poorest Americans. In order to qualify, you may need to go through Read More

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