The Estate Law Blog

Estate Planning For Women (And the Men Who Love Them)
Posted December 15, 2011 by Gregory P. Turza
A fellow attorney (and award-winning journalist) Deborah Jacobs authored the book, “Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide”.  In her recent Forbes article titled “Estate Planning for Women (And the Men who Love Them)” she indicated the below question is a question every financially savvy woman should be able to answer.  Question #4 Who would raise your children? Few prospects are more wrenching than the possibility that young children will be orphaned. Often, parents put off writing a will because this particular thought...
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Government Cuts Affect Nursing Homes
Posted December 7, 2011 by Gregory P. Turza
One of my WealthCounsel colleagues posted a comment on the potential for concern about nursing home care levels.  Lizette Sundvick targets this concern that appeared in this article: “Medicare Cuts Could Up Nursing Home Costs” SmartMoney. Nursing home residents may soon face higher costs and reduced services, as planned Medicare spending cuts take effect this fall.  The last few months have been a wild ride on multiple levels, to include concerns over Medicare and the “debt crisis.” While many more challenges lie ahead in terms of budget cuts, some cuts...
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Estate Planning For Women (And the Men Who Love Them)
Posted November 14, 2011 by Gregory P. Turza
A fellow attorney (and award-winning journalist) Deborah Jacobs authored the book, “Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide”.  In her recent Forbes article titled “Estate Planning for Women (And the Men who Love Them)” she indicated the below question is a question every financially savvy woman should be able to answer.  Question #3 Whom can you trust? Advancements in medical science and care may enable us to live fuller, longer lives. But that also means more women are likely to suffer from a diminished mental state--a...
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Don't fall prey to the 2011 "Dirty Dozen" tax scams
Posted November 7, 2011 by Gregory P. Turza
The IRS has identified the "Dirty Dozen" tax scams of 2011.  Participating in or falling victim to them can result in real harm to your pocketbook and your freedom.  My WealthCounsel colleague, Scott Makuakane, practices in Hawaii and he recently posted five of the Dirty Dozen.  He noted that he did not list them in any particular ranking of "dirtiness": Hiding income offshore People used to be able to get away with this because of the IRS' former inability to track offshore accounts.  Things have changed, and penalties have been increased.  Any...
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Estate Planning For Women (And the Men Who Love Them) Question #2
Posted October 19, 2011 by Gregory P. Turza
A fellow attorney (and award-winning journalist) Deborah Jacobs authored the book, “Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide”.  In her recent Forbes article titled “Estate Planning for Women (And the Men who Love Them)” she indicated the below question is a question every financially savvy woman should be able to answer.    Question #2 Is there money in the bank? In the process of dividing assets into "yours," "mine" and "ours," couples should make sure there is enough money to cover...
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