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Family disagreements about a parent’s end-of-life care and inheritance can get so serious they may end up in a legal filing and court case. You can take steps moving beyond the possibility this might happen and create (or amend) your estate plan seeking to diffuse these potential issues before they become legal challenges. Every situation…

Legendary talk-show host Larry King married seven women and had five children with many of them. He died at age 87 on January 23, 2021, after contracting Covid and then succumbing to an infection. Immediately after his death, his estate went straight to probate court. If only he would have followed the advice that any…

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, advocating for your loved one in a nursing home has become more demanding and complicated. Both residents and staff in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. In fact, during the first year of the pandemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reports…

We hear this question all the time: “Don’t I just grab a will of the internet, do a transfer-on-death deed for my land, use my kids as beneficiaries, and be done with my estate planning?” It’s just not a good idea. For the plan to work as you would want it to, it should account…

Business closures related to COVID-19 have caused record unemployment rates for business owners and their workers, many of whom are over 50 years old. Though workers of all ages have felt the effects of unemployment or reduced working hours, older workers will fare worse upon re-entering the workforce. Research shows the recession of 2008 found…

We often hear it from family and friends who are getting older, or maybe we say it ourselves – “I had a terrible sleep last night.” Or perhaps “I kept waking up with my mind racing and couldn’t fall back to sleep.” Sleep patterns tend to change, and that is perfectly normal as we grow…

Every year in March, Brain Injury Awareness Month begins. Brain injury often referred to as traumatic brain injury (TBI), can range from mild (commonly called a concussion) to severe and is caused by an impact to the head or the body or by a penetrating head injury. But there are also non-traumatic brain injuries that…

Several years ago, there was a story about a Maltese named Trouble whose human, hotel heiress Leona Helmsley, generously left $12 million to care for the pup. The Value of an Animal Trust for Your Pet For those who care about the well-being of their animals or livestock, animal trusts can play an essential role…

By law, every testamentary named in a will must have a public record, usually posted in a local newspaper, of the date of the testamentary’s death. In part, this information serves as notice to creditors if the decedent has an outstanding debt with them. The personal representative must also make a reasonable effort to notify…

Polypharmacy, or the concurrent use of multiple prescription medications, is very common in older Americans. The more medications a person takes, the higher the risk of dangerous drug-drug interactions and increased possibility of inappropriate prescribing, adverse drug reactions, hospitalization, and even death. Patients who have Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other forms of dementia often take…