Fifty Plus Advocates

By Linda T. Cammuso Avoidance behavior is easy and we all practice it to an extent. More often than not, though, people make mistakes by delaying important decisions that can have profoundly negative consequences for them and their loved ones. When it comes to estate planning here are four major mistakes that people make before [...]

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By Margot B. Birke The baby boomers are coming and real estate developers and health care providers are rushing to fill the desires and needs of this fiercely independent generation accustomed to choice. The increased value of real estate (even after the bubble burst), has resulted in nest eggs never dreamed of by most folks. [...]

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By Cathleen Summers A Power of Attorney is a document that allows a person (the principal) an opportunity to authorize an agent — usually a trusted family member or friend — to make legal decisions when he or she is no longer competent. Being chosen as the agent (or attorney-in-fact) by a loved one should [...]

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By Linda T. Cammuso A new client recently told me that he has been delaying the task of updating his will since his wife passed away 15 years ago. I expected him to cite the usual factors — discomfort with thinking about death, lingering grief over his wife’s passing or even cost-sensitivity and was surprised [...]

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By Cathleen Summers Statistics can be sobering, particularly when we are talking about long term care. According to a January, 2005 AARP article entitled A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability, the lifetime probability of becoming disabled in at least two activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired is 68 [...]

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By Linda T. Cammuso Last month, I discussed the use of living trusts as an effective technique for probate avoidance and contrasted trusts with some of the risky or unfavorable techniques people often use to avoid probate (such as titling assets in children’s names). People’s efforts to avoid probate are often motivated by fear of [...]

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