One of the benefits of the health reform law took effect January 1, 2011: free preventive services for Medicare recipients. Under the law, people with regular Medicare will no longer have to pay a co-pay, coinsurance or deductible to receive preventive services that are highly recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — services Read Full Article
Article Category General Articles Page 7
As ElderLawAnswers warned in a previous article, the Social Security Administration has eliminated a loophole that had allowed Social Security recipients to start receiving benefits when they first became eligible without being permanently locked in to the lower benefit level. Although you can collect Social Security benefits starting at age 62, if you do, your Read Full Article
Herbert E. Nass. The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. 2010. 279 pages. $12.21 from Amazon (click on book to order) Learning what not to do can be just as instructive as learning what to do. That is the premise of The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes, an entertaining and Read Full Article
When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse, an IRA does not. Because the 401(k) is an employee-based retirement system, Read Full Article
Once someone enters a nursing home, it isn’t always easy to move out again. While some residents may prefer nursing home care to living on their own, others would rather be independent. For residents who want to move out but need some assistance to live on their own, there may be help available. A federal Read Full Article
Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law the deal extending the Bush tax cuts that he struck with Congressional Republicans. The legislation restores the estate tax for two years at a 35 percent tax rate, with estates up to $5 million exempt from paying any tax ($10 million for couples). If Congress Read Full Article
When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse, an IRA does not. Because the 401(k) is an employee-based retirement system, Read Full Article
As ElderLawAnswers warned in a previous article, the Social Security Administration has eliminated a loophole that had allowed Social Security recipients to start receiving benefits when they first became eligible without being permanently locked in to the lower benefit level. Although you can collect Social Security benefits starting at age 62, if you do, your Read Full Article
Herbert E. Nass. The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. 2010. 279 pages. $12.21 from Amazon (click on book to order) Learning what not to do can be just as instructive as learning what to do. That is the premise of The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes, an entertaining and Read Full Article
Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law the deal extending the Bush tax cuts that he struck with Congressional Republicans. The legislation restores the estate tax for two years at a 35 percent tax rate, with estates up to $5 million exempt from paying any tax ($10 million for couples). If Congress Read Full Article