Guide to Elder Planning, A: Everything You Need to Know to Protect Your Loved Ones and Yourself

For millions of families, elder planning has become life's most important financial challenge. To plan successfully for aging, coordinated and knowledgeable action is indispensable. Whether you're concerned about your own future, your loved ones, or both, Steve Weisman's A Guide to Elder Planning, Second Edition brings together all the up-to-date knowledge and practical insights you'll need. Thorough, realistic, friendly, and easy to read, it covers all the financial, legal, and personal issues faced by seniors and their families. Weisman is one of the nation's most respected eldercare attorneys: through his nationally syndicated radio show A Touch of Grey and his books, he's already helped millions of seniors and their families. Now, he brings together practical insights and specific, innovative solutions for estate planning, investment planning, long term care planning, housing, Medicare, Medicaid, retirement planning, Social Security, veterans' benefits, asset protection, substitute decision making, income tax planning, age discrimination, protection from abuse and scams, end of life issues, and much more. From navigating fast-changing benefits programs to preparing healthcare directives, this trustworthy book explains it all -- in plain, crystal-clear English!

Table of Contents:
Contents Chapter 1 Asset Protection     1 Insurance     2 Homeowner’s Insurance     2 Prenuptial Agreements     7 Bank Accounts     10 Trusts     11 Homestead Protection     13 Fraudulent Conveyances     14 Assets Protected by Law     15 Joint Ownership     15 Tenancy by the Entirety     16 Family Limited Partnerships     17 Endnotes     18 Chapter 2 Senior Citizens and Credit     19 Equal Credit Opportunity Act     19 Credit Reports     20 Credit Cards     25 Chapter 3 Substitute Decision Making     27 Power of Attorney     27 Durable Power of Attorney     28 You and Will Robinson     31 IRS Dangers     34 Health Care Proxy     35 Free Advice (And Worth Every Penny)     39 Chapter 4 Estate Planning     41 Wills     41 Living Trusts     45 Incentive Trusts     49 Estate Taxes     50 State Estate Taxes     54 Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts     54 Charitable Remainder Trust     56 Defective Trusts     57 Section 529 Plans     58 Planning for Your Pets     60 Digital Estate Planning     61 POD Accounts     61 Second Marriages     62 Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples     63 Now That You Have a Plan     64 Chapter 5 Investments     66 Mutual Funds     66 DRIPs     74 Certificates of Deposit     74 Treasuries     75 Annuities     78 Your Stock Portfolio     79 A Few Words on Gold     87 Final Thoughts     87 Endnotes     88 Chapter 6 Income Taxes     89 Marital Status     89 Parents and Children     94 Domestic Partners     96 The Over-65 Crowd     97 Untaxed Income     98 Tax Credits     99 Social Security Taxes     100 Tax Deductions     102 Tax Relief as Big as a House     108 I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends     110 Now That You Have Prepared Your Taxes, What Documents Do You Keep?     111 Final Words from Deep in the Heart of Taxes     111 Endnote     112 Chapter 7 Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s     113 Traditional IRA     114 Roth IRA     116 Decisions, Decisions     117 The Different Path     118 401(k)     120 Roth 401(k)     122 Bad News/Good News     123 Choices     124 Devil in the Details     124 How to Exorcise the Devil     124 Beneficiary Designation     125 Conversion to a Roth IRA     127 When Does It Make Sense to Convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?     129 Distribution     130 Withdrawal Pains     131 Survivors     134 Chapter 8 Planning for the Home     138 Reverse Mortgages     139 Keep It in the Family     141 Uncle Sam Likes Reverse Mortgages     141 Using Reverse Mortgages to Pay for Long-Term Care Insurance     142 Creative Uses of Reverse Mortgages     143 Counseling     146 Bells and Whistles     147 Shared Equity and Appreciation Fees     148 Reverse Mortgage Fees     150 For Whom the Reverse Mortgage Tolls     151 The Bottom Line     152 Mortgage Prepayment     152 Private Mortgage Insurance     153 Refinancing     154 Life Estates     155 Sell the Home to the Children     156 Chapter 9 Alternative Housing     157 Retirement Communities     158 Important Considerations in Evaluating a Continuing Care Retirement Community     162 Assisted Living     165 Legalities     165 What’s in a Name?     166 Accreditation     167 Important Considerations in Evaluating an Assisted-Living Facility     168 A Word of Warning     170 Location, Location, Location     170 Check It Out     171 Security     171 Hospitals     171 The Smell Test     172 Smoking     172 Pet Policy     172 Transportation     172 Do You Get Fries with That?     173 What Would Tim Russert Ask?     173 The Fine Print     174 How Do You Pay?     174 Checklist of Important Issues in Considering an Assisted-Living Facility or Continuing Care Retirement Community     175 The Final Words     177 Endnote     177 Chapter 10 Long-Term Care     178 History     178 Cost of Long-Term Care     181 Future Cost of Long-Term Care     181 Financing Long-Term Care     181 Finding the Money     185 Another Thing to Think About     185 Swap     186 Other Considerations     186 Creative Solutions     197 Who Is in Jeopardy of a Premium Increase?     197 Good News     198 It Pays to Be Married     198 Group Policies     199 Deferred Annuities     199 Disability Insurance     200 Surf and Turf     200 Make the Kids Pay     201 Endnote     201 Chapter 11 Social Security     202 History     202 Eligibility and Benefit Calculations     203 Look for Your Annual Statement     204 Full Retirement Age     205 Early or Late Retirement     206 Show Me the Money     207 A Bird in the Hand     208 Over-Under     209 Take the Money and Run     209 A Work in Progress     210 Getting a Larger Check Later     210 Spousal Benefits     211 Income Taxes     211 Another Reason to Delay Taking Benefits     212 COLAs     213 Social Security Retirement Strategies     213 Survivor’s Benefits     214 Notch Babies     216 Social Security Disability Income     216 Getting a Copy of Your Record     218 Overpayments     219 Medicare and Your Application for Social Security Benefits     219 Endnote     219 Chapter 12 Medicare     220 The Medicare Alphabet     220 Managed Care     228 The Fly in the Ointment     230 Where Do You Get Your Plan?     231 When Can You Join or Switch a Plan     231 What Does It Cost?     231 The Math     232 Who Is Keeping Score?     232 Sticky Little Detail     233 Don’t Cry for Me Argentina: Tiered Drugs     233 Exceptions Process     234 Penalty     234 Tricare     235 Things to Consider When Choosing a Drug Plan     235 Don’t Give Up the SHIP     236 Medicare Home Healthcare     236 Home Healthcare Services Provided     237 Post-Hospital Home Healthcare     238 Hospice Care     238 Premiums     239 Enrollment     240 Medicare D     241 Medigap Insurance     241 Traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage?     242 Appeals     244 Endnote     245 Chapter 13 Medicaid     246 Medicaid 101     248 Asset Eligibility     248 Life Insurance     250 Retirement Planning     251 Exceptions to Transfer Penalties     253 Home Improvement     254 Consideration of Income     254 Protection from Spousal Impoverishment     254 How Much Do You Pay?     256 Increasing the Allowance for At-Home Spouses     256 Medicaid Planning     257 Just Say No     259 Estate Planning for the Community Spouse     260 Estate and Financial Planning for the Spouse in the Nursing Home     260 Tactics for Reducing Assets Without a Medicaid Penalty     261 Trusts     265 Protecting the Home     266 Tips for the Home     269 Tactics for Increasing Assets to Achieve a Greater Spousal Resource Allowance     270 Annuities     271 Promissory Notes     273 Do Nothing Strategy     274 As if You Don’t Have Enough to Worry About     274 Partnership for Long-Term Care     275 Estate Recovery     276 Exceptions     277 The Latest Information     279 Chapter 14 Veterans’ Benefits     280 Veterans Eligible for Veterans Administration (VA) Pension Benefits     281 Spouses and Family Members Eligible for VA Benefits     282 Basic Requirements for Veterans’ Benefits     283 Pension Benefits for War Veterans and Their Families     284 Chapter 15 Being Patient     288 Privacy and Medical Records     289 Access to Medical Records—By You and Others     290 Chapter 16 Scams     291 Identity Theft     292 Affinity Fraud     293 The Grandparent Scam     294 Social Security Scams     294 Medicare Scams     297 Charity Scams     298 Investment Frauds     299 Variable Annuities     299 Charitable Gift Annuities     300 Churning     300 Stranger-Owned Life Insurance (SOLI)     301 Sham Tax Forms     302 Phony Prizes     303 Slavery Reparations     303 IRS Impersonators     304 Credit-Card Protection     304 Chain Letters     305 Pyramid Schemes     306 Cramming     306 Credit Repair Services     308 Travel Fraud     309 Reloading     309 Some Good Advice     310 Identity Theft from the Dead     311 A Few Tips     311 Chapter 17 End-of-Life Issues     313 Health Care Proxy     313 Hospice Care     314 Organ Donation     314 Durable Power of Attorney     314 Beneficiary Designations     315 Monetary Needs     315 Wills     316 Planning Your Funeral     316 Wills to Live By     317 Glossary     318 Favorite Websites     331 Forms     338 State Income Tax Deductibility of Section 529 Plans     342 Index     344

About the Author :
Steve Weisman is a lawyer who hosts the radio show “A Touch of Grey,” syndicated to more than 50 stations nationwide, including AM 970 (NYC) and KRLA (LA). A senior lecturer at Bentley University where he teaches Elder Planning, he is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. The legal editor for Talkers magazine and RadioInfo.com, he writes for publications ranging from The Boston Globe to Playboy and earned an ABA Certificate of Merit for excellence in legal journalism. His books include Boomer or Bust, The Truth About Buying Annuities,The Truth About Protecting Your IRAs and 401(k)s, and The Truth About Avoiding Scams, which was featured on Dr. Phil and CNN. Weisman received a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. He also operates the website www.scamicide.com , which provides the latest information on scams and identity theft.