The Motley Fool recently issued a new article dispelling the myth that trusts are only for wealthy families with walk-in vaults and rivers of gold. The truth is that trusts have become an essential building block in today’s middle-class and working-class estate plans. View image | gettyimages.com Trusts can save everyone money, heartache, hassle, and… Read More »
Page 41
Forbes: Most Americans Don’t Understand Long-Term Care Realities
Forbes reports on a new study that shows that most Americans don’t know much about long-term care insurance and are simply ignoring the realities of what long-term care will cost them should they ever need it. View image | gettyimages.com “A newly-released survey shows just how conflicted Americans are about long-term care insurance,” Forbes says…. Read More »
VA Tells Agent Orange Victims They’re Entitled to Benefits
Veterans Affairs offices all across the country, including right here in Massachusetts, are stepping up their efforts to help veterans who might have been exposed to Agent Orange many decades ago. Unfortunately, many veterans don’t know they were exposed to Agent Orange — or they don’t realize that the symptoms they’re experiencing can be traced… Read More »
Music is Making a Big Difference in Dementia Treatment
Even in the midst of a few discouraging headlines in recent weeks, with a new CBS report projecting a sharp rise in dementia over the next 20 years, there is some encouraging news — and it comes in the form of a song. View image | gettyimages.com Purple Angel Music is a company that records… Read More »
New Bill Would Increase Accountability & Services at VA
The U.S. Senate is getting behind a bill that would apply new accountability measures to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — much of it with bipartisan support. The VA, of course, has long been the subject of intense criticism among veterans’ advocates. In recent years, the firestorm has gotten even hotter… Read More »
Death Taxes Not Quite So Dead
For the last few years, the rap on the estate tax is that unless you’re extremely wealthy, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. That’s true to some considerable extent. After all, the federal government has exempted most people making less than $5.43 million this year, and many states have gotten rid of or… Read More »
Do Good Grades in School Indicate a Low Risk of Dementia?
They call it cognitive reserve — the idea that some people are able to compensate for failing parts of the brain (memory, for example) because they’ve strengthened other parts. View image | gettyimages.com The theory has been around for a while, and scientists know there is something to it… but how exactly does it relate… Read More »
New Link Between Blood Pressure and Alzheimer’s
For years, scientists have struggled to find the cause of Alzheimer’s and dementia. As it turns out, the answer might be elusive because there isn’t just one cause. Indeed, each week seems to bring a new headline with a new causal link. Earlier this month, we told you about the beneficial relationship between mental exercise… Read More »
A Basic Breakdown of Medicaid for Massachusetts
We talk a lot about elder law, elder care, and Medicaid on this website, and for many of our readers, those terms are part of everyday life. What if you’re a newcomer to the world of Medicaid, though? Or maybe you’re a family member trying to learn a little more so you can help an… Read More »
VA Extends Veterans Benefits to Gay Couples
Change is fast. Just last month, we told you about the U.S. Senate’s refusal to extend veterans benefits to gay couples, a hot-button point of contention for many years. Of course, that was before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage nationwide. View image | gettyimages.com At the… Read More »