Driving to work on Friday, I had the treat of listening to NPR's Robin Young interview Howard Gleckman on his new book, Caring for Our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America’s Most Urgent Health Crisis. I only caught the end of the interview, but it was so reassuring to hear...
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End of Life Wishes & Living Wills
Clients are always asking about living wills. Massachusetts law does not recognize a living will, and it's also impossible to write a thorough, well balanced statement of your end of life wishes in just a few paragraphs.
I provide clients with a solution to their goal, but in a much better form. I give my...
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Thank You Eunice Kennedy Shriver
We learned this morning that Mrs. Shriver passed away over night. I love that all the stories today discuss that she was the founder of the Special Olympics. After all, mentioning the name "Kennedy" in your morning broadcast would be enough to catch the attention of commuters still in their morning fog. But they...
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Always Keep Time & Expense Records When Helping Another
So many children, nieces and nephews, and good neighbors pitch in to do heavy lifting for an aging or disabled family member or friend. You may be running errands, cleaning out a basement, doing weekly grocery trips. We do these things on a volunteer basis, usually receiving just reimbursement for purchases made. And...
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My Spouse Died – What Do I Need to Do to Protect Myself?
After a spouse dies and the family gets through the funeral, the immediate concern is to square away the couple's assets and make sure the surviving spouse has enough to live on. After that, there is one more step to take: protecting yourself.
One area where you need to be proactive is to consider who...
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My Spouse Just Died – What Do I Need to Do with Our Assets?
Clients often come in bewildered about what they need to do with bank accounts and other assets after a spouse has passed away. People are always the most concerned about the home.
The good news is that there is usually very little to do. Spouses typically hold most of their assets "jointly." This means that...
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Who Decides on the Burial of a Decedent?
Many of us have clear wishes on whether we want to be buried or cremated, and some of us have very clear ideas of what kind of funeral we want or where we want our ashes scattered. But from a legal perspective, who gets to decide?
Surprisingly, not you. A spouse has authority to direct...
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If It Sounds Too Good to be True…
Right in our own backyard, another financial planner has been charged with scamming seniors. His pitch was that his investments would allegedly earn guaranteed 12% returns - not bad - and not likely. Further, he allegedly implied that these investments were safe; Bill Galvin's office says they were patently risky. Regardless of how these charges...
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Why Should I Arrange for a Pre-Paid Funeral?
Money. It's that simple. You've probably been there yourself - when a loved one dies, emotions are high, guilts and old "I'm sorry's" never said come rushing to the surface, and the family stumbles into the funeral director's office and ends up spending a lot of money on a very nice funeral.
If you instead...
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Support the Arc on the Full Moon!
The good folks at Margaritas in North Weymouth hold Full Moon Margarita Madness every month on the night of the full moon - and donate 5% of the evening's take to a local organization. For the rest of the summer, they are hosting the Arc of the South Shore. So swing on by Margaritas...
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