The Five-Star Quality Rating System was created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a quick summary of a nursing home’s overall level of quality. It is available on the medicare.gov website, and many families use this information when choosing a nursing home. However, the accuracy...
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Why Would Someone Consider Using a Spendthrift Trust?
A spendthrift trust is typically used to prevent a beneficiary from receiving an inheritance all at once. Why would a grantor (the person creating the trust) want to consider such an approach? The most obvious reason is that the grantor believes his or her beneficiary is a “spendthrift” and will quickly squander...
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What to Look for in a Home Care Provider
As many of you know, I often write about how elders can obtain financial assistance to pay for home care. Now I’d like to discuss what elders should look for in a home care provider.The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has created a helpful checklist with questions you should...
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I Hope You Make this New Year’s Resolution…
Exercise more, eat healthier, save more money… these are among the most popular New Year’s resolutions. All are admirable, but none are easy.Here’s a relatively simple resolution I hope you’ll add to your list: Review your estate plan to make sure it is up to date. Why? An outdated plan may not...
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Happy Holidays
Several years ago, we decided that instead of sending out holiday cards, we would make a donation.
We continue to do that, and again we made our donation to the Friendship Home.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season filled with love and good friends.
Happy New Year!
Alexis, Doreen & Christina
Help is Available to Heat Your Home this Winter
As some of you may know, I am on the board of the Norwell Council on Aging. At a recent meeting, we discussed a dramatic increase in the number of applications for heating assistance in town. The increase is understandable considering how much heating costs have gone up this year. According to...
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The Many Benefits of VA Aid and Attendance
With this month’s celebration of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, I thought it would be a good time to thank our veterans for their service and to write about one of the most valuable benefits available to eligible veterans, their spouses, and widows: Aid and Attendance.
Aid and Attendance can...
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Thank You, and Please…
I’d like to begin with an update: The South Shore Plymouth Walk to End Alzheimer’s raised nearly $323,000! Of this, our office raised $516. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed. As always, the money will go toward raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and, ultimately, to...
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Five Estate Planning and Elder Law Mistakes that Could Come Back to Haunt You
In honor of Halloween, I’d like to share what I consider to be some of the scariest (and easily avoided) planning mistakes.Thinking you can become eligible for long-term care assistance from MassHealth by simply giving your assets away.This might seem like a great idea, but MassHealth has strict guidelines for gifting, including...
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National Estate Planning Awareness Week Begins on October 17th
National Estate Planning Awareness Week was created to raise public awareness about the importance of proper planning and to dispel common myths. These myths include several that I have addressed in past articles, such as “Trusts are Only for Rich People” and “A Will is...
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