Posted on December 5, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Humans dominate the animal kingdom partly because we possess physical and mental abilities to change our environment and behavior deliberately. More than that, a person’s values elevate the person above the crude comfort and self-preservation instincts that define other creatures. The power to conceive and […]
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Posted on November 22, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
Most responsible adults buy insurance to protect against risk. We buy auto insurance protection for liability and vehicle damage. We protect ourselves from expensive healthcare costs with health insurance. Likewise, we can also protect ourselves from expensive nursing home costs with long-term care insurance. Few financial risks justify insurance solutions more than nursing home costs. […]
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Posted on October 24, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Economic and sociological factors have transformed the way we care for elderly family members over the past sixty years. We celebrate economic and social progress, but many caregivers pay heavy costs for that progress. Most of us have living parents or grandparents that have survived […]
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Posted on September 26, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Many people today struggle with how to invest money and what to do when a family member faces a health crisis. When you lack expertise for urgent financial and healthcare decisions, take decision-making advice from former US President Ronald Reagan: “trust, but verify.” Mr. Reagan […]
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Posted on August 29, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] No reasonably healthy person hopes to end up in a nursing home. Many family members struggle with guilt about admitting their loved ones to nursing homes. Relatively recent changes in Medicaid funding have made it possible for people to care for their elderly family members […]
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Posted on August 22, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Financial experts often say that if you die without a last will and testament, the state will decide who gets your assets. That statement is true if you die owning assets without joint owners and without naming beneficiaries of bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement plans, […]
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Posted on June 21, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Most of us become seriously injured or deathly ill sooner or later and depend upon other people to take care of us. We should all plan for this problem ahead of time so that our caregivers can be well prepared to do the job […]
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Posted on June 14, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
Retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance policies are great tools to accumulate and protect wealth for some people. However, all investments require some attention to details regarding beneficiary designations and ownership choices. None of these tools fits everyone and some tools can be inappropriate for some people. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney uses these financial […]
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Posted on May 25, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We began writing about estate planning and elder law topics almost 13 years ago because we kept hearing people recite laws and rules that either did not exist or did not work the way people thought. Even some lawyers have misunderstood rules about gifts and […]
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Posted on April 18, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] This article concludes a two-part series of about joint bank accounts and other kinds of asset co-ownership (click here to read Part 1). Joint Accounts – Name Sequence Some people mistakenly think that it makes a difference whether someone’s name appears first or second on […]
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