A grandfather becomes abusive (from later-diagnosed dementia) and alienates family. An adult child stops taking medication to treat severe mental illness and goes off the grid. A cherished granddaughter continues to lose a fight against addiction.What options exist...
Fiduciary – in general this term is used for investment professionals. But if you have been appointed a trustee by a family member or friend, you need to know your duty.Personal liability for losses or unrealized gains is even possible when allegations of risky...
Why is it so important to leave a road map for loved ones after you are no longer able to make decisions or communicate your wishes? If you fail to put your wishes in writing, the state of Colorado will use a default (intestacy law) to determine what happens. With...
Statistics out of the Census Bureau indicate that about 800,000 Americans will lose their spouses this year. Widows and widowers make up 25 percent of the over-65 population totaling more than 14 million.What happens to an estate after death? Most people have little...
The U.S. Department of Justice has recently prosecuted defendants across the country related to a Jamaican lottery scam. In a recent webinar discussing elder financial abuse, a lawyer with the DOJ stressed that effective schemes do not work if they sound to go to be...
When caregivers were surveyed, they reported that 37 percent of the seniors they worked with had fallen prey to financial schemes. Another frequently cited statistic is equally disturbing: only one in 44 cases of financial exploitation is reported. Because reporting...
Cracking down on fraudulent schemes that target older Americans is the goal of bipartisan legislation recently introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Susan Collins. The Senior Fraud Prevention Act would help educate seniors and improve monitoring.This post is...
For many couples in retirement, their main asset is their home. Frequently the property is jointly owned and the property smoothly transfers to a wife at the death of her husband or vice versa.But what is the best way to transfer the property to the next generation?...
In our last post, we discussed some of the important things that an estate plan can do for you, and why you really need one. This time, we’ll touch on five more reasons why an estate plan is vital for everyone. As a quick recap, our last post dealt with...
Sadly, estate planning is one of those things that even people with good intentions may put off until “tomorrow,” only to never have the opportunity to revisit it before tragedy strikes. Without estate planning, you could lose out on the priceless opportunity to...
