http://www.joneselderlaw.com Jones Elder Law, LLC Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:34:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en When someone is in a nursing home and receiving Medicaid, their primary residence is exempt.  Therefore, the government generally will not force you to sell your home.  However, in order for it to be exempt there must be a spouse or disabled child in the home, or the person in ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/protecting-your-home-in-this-economy/ How much does it cost to raise a child from birth to age 18? Online calculators now estimate the cost at about $250,000 (varying depending on where you live around the country), but any parent will tell you that it costs much more than that to raise a family. This ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/planning-for-the-high-cost-of-raising-your-child-and-your-family/ In many of our previous posts we’ve stressed the importance of keeping your estate planning documents up-to-date. Changes to the law, as well as changes to your own personal, medical and financial status can wreak havoc on a well-crafted estate plan if these changes aren’t addressed. A good rule of ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/stay-current-and-you%e2%80%99ll-stay-protected/ Wills and estate plans are always touchy subjects among family simply because they can have so much hidden meaning... at least that’s what heirs often think: I got mom’s jewelry but my sister got a cash gift—does that mean mom loves her more than me? What’s wrong with me that Dad didn’t ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/back-to-basics-forethought-and-planning-prevent-a-world-of-hurt/ 2010 has been anything but ordinary as far as the estate tax is concerned. First there was the unexpected repeal of the estate tax (unexpected not because the repeal was unplanned, but because nobody expected it to actually happen), then the idea that congress could reinstate the estate tax and ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/senate-considers-option-to-prepay-estate-taxes/ There are any number of things for which you can be earning and saving money: investments, retirement, college, a home, a car, the current high-tech gadget... The thought of it all is enough to make a person dizzy! So how do you decide what are the most important things for ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/harvard-or-shady-oaks-how-to-choose-your-financial-priorities/ “Too rich for most government-funded social programs and not rich enough to pay for full-time, long-term care services.” Does this sound familiar? It is exactly the kind of financial situation most elderly find themselves in today, and one which requires many adult children who are still raising their own kids to ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/stuck-in-the-middle-caring-for-aging-relatives/ A lot of what we as estate planners do is help you protect your assets: We help you protect your assets for your children when you die, we help you protect your assets when you are elderly and need long term or nursing care, we help you protect your business ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/prenups-help-with-happily-ever-after/ How will you be planning for your retirement? According to CNBC your gender could play a bigger role than you think in your retirement plan. While of course not everyone will adhere to gross generalizations, studies have shown that men and women do have a tendency to take a different ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/trade-like-a-man-save-like-a-woman/ It may seem like you just can’t catch a break when it comes to paying taxes, but according to this article in the Wall Street Journal there are a few little known tax breaks that could end up saving your family money. Some are new—so new, in fact, that it ... http://www.joneselderlaw.com/robin-hood-lives-on-tax-breaks-to-help-your-family/