Category Archive

With the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, there is good news on the horizon. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has projected that the average premium for a basic Medicare Part D prescription drug plan in 2016 will remain stable. This is estimated at $32.50 per month. For plan years 2011-2015, the average monthly premium for a … Read More

In the late 1980’s, people around the United States began asserting their right to self-determination to decide how their medical care should be managed during the last days or weeks of their lives. They invented the term “living will” to describe a document that would describe their intentions and that could be presented to medical providers. Courts and legislatures were … Read More

Last Saturday, several of our clients, friends and their family members, attended our annual Trust School.  We hold another session of the Trust School each fall, concentrating on Special Needs Trusts.  But this spring session is all about all types of trusts.  The title this year was “The Truth About Revocable Trusts.”  The co-sponsor was Bank of the West.  Their … Read More

We have been following the debate among the Democrats and the Republicans and the White House over taxes during this lame duck session.  Below is a blog from attorney Jeffrey A. Marshal in Pennsylvania, that describes the bill that has been introduced in the Senate by Harry Reid proposing to change the picture for the estate and gift tax in … Read More

I am spending this week eagerly awaiting the arrival of my first grandchild.  I know, this is old hat for many of you, and you are the lucky ones!  But this is my first.  What advice can I give the new parents without being too pushy or meddling,but imparting the wisdom of my age and experience?  Make sure that you … Read More

Assert yourself at any age One of our client’s mother moved recently from independent living to an assisted living facility in the Sacramento Valley in California.  She had previously lived in an apartment independently, and she had been responsible for her own meals and taking her own medications.  As she aged, however, she decided that she could benefit from more … Read More

One feature of our new website will be a regular blog.  What by the way is a blog?  What we intend to do with our blog is to provide a mix of news that we think will interest our friends and clients, tax law and litigation updates, and stories that we think will inspire.  We will also offer a question … Read More