Housing options and the associated costs are among the top priorities for many seniors. Today, more than ever, seniors are opting to enter an independent living facility as an affordable means of maintaining their desired way of life. What Is an Independent Living Facility? An independent living facility is a housing arrangement that caters
Most seniors want to stay at home as long as they can. The little-known Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) allows persons to do just that instead of going into a nursing home. Program History PACE’s inception dates to the 1970s when the federal and state governments were developing community-based services for some
Revised annual gift tax and estate tax exclusions for 2024 have been announced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Gift Tax Exclusion for 2024 The federal government taxes gift givers, that is, donors, on their gifts. The recipient of a gift does not owe income tax. But the donor pays a gift tax on that
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2024 is a 3.2 percent increase. This follows a record-high 9 percent increase in 2023. Does COLA Only Affect Retired Workers? Each fall, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announces changes to the annual cost-of-living adjustment for the forthcoming year. Based in part on the consumer price index, the
Unlike in 2023, when Medicare Part B premiums and annual deductibles went down, they will rise in 2024. These premiums come off the top from your Social Security benefit as an automatic deduction before the net benefit hits your bank account. Here are the changes, as set forth In a fact sheet recently released by the Centers
When a person declares bankruptcy, an individual retirement account (IRA) is one of the assets that is beyond the reach of creditors, but what about an IRA that has been inherited? Resolving a conflict between lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 unanimously ruled that funds held in an inherited IRA are not exempt from creditors in
Parents of adult children with disabilities know that their child's disability needs may change over the course of their lifetime. Planning for the future well-being of an adult child with disabilities is, therefore, a responsive, ongoing process. The life expectancy of many adults with disabilities has increased over time. For example, according to research, life
Major life changes frequently usher in the need to modify an existing estate plan. Few such life changes are as traumatic or significant as the death of a spouse. Some needed modifications are obvious, such as updating beneficiary designations. But others might only be apparent to an experienced estate planning attorney. One example is the
Probate refers to the process by which a deceased person’s estate is distributed. Assets pass to beneficiaries named in the decedent’s Will or, if there is no Will, to heirs as determined by the law of the State where the decedent lived. In both situations, in Pennsylvania, that process begins at the County Court House
Individual Retirement Accounts, or “IRA”, were established under federal law as an incentive for workers to set aside savings for their retirement. You can create and fund your own IRA and defer payment of income tax on the contributions until years later, when they are withdrawn. Meanwhile, the appreciation in value of this money is
