You have done no estate planning – no will, no trust, no financial power of attorney and no health care power of attorney. Congratulations! You are with the majority of Michiganders. Over half of our state’s adult residents have no …
Articles
No Kids – No Problem
You may be married, or not. According to the Pew Research Center, marriage rates have been declining steadily over the last half-century. In 1960, 72% of adults age 18 or over were married. That rate was down to 50% by …
Income Tax Benefits of Charitable Giving
You have your favorite charitable passions. They may be providing for underprivileged children, protecting abused animals or supporting your church. There are a variety of ways to give. The most common gift is the direct gift of money by cash, …
You Can Pick Who’s in Charge of Funeral
You Now Can Designate Who’s In Charge of Your Funeral Monday, June 27, 2016 is a new day for you and the other residents of the state of Michigan. Starting tomorrow, for the first time in our state’s history, you …
Do-It-Yourself Plans Dangerous for Nursing Home Medicaid Qualification
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA, JD Last week we discussed some of the things that you should do if nursing home admission was a possibility for you or a loved one. You may be tempted to implement some of the …
Best Practices if Nursing Home a Possibility
Not too long ago in this column, we discussed downsizing and simplifying your personal and financial life. The reasons you may want to do so is to make life easier for you and your loved ones. A smaller home or …
Who’s Responsible for the Trees?
Your neighbor has that old maple tree right near the property line. The tree canopy is huge. It extends way over the property line, over your yard or even your house. You have been nice enough so far, but you …
Get a Second Opinion with Annuities
You may have spent your hard-earned savings on one or more deferred or variable annuities. The likelihood is that they were sold to you as an “investment”. If you are like most annuity purchasers, what you were not told is …
You Are Not Responsible for Deceased’s Debts
We regularly get calls from the family of a deceased who left nothing but debts. The spouse or kids believe that they are responsible for the debts of their deceased loved one. They begin to get hounded by the bill …
Medical and Mental Health Care Decision Making For Your Young Adult Child
It is the graduation season and now time again for my annual column for young adults. If you have any adult high school or college aged children, do you know who can make their medical and mental health care decisions …