Aging with Grace

The Memory Loss Initiative

Many family members who contact me seeking legal advice for their loved one are also often grappling their loved one's memory impairment condition. I found this amazing project on-line called "The Memory Loss Initiative" sponsored by StoryCorps (a non-profit organization that honors and celebrates life by listening.)  The Memory Loss Initiative encourages those with Dementia, Alzheimers, etc. to record their memories by allowing a loved-one to interview them.  Interviews can be conducted anywhere and the interview is recorded, free of charge, by StoryCorps and the family receives the recording.  With the family's consent, the recording is broadcast on NPR and housed in the Library of Congress.

Home Sweet Home Revisited

In May of 2007, I posted this entry linking to a New York Times article regarding life in a nursing home and a (geographically distant) alternative to nursing home life in Tupelo, Mississippi. Although the alternative featured offered a glimmer of hope to some of my NYC metropolitan elder law clients, Mississippi is too far south of downtown Brooklyn to be a realistic option for most native New Yorkers. Thankfully, the New York Times published this article about an alternative right here in New York City.  Finally, it seems, someone listened: there is a NYC alternative to institutional living and bingo.

Social Security

In the 2005 State of the Union Address, our former president tried to convince us of the dire need to "privatize" the Social Security Administration's pension fund. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful.  If we heeded our former fearless leader's advice, the Social Security fund as we know it would have been obliterated in recent months and would (likely) be barely limping along, like the rest of the financial world. Saul Friedman of Long Island Newsday published this article, "GRAY MATTERS: Show me the money? It's easy: Social Security isn't in trouble", outlining the laurels of old-faithful, Social Security. The gist: Social Security, compared to the rest of the American financial outlets, is doing just fine.

Covering the (Estate Planning) Bases with Autism

With the diagnoses of Autism on the rise and the strides being made in its treatment not to mention other medical conditions that currently affect our children, (but may not always affect them) it is hard to speculate what kind of care they will need in the future, if any.  In light of this uncertainty, many parents and grandparents are unsure as to how or even if, they should leave assets to the disabled child/grandchild in their estate plan.  There are quite a few estate planning options out there for those who have beneficiaries affected by uncertain medical conditions. Consider the following brief article that I recently published addressing this issue.

Financial Security Returns Home

With the faltering economy, lay-offs, collapsed investment and brokerage houses, failed banks and decimated funds many of my elder law clients are forced to look elsewhere for their future financial security.  On Long Island, the biggest asset of many of my clients is their home, despite the hit that our real estate values have taken in the New York City vicinity. Accordingly, reverse mortgages application numbers are gaining, despite the havoc wreaked upon us by the sub-prime mortgage industry.  Newsday recently published this article that laid out the basics of a reverse mortgage. Last week, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will increase the reverse mortgage lending limit to $625,000 on Long Island for 2009. If a reverse mortgage is something that may help you or a family member, you should check with your local bank regarding a reverse mortgage specialist.  Many bank branches, such as Bank of America who took over Countrywide’s Reverse Mortgage Division, have reverse mortgage specialists on staff who can advise how much equity you would be entitled to out of your home: the Bank of America/Countrywide’s Reverse Mortgage Division can be reached at 866-852-2642.