Connecticut Estate Planning Attorneys Blog
By Ruth Fortune
“My friend put her house in her childrens’ names” … “my neighbor says I should put my son on my bank accounts.”
“Should I?”
Bank Accounts Or House In Child’s Name? Be Careful
Estate Planning From Home: Video Conferencing is Easier Than You Think
In 1962, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (better known as Hanna-Barbera) premiered The Jetsons, a cartoon series about a family living their best lives 100 year in the future in the year 2062.
We’re still 42 years away from being contemporaries of the Jetsons, but many of the technologies the show predicted have already become a reality. George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy Jetson enjoyed many of the modern conveniences we now take for granted, from flat-screen TVs and tablet computers to robot vacuums and smart watches.
One of the technologies predicted by the show has taken center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: video conferencing. While the first video conferencing phone was introduced by AT&T at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, the technology didn’t really become ubiquitous until the 2000s with the launch of internet-based video conferencing technologies like Skype.
5 Tips for Successfully Riding the Pandemic’s Rollercoaster
Since March, life has been very, very different. It’s hard to know how to deal with all the changes. A lot of us apparently started this journey hoarding toilet paper and learning how to make sourdough starter. We attended virtual concerts starring big-name musicians who broadcast from their living rooms. We watched the news incessantly, learned how to Zoom, and tried desperately to keep up with what we should and shouldn’t be doing to ensure the safety of ourselves and our loved ones.
It has been a long, difficult six months.
No one can be blamed for having a lot of emotions right now. As people keep pointing out, this is an “unprecedented” situation. Between the disruption of our daily lives and the sky-high levels of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it’s a miracle that we’re managing to hold it together at all.
10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
By Esther Corcoran
Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of growing older, as many people seem to think. It is a disease that impairs memory and intellectual abilities to the point where their daily life is being affected. When people notice things in their daily life changing, there are 10 early signs to be aware of and to keep into consideration before seeking medical help.
1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life. Memory loss is one of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially forgetting recently learned information. Other instances include forgetting important dates or events; asking for the same information over and over; increasingly needing to rely on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own.
Downsizing: 6 Easy Steps to Success
“Downsizing” is one of those words that seems simple, but can be wrought with overwhelming and emotional baggage. While it’s easy to embrace the concept – a smaller space, fewer possessions – actually getting rid of stuff is often harder than expected.
This shouldn’t really come as a surprise since we spend most of our lives accumulating “stuff.”
Year after year, we buy and collect, receive gifts, and save mementos, and it slowly fills up every drawer, shelf, attic space, closet, and corner of the garage. And then, in the course of a few weeks or months, we’re faced with undoing decades’ worth of acquiring.
It’s not easy. Continue reading
Being Your Parent’s Healthcare Advocate: How to Get Started
This is the first in a 3-part series about the process and practice of becoming your parent’s healthcare advocate. In this part one, we talk about how to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition.
As Bette Davis once said, “Getting old is not for sissies.”
It’s also not something that anyone should have to do alone, especially when it comes to navigating the exhaustingly complex and sometimes downright intimidating territory of personal healthcare.
Siblings Caring For Parents: How To Make It Work
Even if you usually have an excellent sibling relationship, the stress and strain of caring for aging parents can bring up all kinds of issues and conflict. And if your sibling relationships are already less than perfect, you’ll be in for an even bumpier ride.
The complex and often heart wrenching challenges of managing and coordinating care for an aging parent can create all kinds of problematic scenarios that result in disagreements. In a recent post, we outlined several of the common ones, including:
● Who will take on which responsibilities
3 Things You Should Know About Medicaid
Few crises are more stressful than those related to health and long-term care. It is hard enough to navigate these complex issues during the best of times. In a world full of uncertainty, they become even more stressful and urgent.
As we all wrestle with the day-to-day reality of COVID-19, the already daunting task of figuring out how to sustainably support necessary home care, medical services, nursing home costs, and other critical expenses quickly becomes overwhelming.
And the situation is exponentially worse if you’ve waited until you’re in crisis to address the important questions of how to pay for critical services, protect your assets, and ensure your comfort, security, and quality of life.
Tips for Executors: 7 Steps to the Probate Process
So your duty as executor has kicked in. And the word “probate” keeps popping up.
Not sure what probate is? You’re not alone.
Most people don’t know much about the probate process in Connecticut unless they’ve had firsthand experience with it, for example, when a family member dies and his or her estate needs to be administered.
The Connecticut probate court oversees an orderly transfer of title of the decedent’s (deceased person’s) assets from the decedent’s name to his or her beneficiaries. It also makes sure that all the assets are accounted for and all the bills are paid. Continue reading
Discover Your Inner Artist! How and Why You Should Start Now
It’s never too late to explore your artistic side. In fact, many people discover that the second half of life is the perfect time to learn an art or craft.
Whether you decide to pick up a pencil or a paintbrush, sit down at a potter’s wheel, or strap on some dancing shoes, the arts offer countless opportunities for enrichment, fulfillment, and joy.
Many of our most beloved artists got their starts later in life. Monet didn’t get serious about painting until he was in his forties. Forty may be young by today’s standards, but in Monet’s day the average life expectancy hovered around the early sixties, making forty almost “venerable.”