As part of our elder law and long-term care planning practice, we often recommend a reverse mortgage to our clients. And we are often met with resistance. One of the most common misconceptions about reserve mortgages is that if someone obtains this type of mortgage, all hope of ever having any equity to pass to…
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Attorney Joan Wilson Elected Vice President of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys RWC, LLC, Attorneys and Counselors at Law is pleased to announce that Attorney Joan Wilson was elected Vice-President of the CT Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“NAELA”). Attorney Wilson has been a member of NAELA for 15 years…
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Power of Attorney and When Should You Get One Most of you are probably sick of hearing me tell you how important having a power of attorney is for anyone aged 18 and older. A Power of Attorney gives the person or people who you nominate and trust the legal authority to manage your financial…
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Is a Living Will or Advanced Healthcare Directive the same as a “DNR”? What is a Living Will? A Living Will is the first part of the current Connecticut Advance Healthcare Directive form. People who have not updated their estate planning documents in 15-20 years may only have a document that is titled “Living Will”.…
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Does Your Will Determine Who Inherits Your Assets When You Die? Last month I discussed how clients are often unpleasantly surprised to learn that having a Last Will and Testament does not negate the need for probate. Many people also incorrectly believe that the Will is KING. They think that the terms of the Will…
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Clients are often unpleasantly surprised to learn that having a Last Will and Testament does not negate the need for probate. And they are sometimes annoyed when they learn that even though they are named as the Executor in a Will, that alone does not give them authority to access the decedent’s assets. Yet both of these statements are true.
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FALSE FACTS FRIDAY Issue 11: “I’m Happy with My Medicare Plan, So I Don’t Have to Review It for Next Year.” The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (“AEP”) began in October 15th and extends until December 7. AEP is the time that Medicare recipients can review and change their Medicare plan if they should choose to…
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FALSE FACTS FRIDAY Issue 10: When A Loved One Dies, I Will Be Invited to a Reading of the Will I consider myself an intelligent person with a good education, but I do not spend my days working in a hospital. So admittedly, what I “know” about hospitals, I learned by watching ER and Grey’s…
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FALSE FACTS FRIDAY Issue 9: “If I Sell My Home, I Have to Reinvest in a More Expensive Home to Avoid Taxes” As a lawyer who is passionate about educating the public, I find that a lot of people are unaware of certain laws that affect them. At the same time, certain laws seem…
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What is a DNR? “DNR” stands for Do Not Resuscitate and means that if you stop breathing, you will not be resuscitated. Most, otherwise healthy people, would want to be resuscitated if they collapsed and stopped breathing, for example, if they had a heart attack. Those who are terminally ill and are suffering may choose…
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