Many of our estate planning clients rely on social security as part of their income. Although we usually think of Social Security in terms of what a person qualifies for based on their working years, it is possible for a spouse (or former spouse in the case of divorce) to receive Social Security benefits even if they never worked themselves. Whether you are married now or were married in the past, it’s likely that you are eligible for Social Security spousal benefits, as repo

Part of the increase in the number of people who live long enough to be of retirement age, is because life expectancies have generally increased (at least up until recently). For instance, the average U.S. life expectancy has increased from 68 years in 1950 to 79 years in 2013, according to the Population Reference Bureau cited in an article from U.S. News & World Report titled “How Should I Finance Assisted Living?” The combination of increasing life expectancies and improve

The number one estate planning mistake is failing to have or to update an estate plan, says the Times Herald in the article “Top six estate planning mistakes.” Therefore, start by working with an estate planning attorney to create an estate plan, and you’ll be way ahead of most Americans. Why does this matter? An estate plan allows you to stay in control of your assets while you are alive, provide for your loved ones and for yourself in the event you become mentally or physic