Estate planning is a financial process that can protect you and your family and is a very important component of your overall financial planning. The 3rd week of October is National Estate Planning Awareness Week and the perfect time to put your estate planning house in order. If you don’t have an up-to-date estate plan and you happen to get hurt or sick and cannot manage your financial affairs, the courts will have to appoint someone to manage them for you. The person they appoint might not be the one you would want to perform those tasks.

There are as many as 78 million people between the ages of 49 and 67 in the U.S., and few of them report that they plan to end up in a nursing home unless it becomes unavoidable. While some of the Boomers are planning to move in with their adult children, many more are not choosing that option. And, with one out of every four Boomers childless, relying on adult children simply isn’t an option. For others, the increased likelihood that their adult children live thousands of miles away means that the one-third of the Boomers who are single are without established household companionship. But not, it seems, for long.

Despite a push by advocates for advance care planning, most Americans do not have a living will or other advance health care directive in place. This includes even many patients with serious health conditions, who should be considering end-of-life decisions such as whether they want to be resuscitated or intubated, and who is designated to…

The following is a glossary of common terms related to federal benefits such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security: Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA): An annual adjustment that may be made to Social Security benefits to keep pace with inflation.

Lump Sum Death Payment: A $255 one-time payment paid upon death to a widow, widower or children under the age of 18, in addition to any monthly survivors benefits due…

As members of the baby-boom generation enter their retirement years, awareness is growing of the importance of palliative care for older patients with chronic illnesses, and how planning can clarify difficult end-of-life decisions.

Palliative care is a branch of medicine that focuses on providing relief from the pain and stress of chronic illness. Doctors may be primary care physicians with a specialty in palliative care and may work together with nurses and social workers to improve patients’ quality of life…

It is one of those scenarios that so many people play around with: what they would do if an unexpected windfall appeared in their life, a large sum of money came their way due to an inheritance, contract, business sale, lawsuit, lottery win, stock options sale or divorce settlement? While it can be entertaining to imagine, the truth is, few people are prepared to successfully manage large, unexpected sums of money. When an individual works over the years to accumulate wealth, there is a financial growth process at work; he or she learns incrementally how to manage the issues that arise. The problem with a large financial windfall is that many people are out of their element and may not know how to successfully manage those funds. Approximately 70 percent of people who come into sudden wealth lose those funds within several years due to poor financial management.

According to a survey by Findlaw.com, approximately 60 percent of parents have yet to formalize a simple will with which to protect their children. But having an estate plan in place, including a will and possibly trusts as well, should be a major concern for every parent. The future may hold decision-making issues regarding disability or incapacity, or the untimely death of one or more parents. As hard as it is to contemplate, one of the choices a responsible parent must make it how to ensure their child or children are safe if anything happens to them. Meeting with an experienced estate planning lawyer is a must for all parents.

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) savings plans have several advantages. First, they are an easy way to begin saving for retirement when you should: as early as possible. Any employer contributions add to your savings, and there are long-term tax advantages, in that taxes are deferred on the money you save.

Now there is an additional tax incentive that you do not have to wait until retirement to take advantage of: The Saver’s Credit is a credit of up to $1,000 (or $2,000 for a married couple filing jointly) for IRA and 401(k) contributions.

Getting ready for retirement involves careful preparation, including a proper estate plan, but much of your financial security depends on making the right decisions at crucial points. One of the most important decisions is made long before retirement: the decision to start saving. Because of the value of compound interest, the earlier you start saving, the better. Saving half as much per year beginning in your mid-20s is better than starting to save at age 40. Proper management of your retirement account is as important as saving…

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, it not only gave same-sex married couples the pride of federal recognition of their marriages, it also provided very real legal protections, including significant tax advantages.

Lesbian and gay married couples who are legally married in New York or any of the other 11 states that recognize same-sex marriage, and the District of Columbia, now have the right to more than 1,100 federal benefits that were previously only available to heterosexual married couples…