What Is It? Social Security is a federal retirement fund that you pay into through your paycheck. The program also provides payments to those on disability and survivors benefits to the spouses and children of covered workers who have died. How Do I Qualify for Payments? The retirement system is based on the amount of credits that you earn as you work. In the simplest terms, if you have worked a total of at least 10 years in a job where Social Security payments were deducted from your paycheck, you are eligible to receive benefits. How Much Will My Benefit Be? For your own retirement benefit, that depends on how…
“Basis” is a concept that is important in determining the tax you owe when you have a profit or a loss on a transaction. Your “cost basis” in an asset is the amount you paid for it plus any relevant costs and fees. For example, if you bought a home for $200,000 and there were settlement and other fees at closing that came to $1,000, your cost basis would be $201,000. If you inherit or receive an asset as a gift, your basis is the fair market value of that asset. Your basis may be reduced by factors like depreciation and it may increase due to improvements…
When you give someone your power of attorney, you give them the right to act on your behalf. You may authorize them, for example, to manage some or all your business affairs, sign legal documents or make charitable gifts for you. A durable power of attorney is valid if you become incapacitated, while a power of attorney is not. A durable power of attorney gives someone the authority to make financial, business or legal decisions if you cannot make them yourself. A medical power of attorney, also known as a durable power of attorney for health care, names someone…
My client have two basic needs: What happens when I die? When you die, hopefully, you have planned ahead to ensure your possession and assets go to the people you want to receive them., by using a Will or Trust. And what happens if I don’t die, but get sick and end up needing long-term care? Most people don’t think about this until a crisis. But you want to plan ahead to make sure that you have taken the proper steps to leverage your assets to pay for your care, at home, an assisted living or nursing home. Will Medicare…
Justice in Aging’s new fact sheet for advocates explains how work requirements and onerous reporting obligations create barriers to health care access for many older adults, people with disabilities and serious health conditions, and family caregivers who rely on Medicaid. David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.
Americans hoping to fund their post-work years on an average Social Security check of $1,410 a month may want to rethink their retirement savings plans. For more info click HERE
Is your Durable Power of Attorney more than 5 years old or prepared by an Estate Planning attorney or general practitioner? You may find out too late that there are assets your Power of Attorney can’t handle for you. Call our office today, 301-663-9230 to schedule a review of your Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release! OR attend our upcoming workshop visit our website at www.davidwingate.com David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys,…
When you first dive into getting your affairs in order, all the new terms and phrases you need to understand can be overwhelming. To help guide you through the estate planning process, we’ve gathered several of the most important terms you might need to know: Administration: This is when there is a court-supervised distribution of an estate during probate. This term is also used to describe a similar process for a trust after a grantor dies. Administrator/Administratrix: A person named by the court to manage an estate during probate if the deceased left no will or the will did not…
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