Elder Law

Elder Law Attorneys Explained: What They Do & How to Find One

February 11th, 2008 by Gilbert Guide

What They Do Elder law attorneys address various possibilities and scenarios, helping you to ascertain your wishes regarding both financial and health care choices. Your preferences are then spelled out in legal documents. In both cases, directives can outline how you wish your assets or person to be treated in the event that you are unable to communicate on your own behalf. A specific person can be appointed to make decisions on your behalf as well. Elder law attorneys also...Read the rest of this article »

Important Documents Checklist

February 1st, 2008 by Gilbert Guide

What financial and legal documents do you and your elderly loved ones need? Download Gilbert Guide’s Important Docs Suitcase for a checklist of all the important paperwork you need. The file is in a pdf format. You will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader® if you do not have it installed on your computer. (Don’t worry; it’s free, safe and simple to use.)...Read the rest of this article »

Essential Legal Documents: What Are Advanced Directives, Living Wills and Powers of Attorney?

January 23rd, 2008 by Gilbert Guide

What Legal Documents Do I Need? There are three legal documents you need, at a minimum. It is in your best interests to appoint a health care proxy, someone who acts on your behalf in the event that you cannot make decisions for yourself due to medical incapacitation. You should also have a living will, which states the procedures you would want (or not want) performed in specific situations. Drafting a power of attorney for your financial affairs is also...Read the rest of this article »

Lessons I Learned after My Father’s Death

December 26th, 2007 by Suzanne Wolfson

Even after thirty years in the financial planning industry, I am constantly learning and gaining new professional experience. This time, however, the experience came from the recent, painful loss of my dad. His passing came after twelve years of his living in elder care facilities and his slow deterioration, which included dementia, the loss of his senses, his ability to perform the activities of daily living and more. As I learned with my father’s death, no matter how prepared...Read the rest of this article »

What You Need to Know About Living Wills: Part 1

March 26th, 2007 by Ami Icanberry

I think the only living being who may not have yet heard of the Terri Schiavo case is my cat, Mildred. And, she’s no dummy. In all seriousness though, Schiavo’s case brought to the forefront our own thoughts on end of life, and the myriad moral, political and medical issues it affords. Owing in large part to an overly zealous media, we know the heart-wrenching story of the woman in her twenties who spent 15 years in a senior...Read the rest of this article »