Take time to plan your family matters. Protecting seniors by preserving dignity, quality of life, and financial security.

Certified Elder Law Attorney Evan Farr Signs Publishing Deal With CelebrityPress To Release “Protect and Defend”

May 11th, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Certified Elder Law Attorney Evan Farr Signs Publishing Deal With CelebrityPress To Release “Protect and Defend”

Evan Farr, Medicaid Asset Protection expert, has signed a publishing deal with CelebrityPress, a leading book publishing company, along with other leading legal experts to release “Protect and Defend: Proven Strategies from America’s Leading Attorneys to help you Protect and Defend Your Business, Family and Wealth.”

Fairfax, Va. – May 8, 2012 – Evan Farr, Certified Elder Law Attorney, has joined a select group of America’s leading attorneys to co-write the forthcoming book titled, “Protect and Defend: Proven Strategies from America’s Leading Attorneys to help you Protect and Defend Your Business, Family and Wealth.” Nick Nanton, Esq. along with business partner, JW Dicks, Esq., recently signed a publishing deal with each of these authors to contribute their expertise to the book, which will be released under their CelebrityPress™ label.

Evan Farr is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts in the fields of Medicaid Asset Protection and Medicaid trusts. Evan is the Principal Attorney of the Farr Law Firm, an Elder Law firm serving Virginia, DC, and Maryland, and dedicated to helping protect seniors and their families by preserving dignity, quality of life, and financial security. Evan has been named by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top 5% of attorneys in VA since 2007, and by Washington, DC Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top 5% of attorneys in DC since 2008.  In 2011, Evan was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the top attorneys in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, and was named in Newsweek Magazine as one of the top attorneys in the country.

A nationally-renowned author and Continuing Legal Education speaker, Evan Farr has educated tens of thousands of attorneys across the country through speaking and writing for numerous national legal organizations, including ALI-ABA, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the National Business Institute, and the National Constitution Center, as well as his own Elder Law Institute for Training and Education (ELITE), through which he coaches and trains other elder law attorneys around the country, providing them with specialized software and practice-enhancement systems such as the Living Trust Plus™ Asset Protection System used by dozens of attorneys across the nation. Evan is also a well-known public media figure, having been quoted or cited as an elder law expert by the Washington Post, Newsweek Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Trusts & Estates Magazine, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Bar Association, and has appeared on television on PBS, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN.

The forthcoming book, Protect and Defend: Proven Strategies from America’s Leading Attorneys to help you Protect and Defend Your Business, Family and Wealth, will feature strategies from some of America’s leading legal minds to help businesses and families navigate the often cumbersome nature of the today’s legal system.  Some of the topics covered include how to keep your house from foreclosure, offering compromise with the IRS, veteran’s benefits, alcohol related cases, injury settlements, health insurance, asset protection for the middle class, and much more. The book is tentatively scheduled to be available in the summer of 2012.

To learn more about Evan Farr, creator of the Living Trust Plus™ Asset Protection Trust, and to learn how you can legally and ethically protect you or your client’s assets from nursing home expenses, visit the Living Trust Plus™ Web site at http://www.LivingTrustPlus.com or the Farr Law Firm’s website at http://www.FarrLawFirm.com, or call Toll-Free 1-800-399-FARR.

About Celebrity Press™:

Celebrity Press™ is a leading business, health and wellness book publisher that publishes books from thought leaders around the world. Celebrity Press™ has published books alongside Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Dan Kennedy, Dr. Ivan Misner, Robert Allen and many of the biggest experts across diverse fields. CelebrityPress™ has helped launch over 500 best-selling authors to date.

If you’d like to learn more about Celebrity Press™ or to see if we’re a good fit for your book project, please visit http://www.celebritypresspublishing.com/contact-us

 

###

Contact:

Matt Collins

Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®

800-980-1626

Matt@CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

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Estates Attorney in Fairfax, Virginia Offers Tips for Paying Your Grandchild’s College Tuition

May 3rd, 2012

The increasing cost of college tuition has sent many people turning to their Northern Virginia-area estate planning attorneys to discover the most strategic, tax-friendly ways to meet their children or grandchildren’s future education needs.

It’s well known that Ivy League schools can cost over $50,000 a year, while state university programs can cost up to $25,000, with prices projected to climb.  Add to the mix the cost of graduate degrees and its very likely today’s college student will leave school with a six-figure mess on their hands.

Prior to the Tax Relief Act of 2010, there were two big tax breaks grandparents and parents could claim to help their loved ones offset college expenses.   They could (and still can) pay any amount of tuition directly to an accredited school for a grandchild’s education without a gift-tax requirement.  And, at the time of this writing (2012), an individual may gift up to $13,000 per year tax-free.

Additionally, grandparents may set up custodial accounts or fund a 529 college savings plan for their grandchildren.  Because of the larger tax exemption, many professionals are seeing a trend of grandparents earmarking education expenses for grandchildren who are toddlers or even unborn grandchildren.  Another option is setting up one large trust for multiple grandchildren and even future generations.

There is one downside to setting up a trust, however, as students must report irrevocable trusts on their financial aid forms.  Even if the trust doesn’t provide for income until after college graduation, it is counted.

That is why if you are a grandparent who doesn’t plan to pay the entire cost of college, you might consider contributing to a 529 plan instead.  An experienced estate planning attorney in Fairfax can help you weight your options regarding this matter.

If you would like to learn more about saving for college and how to best plan for your grandchildren’s educational future, let’s sit down and talk.  I would be happy to discuss your financial and estate planning needs.  Simply call our Fairfax office at 703-691-1888 and ask to speak with Jeannie.

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When a Nursing Home is the Best Choice for Everyone

April 27th, 2012

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, more and more families are struggling to live with a loved-one suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.  While memory loss can be a frightening experience for an aging parent or grandparent, its’ impact on the family can be equally frightening, particularly when there are young children in the home.

There are a host of reasons why people invite an aging parent or grandparent to move in with them and their family.  It might simply “feel” like the right thing to do; the home could be old and in need of serious repair, and perhaps they have fallen or have been injured as a result of the conditions of the premises.

It might be easy to dismiss occasional forgetfulness as normal – the elder may even laugh at, or make fun of their own inability to recall something.  However, when living with someone suffering from a progressive form of dementia, it does not take long to realize the differences between it, and mere forgetfulness.

The transition can be even more difficult when children are part of an active household.  When an aging relative has lived alone for many years, this can be especially pronounced.

Unfortunately, it can get to the point that it is not possible to care for one’s own children as well as an aging parent or grandparent at the same time. The needs of one are often diametrically opposed to the other.

Individuals placed in an environment catering to the specific needs of those with cognitive impairments such as dementia, quite often are truly better off.  Age-appropriate activities and companionship with people one’s own age is an important aspect not to be overlooked.  While it can be a painful reality to accept, quite often others are far better equipped to provide the care a patient with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

As our population ages, and people live far beyond the life expectancy of even 20 years ago, more and more families will be forced to acknowledge their limitations.  Choosing to place a family member in a nursing home is not an admission of failure, but an acceptance of the fact that prolonged life expectancy carries with it a need for more complex care than the vast majority of us can ever hope to provide.

 

Image Credits:

Image: graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Sleepless Nights? You Can Put the Pills Away

April 24th, 2012

Older people experiencing age-related sleep issues are likely to find more long-term relief through the use of regular exercise than they ever will by means of drug-related sleep aids.

There are a number of reasons why exercise, particularly if performed at the right time of day, is considered the most positive sleep aid for seniors. None, however, are more significant than the fact that exercise is a completely natural form of aid. But before discussing why exercise is such a great sleep aid, it is important to examine both the definition of insomnia and the reasons that people suffer from this affliction.

At its basic level, insomnia is defined as a difficulty to either fall or stay asleep, or to experience sleep that seems inadequate or fails to produce the refreshing feeling that sleep normally provides, despite the length of time spent sleeping.

Insomnia affects about 10% of adults

Insomnia is not considered a disease, rather it is a symptom that is thought to have numerous, quite different causes. Of the types of things that can lead to patterns of insomnia, physicians note that physical disorders, drinking large amounts of alcohol in the evening, emotional problems, and stress are at the forefront. Research has also shown that sometimes the failure to sleep soundly is simply due to a lack of fatigue.

It is important to note that difficulty falling asleep is common among all age groups, from the very young to the elderly. Data indicates that about 10% of adults have chronic, or regular bouts of insomnia.

Because exercise effects the body is so many positive ways, it is clearly the most natural option for helping address sleep related issues. Regular exercise will first of all help tire the body physically, ensuring a natural form of fatigue that the body will address with a need to get appropriate rest. The only negative research on physical exercise is that spending time late in the evening can often stimulate the heart and brain too much just prior to bedtime. Such exercise has been known to actually keep people awake.

Perhaps the greatest impact from physical exercise on sleep patterns is the mood-lifting effects it can have on one’s emotional state. Because stress and worry are often the key impediments to sleep, efforts to reduce such stress are critical to eliminate the symptoms that are at the root cause of insomnia. Activity is shown to improve a person’s self-confidence and sense of wellbeing, thereby helping improve a person’s overall mood and attitude about life. The natural endorphins that are produced when we exercise help us feel better emotionally and actually reduce feelings of sadness and depression. Therefore people who exercise regularly sleep better. Their positive emotional state helps them fall asleep more quickly, while their body fatigue level allows them to sleep more deeply and awake less often during the night.

Yet one other benefit of regular exercise is that it helps people stay on schedule.  When a workout plan or exercise regimen is a part of one’s daily life, it is easier to develop a sleep routine that includes regular bed time and waking hours. By following a regular sleep schedule and getting up at the same time each morning, even if it is a weekends, your body will respond by developing consistent sleep habits. Because total nighttime sleeping time tends to decrease with age, older people may sleep better if they go to bed later, get up earlier, or nap less during the day.

Older people experiencing age-related sleep issues should always consult a doctor before embarking on any new exercise plan.  For individuals who are limited because of physical reasons, yoga may be a viable alternative.  Yoga is known to reduce stress and can also provide many of the same benefits as a strenuous workout plan.

For More Reading:

5 Senior Exercise Safety Tips
Yoga for the Elderly – Seniors’ Way to Be Fit
Sleep and Aging: The Facts about Seniors and Sleep
Yoga for beginners including senior citizens

Image Credits:

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Will the Government Pay for My Long Term Care?

April 16th, 2012

A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says:

“people who reach age 65 will likely have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home.  About 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more. This year, about nine million men and women over the age of 65 will need eldercare. By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need eldercare.  Most will be cared for at home; with family and friends as the sole caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly”.Medicare.gov

A new population of seniors and those nearing the senior status are looking for some type of financial means to pay for long term care (eldercare) in case of failing health.  Many have taken care of family members who had no means to pay for their care or have seen their parents entire retirement savings wiped out because of medical and nursing home costs.

Does the government Medicare program pay for eldercare costs?

A statement on the Medicare.gov website clarifies what Medicare will pay for.

“Generally, Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care. Medicare pays only for medically necessary skilled nursing facility or home health care. However, you must meet certain conditions for Medicare to pay for these types of care. Most long-term care is to assist people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Medicare doesn’t pay for this type of care called “custodial care”. Custodial care (non-skilled care) is care that helps you with activities of daily living. It may also include care that most people do for themselves, for example, diabetes monitoring. Some Medicare Advantage Plans (formerly Medicare + Choice) may offer limited skilled nursing facility and home care (skilled care) coverage if the care is medically necessary.”

How does Medicaid cover long term care costs?

Fortunately, there is a government program that will help pay for long term care costs – Medicaid.  Unfortunately, this program is unfairly discriminatory and will only pay for care for individuals who have less than $1,500 to $2,000 in assets (and in about 22 states, the program will only cover individuals who fall below a certain income threshold).  All other individuals wanting help from Medicaid must impoverish themselves paying for their own eldercare services first, before Medicaid will help them.

Planning for the final years of life and dovetailing government programs, care provider systems and funding sources can be invaluable yet complicated.  This area of planning can be one of the most challenging endeavors undertaken by anyone attempting to help seniors in this final phase of life.

The National Care Planning Council has introduced a new long term care planning tool called “Care Resource Planning“.  It is impossible to predict what your future eldercare needs will be.  You cannot determine in advance if you will need home care, assisted living or even nursing home care, but you can have a plan in place that will provide the financial, legal and family support as well as protecting your assets, no matter what happens.

The goal of Care Resource Planning is to provide strategies and solutions pertaining to any or all of the items outlined below that may be unique to the client’s situation.

1.  Understand and Use Eldercare Support Systems

  • Objective 1 — Understand the Nature of Eldercare
  • Objective 2 — Understand Living Arrangements for Eldercare
  • Objective 3 — Understand How to Use the Life Resource Planning Team

2.  Identify Sources of Final Years Funding and Services

  • Objective 4 — Identify Programs to Increase Income
  • Objective 5 — Identify Government Programs to Pay Costs
  • Objective 6 — Understand and Use Community Aging Support Services

3.  Protect the Estate from Depletion

  • Objective 7 — Understand Strategies to Protect Assets
  • Objective 8 — Review and Update Legal Arrangements and Insurance
  • Objective 9 — Identify Tax Saving Strategies

With the help of a trained professionals who understand all of the issues pertaining to eldercare, a plan can be prepared to protect assets, locate appropriate funding and provide the necessary support to ease the burden for the final years of life.

For more information on Care Resource Planning for yourself or loved one please visitwww.longtermcarelink.net/care_resource_plan.htm

Many professionals use our Care Resource Planning System to help their senior clients create a plan for their long term care. If you advise seniors and would like to include Care Resource Planning (a fee based planning system) as part of your services, click here to learn more.

Image: Damian Brandon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Top National Lawyer Evan Farr Named as One of America’s PremierExperts®

March 22nd, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 21, 2012 -
Washington, DC. – Attorney, Author and Speaker, Evan Farr, has recently been acknowledged by America’s PremierExperts® as one of the leading experts in his field. America’s PremierExperts® recognizes leading experts, across a wide array of industries, who are willing to provide information and education to consumers as a public service.

Evan is the Principal Attorney of the Farr Law Firm, an Elder Law firm dedicated to helping protect seniors and their families by preserving dignity, quality of life, and financial security. Evan is also the Creator of Living Trust Plus™ Asset Protection Trust, specialized software and practice-enhancement systems used by dozens of attorneys across the nation.Evan has been named by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top 5% of attorneys in VA since 2007, and by Washington, DC Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top 5% of attorneys in DC since 2008.  In 2011, Evan was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the top attorneys in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, and was named in Newsweek Magazine as one of the top attorneys in the country.

A nationally-renowned author and Continuing Legal Education speaker, Evan Farr has educated tens of thousands of attorneys across the country through speaking and writing for numerous national legal organizations, including ALI-ABA, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the National Business Institute, and the National Constitution Center, as well as his own Elder Law Institute for Training and Education (ELITE).

America’s PremierExperts® LLC is an organization that honors an exclusive group of celebrity experts who are dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness in their field of expertise and making significant contributions to their industry and the marketplace as a whole.  America’s PremierExperts®, was launched by Nick Nanton, Esq., The Celebrity Lawyer and J.W. Dicks, Esq., the world’s leading expert on business growth through personal branding, authors of the best-selling books, “Celebrity Branding You®, “Big Ideas For Your Business” and “Shift Happens.”

To contact Evan Farr, please call (703) 691-1888.

For more information about America’s PremierExperts® please visit http://www.AmericasPremierExperts.com.

About Evan Farr:

Evan is a well-known public media figure, having been quoted or cited as an elder law expert by the Washington Post, Newsweek Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Trusts & Estates Magazine, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Bar Association, and has appeared on television on PBS, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN.

 

See the original press release here.

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Are Your Critical Documents Safe?

March 16th, 2012

In case of a fire or an immediate evacuation order, could you quickly find all of your important documents? If you’re like most people, your birth certificate, marriage license, insurance papers, mortgage and retirement fund information are in several different places.

Not only could this cause problems for you in an emergency, if they are needed by your family at a difficult time, their search could be difficult and frustrating. According to New York Life Insurance, the best way to store critical documents is to keep them in a fireproof cabinet or safe.

At the Farr Law Firm, we store our clients’ estate planning documents online, accessible via our secure website.  We also give clients the option of using a service called Docubank, a company we’ve worked with for several years and whose important service is summed up by their motto: “Immediate Access to Healthcare Directives & Emergency Medical Information — Anywhere, Anytime, 24/7/365.”

For the documents you may keep at home, here are some tips to keep them safe:

Divide them into categories and mark each one clearly in case your family has to locate them on your behalf. Include:

* Key contacts: phone numbers and addresses for family, banks, life, home, auto and health insurance providers.

* Identification documents: birth certificate, adoption papers, a copy of your driver’s license, Social Security card, marriage licenses or civil union certificates.

* Emergency information: whatever would be needed if you became seriously ill or injured, such as living wills, care proxies, beneficiary forms, IRAs, 401(k)s, last will and testament, trust documents, burial instructions, cemetery plot and deeds or prepaid cremation documents, military discharge papers, funeral home preferences and information for obituaries.

* Insurance policies: life insurance policies and documents, health and accident ID cards and claim records, mortgage insurance policies, annuity statements and documents, beneficiary forms and long-term care policies.

* Financial paperwork: your checks, bank statements, mortgages, auto and other loan information, credit card statements, appraisals of valuable items, rental or lease agreements, investments, real estate deeds or titles of ownership, and last year’s tax returns.

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“What if I can’t qualify for long-term care insurance?”

March 8th, 2012

The Living Trust Plus™ is a revolutionary asset protection trust, designed to help the middle class protect assets from the devastating expenses of long-term care.   If you’ve attended one of my seminars you are already familiar with it.

To brush up your knowledge on what we refer to as “Medicaid Asset Protection,”  please visit my Firm’s section dedicated to explaining Medicaid asset protection trusts and other related services you may want or need.

If you are an attorney and are interested in learning more about the Living Trust Plus™ so you can offer it to your clients, or if you want even more detailed information in general, visit the national attorney page, LivingTrustPlus.com.

If you do not live in Virginia and can’t pay us a visit at The Farr Law Firm, you may also be interested in visiting the Living Trust Plus National Network website, so you can locate and contact the licensed attorney in your state.

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Sneak Peek: “Inside an Evan Farr Seminar”

March 5th, 2012

Virginia Elder Law Seminar Video PreviewHave you thought about attending one of The Farr Law Firm’s Living Trust Plus Seminars in the past, but haven’t had a free weekend?

Know a neighbor or loved one who might benefit from attending?  Below you will find two clips giving you an exclusive sneak-preview of just a couple of the topics Evan will be discussing this Saturday, March 10th. RSVP Here.

What is Your Worst Fear?

Does a Will Avoid Probate?

Don’t Forget to RSVP Here Before We’re Full!

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Critter Corner: Gidget Chirps In

February 22nd, 2012

Dear Gidget:  I just read a story in the latest National Geographic about how certain fats in the blood of a python help its organs to double in size after eating a big meal to facilitate digestion. Apparently, it’s a healthy thing to have all that fat after all! So does this mean that I can now eat all the cheeseburgers I want?

Gidget’s Answer:  Not necessarily! Since parakeets can sometimes become dinner for pythons, I try to stay away, but this story grabbed my attention as well. Apparently, pythons have an extremely high level of fatty acids in their blood that assist with the massive increase of organ size immediately after a meal to help with digestion. What is most unusual to scientists is that despite the high levels of fat in the blood, the pythons are extremely healthy with no signs of heart disease, whereas humans with the same condition face serious cardiovascular problems. More research is being conducted to determine if the specific combination of lipids is providing healthy heart protection, something that could be very useful to you humans.  Read the full article on National Geographic’s website.

On the topic of fat for humans, much of mainstream medicine these days tells you humans that it’s the “types” of fat you eat that really matter. So-called “bad fats” supposedly increase your cholesterol and your risk of certain diseases, while so-called “good fats” have the opposite effect, protecting your heart and supporting overall health.  Click here for an article on “good fat v. bad fat.” On the other hand, there’s actually no real scientific proof that the so-called “bad fats” clog arteries and cause heart disease in you humans. Click here for a detailed article examining this lack of proof.

So, my bird-brain conclusion (not based on scientific research) is that you humans should eat all the cheeseburgers you want, as that helps keep you away from eating poultry.  After all, being a bird, some of my best friends are poultry.

Gidget is our token member of the aviary community and the beloved feathered friend of our Assistant Director of Client Services Grace Everitt. The lovely Gidget is an extremely vocal parakeet in shocking tones of turquoise, black and white. He enjoys watching “Friends” on television and has learned to mimic the sounds of the laugh track. His favorite thing in the world is the small mirror in his cage, where he spends hours looking at and talking to himself (or the other bird he is so confident is there.) Gidget along with Chancellor, Tiger Lilly and Sporty Sport is a regular contributor to our “Critter Corner!”

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