Category: Articles

  • How To Choose an Assisted Living Facility or Nursing Home

    Finding the right place for Mom or Dad is both an art and a science. You have to do your research and trust your gut. Assisted living facilities are widely available to help take care of older adults who need help with bathing, dressing or other daily activities. When that is no longer enough, a…

  • Think Ahead About Future Health Costs

    Thanks to ongoing advances in medical care, people are living longer than ever before. But that longevity comes with a cost. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, roughly 70 percent of Americans over age 65 will require some type of long-term care services in their lives — costing potentially hundreds of…

  • Can Sugar Substitutes Harm Your Teeth?

    If you’re watching your sugar intake, but need to satisfy a sweet tooth, using a sugar substitute can be less harmful to your teeth and body. Here’s a breakdown of substitutes and how they can affect your oral and overall health.

  • Trust Basics

    A trust is created when a person transfers “stuff” to a trustee with the understanding that the trustee will manage it for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. “Stuff” includes any kind of property you can own: real property, such as land and buildings (including timeshares) and personal property, such as bank accounts, stocks…

  • Does Dad Need More Help?

    How do family members prepare for the day their senior needs more help — the kind of help that requires loved ones to re-prioritize their lives? If only there were a date set aside for this change in everyone’s life. Planning on change at this level has never been easy because a plan may not…

  • The Benefits of Medicare Advantage

    A recent study concluded that beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans spend almost $2,000 less per year on their healthcare costs when compared to those with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and a stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug plan (Part D).

  • Grief & Bereavement — Part I

    Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone special. The process of grieving allows the griever to adapt to a new world of existence without the loved one. If allowed to proceed through the grieving process with minimal guilt, anxiety, stress, unresolved issues and conflict, we can help each griever experience their grief…

  • Choosing a Dignified Death

    A Provider Order regarding Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) says what measures should be used to keep you alive in a medical emergency. It is different from an Advance Directive in that it will be followed by emergency personnel, provided that they are aware of its existence. If you don’t have a POLST, emergency medical technicians…

  • How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect You?

    The Federal Reserve (the Fed) has begun what it says will be a series of interest rate increases in an effort to slow the economy and temper the current surge in the inflation rate. At the start of 2022, the federal funds rate stood at near zero percent. By May, the Fed moved the federal…

  • Newborns & Social Security Numbers

    Getting a newborn a Social Security (SS) number is important for his or her future. Feel free to share this time-saving information with prospective parents. If the child is born in a hospital, the easiest way to apply for a SS number is right at the hospital.