Author Archives: Jay Butchko
An Elder Law Nightmare: Stepparents Denying Stepchildren The Right To Visit Their Elderly Parents
Generation X eased into middle age by watching what was then called “peak television,” thought-provoking dramas such as The Sopranos and Breaking Bad, crafted for the small screen with as much care and attention to details of narrative and aesthetics as any of the classics of Hollywood cinema. When Baby Boomers started to figure… Read More »
Keeping Your Money In Your 401(k) After You Retire Is An Underrated Strategy
Not knowing how to maximize your retirement savings after you retire is a good problem to have. If your biggest worry is how to grow your employer-provided retirement savings, your financial situation is what most people can only dream of. Complaining that the balance in your 401(k) is only the amount you deposited into… Read More »
Millions Of Seniors Risk Losing Reliable Internet Access As Federal Program Ends
The stereotype that people who are no longer new to adulthood have no idea what they are doing with the Internet no longer holds true. The oldest digital natives are adults who use the Internet to pay bills, respond to emails from work, and read news that influences their votes, which they are now… Read More »
You Can Ditch Your Empty Nest But Still Age In Place
When your youngest child grows up and moves out of the house you bought for the purpose of raising your kids, your McMansion no longer feels like home. It only satisfies your need for a feeling of togetherness as much as an empty Happy Meal box satisfies your hunger. Stay-at-home parents tend to dread… Read More »
Working Until You Are 70 Is Not As Safe A Retirement Strategy As You Think
Although you might not know this from most of the advertising content you see out there, wishful thinking is not a sound retirement strategy. Therefore, if you are basing your plans for retirement on the money you have instead of the money you wish you had, you are off to a good start. Assume… Read More »
Bartleby The Scrivener’s Estate Plan
You know that you are old if you know that Moby Dick is a real book, no spring chicken if you know that the author’s name was Herman Melville, and ancient if you have actually read it. In a world where people place less of a premium on things of extraordinary size, such as… Read More »
How Do Taxes Work With A Revocable Trust?
A revocable trust seems like an ideal way to have your cake and eat it too. The money in the trust doesn’t become part of your estate when you die, but while you are alive, you still get to have control over it. Not only can you be the trustee or beneficiary of your… Read More »
In Search Of An Affordable Retirement Destination In Florida
Retiring to Florida is almost a cliché; Florida has been a place where people go to visit their grandparents since you first entered the workforce. Its appeal is obvious; in Florida, you can find year-round sunny weather, wide open spaces, and affordably priced houses. Unfortunately, the last two of those categories are not as… Read More »
Public Official Accused Of Financial Abuse Of Nonagenarian
For many reasons, aging in place is less glamorous than it sounds. When estate planning lawyers show you diagrams of where you will have to install the railings so that you can lift yourself off of the toilet, it is enough to make anyone invest in long-term care insurance so that they can move… Read More »
If You’re Not Ready For A Will, Make A Financial First Aid Kit
The saying goes that if you don’t have enough money to be generous to your family and friends by leaving them an inheritance, show them that you care about them by writing a will, so that they don’t have to fight with each other or guess about your intentions during probate. In other words,… Read More »