Be sure to attend the free monthly, fun-filled and informative sessions at the beautiful Sunrise of Bloomfield Senior Living community located at 2080 S. Telegraph Road (north of Square Lake Road) in Bloomfield, Michigan.  Their telephone number is 248-972-0800.

For a view of this senior living community, please click here.

Click here to see an example of a workshop presented by Mabel Flowers.

The New York State Insurance Department has alerted the public of fraud related to Medicare Part D rebates.  Seniors are being contacted and asked for personal information -- such as social security and bank account numbers -- and have been told that they can get their rebates faster by paying an upfront fee.

In addition, scammers are using trusted sources such as senior centers and places of worship to tell seniors that they can get tax refunds from their Social Security even though the senior may not have had taxes taken from their monthly stipend.  Again, they ask for an upfront fee.  If seniors do receive a check, they should not cash it as the scammers used erroneous information on the returns.  They will be responsible for repaying the tax as well as any interest and fees connected to that check.  They are also out of the $200 - $300 upfront fee they paid to the scammer.

Seniors who believe they've been wrongly contacted should contact their insurance department  or their local Office of Aging for information.

Seniors who are looking to leave assets to their heirs might want to consider this financial tool.  It avoids probate and the funds are passed on free of income taxes.  The funds can also be used for long-term care; home health care; and for final expenses; and are guaranteed for safety.  For more information on how to pass on income-tax free wealth to your heirs, click here.

Seniors who plan to leave part of their estate to heirs may do so with a Family Estate Trust.  If this trust is set up at least five years prior to a need to go on Medicaid, the assets will be protected from Medicaid spend down.  The assets will then be passed on to heirs as planned.  Procrastination can undermine your plans.   Mildred's story could get you to begin planning early.

One of my clients was the beneficiary of her uncle's estate.  Her uncle lived in a different state and had appointed a family friend as the executor.  While he was meticulus at record keeping with documents placed in several safes in the home and a security box at the bank, he did not provide the keys to the beneficiary.  That left some room for fraud as the executor kept the contents of the safe secret until many months later.  Personal belongings were also removed from the home.  Challenging the executors actions would have been more costly to the estate in which and the attorneys could have reaped the bulk of the value.

Here is what you should do to make sure your assets are passed to your beneficiaries without question and additional costs:  Gather bank records (and the key to the safe deposit box); passwords to online accounts; Social Security number; retirement plans and other investments; insurance policies; wills, trusts, health care proxy and power of attorney; loans; deeds; buy-sell agreements with a business partner; employee benefits; records of any money you're owed; personal papers such as a marriage certificate; recent tax returns; bankruptcy records, and the names and contacts of your advisors and insurance agent.  Make sure the primary beneficiary gets access to these records as well as the executor.  In that way, the executor will not be able to manipulate records or remove assets from the estate before they are distributed.

Check on the Individual Health Insurance Page for more information on insurance products that may protect your assets and peace of mind.  Having a Hospital Indemnity plan or a Critical Illness policy can be a welcome relief if you are without  Long-Term Care coverage.  Also, some of the life insurance products  can protect your assets if you need long-term care.  Contact us for more information.