Being a resident in a long-term care facility does not mean giving up your legal rights. In fact, anyone who lives in a nursing facility gains certain rights. You can see a summary of those rights here, and read the…
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Headlines are made when wealthy people leave outsize fortunes to their pets. One notable example is Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate who passed away in 2007. Cutting out her family, Helmsley left her entire $12 million fortune to her pet…
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In Florida, the average annual cost of a private room at a long-term nursing facility now hovers upwards of $90,000 annually, with a semi-private room around $83,000. With the oldest Baby Boomers turning 70 and the escalating incidence of chronic…
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What hospital to go to? You will get more help with your decision now. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has just released its new rankings for 3,617 hospitals nationwide. Originally scheduled for earlier this year, the release…
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It is important to have a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA). This key legal document allows you to name someone other than yourself to handle your financial affairs. If you become incapacitated, having a DPOA can make the difference between…
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People who ask The Karp Law Firm to handle the Florida probate of a loved one’s estate often have an inkling of what’s ahead: just about everyone has heard horror stories about the probate courts, particularly the courts in Florida….
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Life insurance can play a useful role in many people’s estate plans. It can provide replacement dollars for pension and Social Security income for a surviving spouse, or provide a guaranteed inheritance amount to beneficiaries, such as a spouse or…
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Setting up an estate plan requires making some of life’s most serious decisions. Little wonder so many people procrastinate over doing it. But as you can imagine, it’s the biggest procrastinators who feel the greatest relief when they finally get…
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If you’re remarrying later in life, you may gain more than a new spouse. You may also gain a new, bigger family: your spouse’s children. You may have your own grown children, too. Hopefully, everyone will get along beautifully. But…
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Florida welcomes about 55,000 permanent transplants from New York State each year (Bloomberg 2/6/15). Besides avoiding the winter (certainly understandable given the unrelenting cold of 2015), many are seeking relief from New York income tax, and ultimately, New York estate…
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