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Are You Overpaying For Prescription Drugs? - June 2019 NewsletterAre You Overpaying For Prescription Drugs? by Philip J. Kavesh, Attorney Whether you (or your parents) are a senior citizen, and even if you (or your parents) already have insurance coverage for prescription drugs, you’ll want to read on. Mom’s Story - I’ll begin with a short but poignant story. Recently, I took over all my Mom’s affairs. At age 93, she is blessed with remarkably good health, but now her dementia has advanced to the stage where she is unable to manage her own affairs. Like it or not, statistics predict that...
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Would You Like to Pay MORE Income Taxes? - May 2019 NewsletterWould You Like to Pay MORE Income Taxes? by Philip J. Kavesh, Attorney You’re probably thinking, “Of course not!” However, sadly, you may in fact be paying more than you have to - - especially now that the President’s “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” has caused many Californians’ federal income taxes to go up in 2018. (If you haven’t filed your 2018 return yet, I’m sorry to inform you that you may be rudely awakened when you do!) My point is this. We may be able to help you navigate the new tax laws and significantly cut your income taxes, if any of these apply to you...
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The Government Is Trying To Get Their Hands Into Your Pocket, Again! - April 2019 NewsletterThe Government Is Trying To Get Their Hands Into Your Pocket, Again! By Philip Kavesh, Attorney For some time now, most Californians have enjoyed freedom from estate, gift and inheritance taxes. Back in 1982, Californian voters approved Proposition 6, which amended the state constitution to prohibit such gift and "death" taxes. Recently, the federal government increased the exemption (the amount that can pass gift and estate tax free) to over $11 million for a single person and over $22 million for a married couple. So most people no longer had any worries about estate taxes.
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March "Madness" - March 2019 NewsletterMarch "Madness" By Philip Kavesh, Attorney Another in a series of articles reminiscing about growing up in small town America in the 60's. When you hear the words "March Madness" you probably think of the big, annual NCAA basketball tournament (and all the crazy betting pools you may "donate" to). But that's not what I have in mind here, although basketball is somewhat involved.
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"What's in Your DNA?" - February 2019 Newsletter"What's in Your DNA?" By Philip Kavesh, Attorney When we look close enough, it's amazing how much is passed down from generation to generation at the smallest physiological level - - in our DNA.
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"Thank You, January!" - January 2019 NewsletterThis is one in a series of articles reminiscing about growing up in small town America in the 50's and 60's... I hated January! I was a skinny kid, without much natural insulation, so the grey, cold days of January back East were about my least liked ones of the entire year. January was downright dreary, a letdown after the festive holidays of December were gone, the cheerful lights adorning the neighborhood houses came down and a nice, long vacation ended with the inevitable trudge back to school.
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"My Phone Is Driving Me Crazy!" - December 2018 NewsletterNo doubt, the invention of the mobile (or "cell") phone and its new offspring, the computer-in-your-hand (or "smart" phone), are ingenious technological advances that improve our lives in many ways. But they can also drive us crazy, or at least that's what my smart phone has done to me!
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Parents: Help Your Children Now To Make an Important Decision Affecting Your Future - November 2018 NewsletterMany readers responded to my last article, "They Tried to Steal Mom's Money," (click here to read) where I described in detail how my Mom's long-term nursing care insurance carrier attempted to wrongfully deny coverage upon her admission to an assisted living facility. One compelling follow up question I received was, "How did you go about choosing the care facility that was the best fit for your Mom?"
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They Tried to Steal Mom's Money! - October 2018 NewsletterLet me just take a deep breath for a moment and calm myself down. Maybe "steal" is too strong a word. So how about instead I call this article, "They Tried to Cheat Mom Out of Her Money"? You be the judge.
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Refinancing a Real Estate Mortgage? Watch Out! - September 2018 NewsletterTwo of the main reasons you set up your Living Trust (or probably should) are to avoid a court procedure called Conservatorship when you're incapacitated and another called Probate when you pass away. Both threaten unwanted interference into your and your loved ones' personal matters, as well as lots of red tape, delays, expenses and the exposure of your private business to unscrupulous third parties.
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If You Haven't Received Your New Medicare Card Yet, You Better Read This... - August 2018 NewsletterIn previous articles, I addressed how seniors are needlessly exposed to financial scams because their Social Security number is on their Medicare Card and how the Social Security Administration is working to avoid this by issuing new cards containing random identification numbers. I thought the problem was about taken care of, but now the saga continues... with yet a new debacle I call "Medicare Card Limbo"! (To see the previous articles, click the following links 1st Medicare Card article and 2nd Medicare Card article)
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The Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors - July 2018 NewsletterThe U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has issued a new report, Fighting Fraud: Senate Aging Committee Identifies Top 10 Scams Targeting our Nation's Seniors. The report is based on the complaints received by the committee's national fraud hotline, 855-303-9470.