Rachel Trafton attended and participated in Housing Solutions for Maine’s New Age, a conference and planning charrette that was hosted by the Maine Council on Aging in Belfast, Maine on May 30, 2018. For anyone interest in housing options that could help older Mainers age in place and in their communities, be sure to check out…
Read more...Brought to you by Rudman Winchell from the Special Needs Council: By Daniel M. Surprenant, CELA Special needs trusts (SNTs) are financial instruments designed to enhance quality of life for individuals with disabilities by supplementing the government benefits available to them. Assets held in SNTs aren’t counted when determining an individual’s eligibility for means-tested public…
Read more...World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is observed each year on June 15th to raise public awareness of elder abuse. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011, following a request by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA). Elder abuse is any act…
Read more...Families face a number of challenges when a loved one dies. The last thing a grieving family member needs is to be bombarded with calls from creditors trying to collect the debts of the deceased relative. It happens, nonetheless. Fortunately, the obligation of repayment generally does not extend to the deceased debtor’s family members. Instead,…
Read more...On December 22, 2017, the President signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The changes to the Internal Revenue Code impact virtually every individual and business and are generally effective in 2018. Estate and Gift Tax The federal gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax credits will shelter gifts and estates up to $11.2 million…
Read more...One of the many federal tax changes in 2018 is that the annual gift tax exclusion amount has increased from $14,000 to $15,000. This change is actually due to inflation rather than the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 signed into law this past December. What does the exclusion amount really mean? The exclusion…
Read more...