San Diego Elder Law Center E-News
Serving the legal needs of San Diego's elder and disabled communities, their families and caregivers
June 2009 - Vol 5, ISSUE 6
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| Greetings! |
Thank
you for subscribing to our e-newsletter! We hope you find the contents
relevant,interesting and informative. Please give us your feedback on
these articles, and ideas for future articles that would interest you.
You can reach us for comments and other info at www.sandiegoelderlaw.com |
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The FAST TEAM - Interview With The Founder, Gayle Powers
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"A
few months ago we launched our interview series in effort to bring
valuable information about community members to our readers. In
this month's newsletter, our feature interview is with Gayle
Powers, founder and member of FAST which makes an extraordinary effort
to protect our community's seniors. Ms. Powers is interviewed by Jessi
LaCosta."
Q: What programs/services does the FAST team offer to our elder community and how you do play a role in this?
A: FAST
(financial abuse specialist team) provides training and networking
opportunities to various agencies and professionals that provide direct
services to our seniors in San Diego County. What makes FAST so
effective is the partnership between the private and public sectors,
pooling their expertise and coming together for one common goal: to
prevent and protect vulnerable seniors from being taken advantage of
whether it is from family members, friends, professionals, caregivers
or the "system" in of itself. The group consists of elder law
attorneys, financial planners and investors, adult protective services,
licensed professional fiduciaries, the Public Guardian's office,
representative from the Probate Court, mental health specialists and
law enforcement including Paul Greenwood of the District Attorney's
Office. Also invaluable to FAST is representation from real
estate and financial institutions, long term care and Aging &
Independent Services.
Q: What do you see as one of the largest obstacles our elders or caregivers face this year?
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| Estate Taxes: What's a Taxpayer to Do? |
After almost a decade of changes in the federal estate tax code, and
many states changing their tax structure in response to the federal
changes, clarity appears to be on the horizon. Congress's recently
passed budget resolution would make the current estate tax rules
permanent, taxing only estates over $3.5 million in value with the tax
rate set at 45 percent. Although no actual legislation has yet been
voted on, the nonbinding budget resolution sets guidelines for Congress
to follow when writing tax and spending legislation later this year.
In light of this and other changes, taxpayers need to review their
estate plans with the following issues in mind:
1. Simplify if possible. The increase in the tax threshold from
$600,000 at the beginning of the decade to $3.5 million today, coupled
with the drop in most taxpayers' net worth over the past year, means
that many people who had taxable estates no longer do.
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Lending a Helping Hand
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When
approached with a dilemma faced by a civic-minded, good hearted citizen
of San Diego, Attorney Philip Lindsley quickly stepped up to lend a
hand.
Many local folks know Doris Pierson as "The Cookie
Lady". She has baked and delivered cookies to San Diego's
police and fire departments, community volunteer events, and even the
annual Comic-Con event. After the death of her husband several
years ago, although times have been tough, she never lost focus of
always giving to others.
Now, Doris Pierson has become the unwitting victim of a scam which has left her literally penniless.
A
few weeks ago, Doris received a letter purporting to be from Reader's
Digest and Pepsi claiming that she had won $1 million dollars. Along
with it was a check for $5,400. Thinking it was too good to be
true, she made several calls to the number provided. Each time
they confirmed that it was indeed correct, she was a winner. She
was being asked to wire back $3,700 to cover fees and taxes in order to
progress with the rest of the prize.
Doris went to Wells Fargo Bank
to cash the check and take care of wiring the taxes. Wells Fargo
had no reservations about cashing the check. She thought that this
certainly was her lucky day.
When Doris later received a
notice from the bank that the check was phony, her bank account was
cleared of all its funds, even that of her Social Security check.
Doris has no other assets, and didn't know how she'd pay her mortgage
or bills.
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Requiring Adult Children to Pay for Aging Parents
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..Did
you know you could be responsible for your parents' unpaid bills?
Thirty states currently have laws making adult children responsible for
their parents if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.
While these laws are rarely enforced, there has been speculation that
states may begin dusting them off as a way to save on Medicaid/Medi-Cal
expenses.
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This
publication is intended for general information purposes only. It is
not intended to constitute individual legal advice to any specific
client.
San Diego Elder Law Center: Our knowledge, your peace of mind . . .
Philip P. Lindsley, Certified Elder Law Attorney
San Diego Elder Law Center
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