Author Archive

Celebrating Mission’s 25th Anniversary, Carmen Bermúdez talks to Bill Nordbrock, contributor to the Arizona Daily Star about setting high expectations and having the courage and tenacity to achieve her dreams. In this first of Bill's two articles about his conversation with Carmen, they discuss how she attributes Mission’s success to her commitment, an outstanding team, [...]

We unfortunately keep seeing examples of public figures not getting an estate plan in place.  Aretha Franklin is the most recent example, even though family circumstances, such as a special needs son and accumulated assets, suggested it was critical to complete the planning.  Now all her business will be public and her family will have [...]

Being responsible for someone else’s affairs under powers of attorney is a lot of work.  If you are being asked to serve as agent under power of attorney, ask yourself these three questions:   Are you able to drop everything, perhaps for weeks or months, and make crisis medical decisions? Do you have the emotional [...]

Parents with a child with special needs have additional considerations in their estate planning.  Who steps in to care for the adult daughter or son with special needs when the parents are gone?  This article highlights important factors in that decision.  Mission can be part of the solution by serving as the corporate trustee for [...]

True Story:  Neighbors found a man in his 70’s who has dementia wandering the neighborhood with his shotgun.  The family and neighbors were fortunate that nothing had happened, but it is a clear call to action.  Will you wait until it is too late to take action to keep your family members and friends safe? [...]

Last year, E*Connect featured a story that went viral at the NextAvenue.org site:  “Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents Stuff.”  The writer returns with suggestions for Boomers about how they can deal with their stuff using a legacy-based approach.  Some of us at Mission are working on this, too! NextAvenue.org

Congress enacted the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act in 2014 to allow people with disabilities to save for disability related expenses while maintaining eligibility for Supplemental Social Security.  Here is a summary on who can set up these accounts. ElderLawAnswers.com

Individuals with disabilities and their families may establish tax-advantaged savings accounts, similar in concept to IRAs, that can be used for living costs associated with the disability.  Here is some information about the ABLE account. ElderLawAnswers.com

Hospice services are widely recognized by patients and families alike to be beneficial.  Unfortunately, individuals who could benefit from the services wait unnecessarily long to seek hospice support.  New efforts by Medicare may help shift this experience by allowing patients to have hospice support while seeking curative treatment. NextAvenue.org

The American population is aging and, each one of us interacts daily with more individuals who are elderly.  In that interaction, you can have a positive or negative impact depending on how you speak with the elderly.  Learn how you can make a positive impact. ChicagoTribune.com