Author: Tara Frame

The Three Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Many people make the biggest estate planning mistake by not, first, sitting down to make a will or estate plan. Others rely on templates or on-line wills to guide these important decisions that affect you and your family.  As Forbes Magazine notes, even celebrities such as Prince, Whitney Houston and Steve McNair did not update… Continued

The Best Apps to Make the Lives of Seniors Easier

We don’t commonly associate seniors with technology but there are many great ways to use technology to make seniors lives easier.  Although learning how to use certain types of technology and electronic devices can be challenging, there are many useful apps that can help.  In this article, we explore some of the best apps for… Continued

How Elder Law Can Help You

Are you just now beginning to wonder how you will pay for long-term health care for a spouse whose health is declining? Is your estate in order or do you need to update your will or create a living trust? Is your elderly parent unable to make sound financial decisions, let alone care for themselves… Continued

Elder Financial Abuse and Fraud

Elder abuse comes in many shapes and forms, including physical and emotional abuse. The most common source of abuse comes from the older person’s own family members. This is also true of financial abuse. Family members, friends, hired help, and others are all typical perpetrators of elder financial abuse, which consists of fraud and theft.… Continued

Planning as an Elder Orphan

When we age, we depend more on children, spouses, other family members, friends, and others in our communities to help us with various projects, chores, and problems. For older people that do not have a large network of family members and others who they can turn to, simple outings such as visiting a doctor, picking… Continued

Senior Safe Act Helps Prevent Elder Abuse

Financial elder abuse has been a growing problem in the last decade. A recent study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that one in 18 “cognitively intact” elderly people were the victims of financial abuse in the last year alone. Elderly people with a cognitive impairment are even more likely to be… Continued

Elder Romance and Marriage

Romance is often associated with the young. Somehow, our society generally believes that the elderly have outgrown the emotions that come with dating. Yet, older adults find just as much enjoyment as teenagers do from the excitement, compassion, and love that companionship provides. In today’s world, finding love again at an older age is more… Continued

Signs That Your Parent May Need a Guardianship

As your parents get older, you may realize that they are more forgetful.  This can manifest itself in subtle ways at first, such as forgetting to close the garage door, repeating stories, or not knowing what day of the week it is.  These memory lapses may intensify over the years, and what begins as “senior… Continued

Do You Need an Adult Guardianship?

Guardianship is a legal instrument used to keep “incapacitated” or “incompetent” individuals from putting themselves in harm’s way. Typically, guardianship is applied when a person’s cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer’s makes them incapable of caring for themselves. While an elderly person who forgets names easily, or even what year it is, may not need a… Continued

The Difference Between Custody and Guardianship

The Maryland Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act defines several types of guardianship for both adults and minors. While guardianship and custody are similar, and even mistakenly used interchangeably when discussing child custody and visitation, there is a big difference between the two. In the realm of estate planning, the differences are subtle, yet… Continued