According to PEW research, over 90% of Americans do not have long-term care insurance. And yet, the Department of Health and Human Services says that more than half of adults 65 or older will need long-term care at some point. This means there’s a good chance that you or your aging parents are going to need long-term care.

In this episode, my guest, Cameron Huddleston, interviewed me about how to plan for long-term care, whether long-term care insurance is actually a good idea for you, and some things that you need to be thinking about in the planning.

Did you know that financial mistakes are one of the biggest signs or symptoms of Alzheimer's and related dementias even up to six years prior to a diagnosis? And according to the journal of health economics, during early-stage Alzheimer's people are up to 27% more likely than cognitively healthy people to experience a large decline in their liquid assets, such as savings and checking accounts, stocks, and bonds.

The fact, that Alzheimer's and related dementia people are likely to experience financial loss at a very early stage is one of the biggest reasons why we have to help our family members when it comes to finances, and family members and elderly loved ones need to be, or hopefully will be, willing to allow us to be helpful.

In this episode, my guest Cameron Huddleston discusses all of the different ways that gift cards and financial scams can come to impact our elderly loved ones and the ways that we can help.

Visit smartplanning101.com/39 for more information

Have you ever had to make the decision to let someone else die? Or even a decision for someone else to have a procedure that could lead to their death. Or, did your family have conflict around either one of these topics?

While we're healthy, it's really easy to ignore these issues. It is much harder to talk about them and even more difficult when someone gets ill.

But as my guest today will tell you, these are crucial and loving conversations, and having them can make all the difference. Dr. Kim Fischer is a board-certified physician anesthesiologist and an advanced care planning coach. She helps take-charge women in the thick of life get clear on what they want to happen should an accident or illness arise that renders them unable to speak for themselves in an ER or hospital. As an advanced care planning coach, Dr. Fischer supports you in having crucial conversations with your loved ones so that everyone knows your wishes explicitly and there is no ambiguity.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

• What questions to ask and think about, while having these important conversations with your loved ones.

• When, and how often, should we have these critical conversations?

• How can we empower our healthcare proxies to be our knowledgeable advocates, if we find ourselves in a situation where we can’t speak for ourselves?

• If these kinds of conversations are too difficult to have with our loved ones, who are the people we should reach out to?

Is your whole retirement planning strategy based on the assumption that you're going to be in a lower tax bracket upon retirement?

In this episode, Nicole Wipp talks with John Rohrhoff from JR financial services about income taxes and retirement tax myths. Also, why many individuals do not account for future potential taxes when making financial decisions, today.

Visit smartplanning101.com/37 for more information about John and this interview.  

In this episode, I talk with John Rohrhoff from JR financial services about socially responsible investing, what it is, things to think about, and how to get started. 

Visit smartplanning101.com/36 for more information.

The FBI estimates that seniors lose more than $3 billion each year to fraud. So what happens when a beloved grandchild calls, begging for money because a bad thing happened to them. Well, you know the answer. That's why this has to be a family conversation, right now. Today’s episode is about “The Grandparent Scam”. Also, how to start important conversations with your elderly loved ones, about various scams, and possible elder abuse.

Right now, we are thinking about our healthcare and our privacy more than ever. In this episode, Nicole covers what “healthcare privacy” really means, what the limits of privacy are for us as individuals, and what the law says about our healthcare and privacy.

In this episode:

• What “healthcare privacy” really means what are the limits for us as individuals
• What does the law say about our healthcare and our privacy
• The government’s role in maintaining or protecting our privacy
• Employment and healthcare privacy under HIPAA and the ADA
• HIPAA, the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996:
  • Do you have the right to access your own medical information and history?
  • Who, or what entities, are required to follow HIPAA guidelines?
  • What information is and isn’t protected under HIPAA?
  • What organizations are NOT required to protect your healthcare information, under HIPAA 
•  Healthcare Privacy & the Constitution
  • Why the right to privacy is not “absolute”
  • Whalen v. Roe (1977) - The link to more information about this case is in the show links below.

For the transcript of this episode, please visit smartplanning101.com/34

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is intended to be general information only and not legal advice. If you have a specific question about your situation, please get advice from an attorney that specializes in healthcare, privacy and or whatever your specific question is.

What is the second-worst thing that could happen to your children, if something happened to you?

It's simply this: that you didn't make a plan for them. 

In this episode, I’m going to talk about four major planning considerations that every parent with minor children should be thinking about when they’re doing their estate planning, whether or not you've started your planning yet.

Visit smartplanning101.com/33 for show notes and more information about The Smart Planning 101 podcast.

Have you ever heard that you can give away up to $15,000 per person per year to avoid gift tax?

Spoiler alert: the government gives with one hand and takes away with the other.

Now, as a general statement. This shouldn't surprise anyone, but when it comes to giving away money and other things to your kid, your family, or anyone you want. There really are some unpleasant surprises out there waiting for you.

What are they? That's what today's episode is all about. 

Disclaimer: Although I am a lawyer, I am not giving you legal advice. This podcast is for general informational purposes only.

Do you have a have any questions, or have an idea for a future episode? Visit smartplanning101.com/connect and let me know! 

It's been five years since I've recorded a podcast episode on Smart Planning 101, but I'm back! And the content is more important now than ever. In this short episode, I'll explain why I stopped recording episodes. But why I'm restarting now and why you will want to join me. Visit https://www.smartplanning101.com/about-smart-planning-101 to learn more about the podcast. 

Do you, or do your parents or even grandparents, want to remain at home for the rest of your life? For over 75% of people age 50 and above, the answer is yes. But sadly, less than 1% of people actually live in an environment that makes this possible. Right now we are at a unique point in history where there is legislation that can actually help counties, cities, and municipalities create a new reality for their residents. Join me with my special guest, Esther Greenhouse, to learn more about the longevity economy, how our homes are forcing us into frailty, and how our state and local governments can rise to this challenge RIGHT NOW.

Esther Greenhouse is a unique professional.  She is a built environment strategist, consulting with organizations to create innovative initiatives at the intersection of society’s challenges and the built environment. Learn more about her by clicking here.