Second Half of Life Podcast

In this episode, the second of a five-part series of short episodes centered on Alzheimer's planning, Attorney Julie Steinbacher speaks with Jeffrey Dauber, education and outreach coordinator for the Greater Pennsylvania chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. They go through the different stages of Alzheimer's - early, middle and late, or sometimes also referred to mild, moderate a...

What is the greatest gift you can give a loved one? While this is certainly subjective, and this questions can have different answers at different times in a person's life, our law firm strongly believes that the greatest gift you can give a loved one is peace of mind and protection. How can this be accomplished? Well, listen to this episode for a detailed explanation as it relates to estate...

In this episode, the first of a five-part series of short episodes centered on Alzheimer's planning, Attorney Julie Steinbacher speaks with Jeffrey Dauber, education and outreach coordinator for the Greater Pennsylvania chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. They discuss what exactly is Alzheimer's, the importance of getting an accurate diagnosis and an early diagnosis, some sympto...

Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak is debuting some new virtual seminar topics and formats in 2021. Our first brand new seminar is scheduled to debut tomorrow, Jan. 26, 2021. Here is a brief preview of this new seminar, which will feature Attorney Jenna Franks and Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty presenting "The Three Secrets Nobody Tells You as You Enter Your Second Half of Life.&quo...

The SECURE Act went into effect about a year ago, on Jan. 1, 2020. In this episode, Attorney Jenna Franks discusses the SECURE Act's effect on estate planning, based on the firm's experience in planning with clients over the last year. While originally given to a group of professionals, this presentation can be helpful for those about to begin their estate planning and those that have al...

Just as she kicked off our rebranded podcast earlier this year while we were in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown in April, Attorney Julie Steinbacher, our firm's founder and owner, now wraps up our first podcast season with this final episode of 2020, which appropriately looks ahead to 2021 from a small business perspective in light of all that has happened in 2020. Among the topics discuss...

Of course we always recommend that people are proactive rather than reactive with respect to doing their estate planning and discussing it with other loved ones as appropriate. Generally speaking, those that are proactive as opposed to reactive will have better outcomes. However, as a practical matter, it's seldom easy to talk about with your children what you want to happen after you pass aw...

In this episode, a brief clip from a virtual happy hour discussion held on November 18, 2020, Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty talks about what you should do if, after visiting aging family members over the holidays, you notice a decline in a loved one's health - either physical or mental. She also discusses what sets elder law firms like ours apart. 

What do we mean when we talk about estate planning? Well, there's a lot that it entails, and to get into everything in depth, it takes a lot longer than just five minutes. But, in this clip from a virtual happy hour event event from November 18, 2020, Attorney Jenna Franks gives a short version of what we're generally talking about when we refer to estate planning. Jenna gives a few tips...

In this short clip from a virtual happy hour discussion held with a private group in October, Attorney Jenna Franks and Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty talk about the importance of not only have a Power of Attorney, but also that the document is done correctly and accounts for all reasonably possible situations. Kristin also gives an example of something that all financial POAs should hav...

A bad fall, stroke, dementia diagnosis, or other unexpected illness are things beyond one's control that could create a need for nursing home care, either temporarily or for the long term. But are you prepared for the financial ramifications of requiring nursing home care, either for yourself or a loved one? In this episode, Attorney Jenna Franks and Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty d...

In this podcast episode, an audio recording of a virtual seminar originally presented to a private audience in September 2020, Attorney Julie Steinbacher, founding shareholder of Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak,  discusses everything one would need to know about planning for the second half of life, with a particular emphasis on IRAs, trusts and taxes. She begins the presentation by talking abo...

What if you or a family member have an unexpected health crisis, such as a fall, stroke, accident, or dementia diagnosis? What if this crisis leave you or your loved one in need of some form of long-term care? What are your options, and how will you pay for this care? In this episode, a recording of part of an informal virtual discussion held in September 2020, Kristin Daugherty and Tammy Zilske,...

So, you have a Power of Attorney. First of all - what kind of POA is it - financial, healthcare, living will, mental health, or all of the above? What is in it? How long ago was it drafted? Have any of your personal circumstances changed since it was originally done? It is critically important to review your POAs periodically, because if there are critical components missing, it can greatly affect...

In this brief episode, a clip from a virtual event in September titled "Piecing Together the Long-Term Care Puzzle," Long-Term Care Planner Tammy Zilske talks about the use of a Medicaid Compliant Annuity to help pay for the cost of long-term care and to help qualify an individual for Medicaid benefits to pay for the cost of long-term care. The rules for such a product are complicated, s...

Can adult children be held liable for their parents' nursing home bills? The short answer is yes, but this usually only happens as a last resort and in situations when there has been little or no planning done, or the adult child completely disappears or stops communicating with the nursing home. Our firm's long-term care planners Kristin Daugherty and Tammy Zilske explain more about the...

Nursing home care costs nearly $11k per month in Pennsylvania in 2020.  So, what happens if you or a loved one finds yourself in need of long-term care, either expectedly or unexpectedly, but especially if this circumstance hasn't been planned for previously? You'll either need to pay for it out of your own (or your family's) pocket, using any possible long-term care insurance you m...

Attorney Julie Steinbacher, the founding shareholder of Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak, gives this comprehensive presentation about the many aspects of estate planning. She uses a number of personal stories and anecdotes from her nearly 20 years of practice as an elder law attorney, social worker and long-term care facility owner, to relate to the audience and impress the importance of develop...

In this podcast episode, a small portion of our Wine & Wills virtual event from Sept. 1, Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty explains the three levels of long-term care and what characterizes each of them, how they are paid for differently in some cases in terms of which are eligible to paid for by Medicaid, and how each individual's needs differ, as well as how each individual pays...

Attorney Jenna Franks briefly explains the tax situation if an investment account (not to be confused with a qualified retirement plan) is put into a trust, and what our firm generally does to keep the tax rate on such an account as low as possible. This is a brief clip from our Wine & Wills virtual event held on Sept. 1. 

In this episode, a clip from our Wine & Wills virtual event on Sept. 1, Long-Term Planner Kristin Daugherty discusses using Medicaid to pay for long-term care costs. In addition to the better-known version of Medicaid (also called medical assistance), which is used by people of a certain income level for general healthcare, Medicaid is and can also be used by people of varying asset levels to...

In this clip from our Wine & Wills virtual event on Sept. 1, Attorney Jenna Franks and Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty discuss Powers of Attorney and why some POAs don't always contain everything they need to in order to account for possible future scenarios (our office strives to make sure this doesn't happen). They also summarize the four different types of POAs, discuss w...

Among the most common reasons for using a trust are to protect assets against the cost of long-term care, other creditors and potentially to avoid certain types of taxes (but not all). So, why then would it not be advisable in many situations to put IRAs, 401(k)s, and other types of qualified retirement savings accounts into a trust? Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty and Attorney Jenna Fran...

Why not sell your house to your adult child for $1 as a way to protect that asset from creditors or reduce your estate tax? Long-Term Care Planner Kristin Daugherty and Attorney Jenna Franks explain why this isn't a good idea and why our law firm generally advises against this practice. They also offer an alternative that may accomplish the same goals as selling your home for $1, only without...

In this clip from our Wine & Wills virtual event on Sept. 1, Attorney Jenna Franks explains why Wills are important to have for everyone, and also which types of assets, which have their own beneficiary designations, supersede whatever may be written in a Will.