What you could do is set up what they call a pot trust. A pot trust is basically a pot of money from which each of the beneficiaries can request funds. It’s a simple, but you need to be careful if you intend for all of the beneficiaries to be treated the same.

Every beneficiary can dip into the pot of money that’s in that trust and some may get more than another. That’s all well and good if that’s what you intended, but unequal distribution can lead to ugly fights.

As an example, one beneficiary may go to Hunter College and the other might go to NYU. The one going to NYU might use up most of the trust before Hunter even starts college.

That’s where educational devices like a 529 plan come in.” A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Since a 529 is designed with education in mind, it is designed to be flexible and to address the changing educational environment. If you need help deciding, please contact us at (212) 693-3737.

The shooters often acted during bouts of confusion, paranoia, delusion or aggression, common symptoms of dementia. The victims were spouses, children and caregivers. The takeaway was that healthcare providers they talked to said they received little or no guidance on how to talk to families about gun safety.

Most patients refuse to answer if they have guns at home and doctors rarely ask if the patient has guns at home. Healthcare professional are trying to figure out how to ask patients if they have guns at home.

Dr. Altaf Saadi, a neurologist at UCLA who has been practicing medicine for five years, said the investigation revealed a “blind spot” in her clinical practice. After reading it, she looked up the American Academy of Neurology’s advice on treating dementia patients. Its guidelines suggest doctors consider asking about “access to firearms or other weapons” during a safety screen, but they don’t say what to do if a patient says they do.

Research bears this out. A 2014 study found, 58 percent of internists surveyed reported never asking whether patients have guns at home.

Dr. Colleen Christmas, a geriatric primary care doctor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and member of the American Neurological Association told Kaiser, “One of the biggest mistakes that doctors make is not thinking about gun access. Firearms are the most common method of suicide among seniors, she noted. Christmas said she asks every incoming patient about access to firearms, in the same nonjudgmental tone that she asks about seat belts, and “I find the conversation goes quite smoothly.”

Momentum has been building among health professionals to take a greater role in preventing gun violence. In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting that left 58 concertgoers dead last October, over 1,300 health care providers publicly pledged to ask patients about gun ownership and gun safety when risk factors are present.

Volunteers with Alzheimer’s San Diego, a nonprofit group, became alarmed when they visited people with dementia and found 25 to 30 percent of those homes had guns, said Jessica Empeño, the group’s vice president.

“We made a decision as an organization not to send volunteers into the homes with weapons,” she said.

But, for health professionals, navigating this politically fraught issue can be difficult. Here are the leading issues according to Kaiser:

Is it legal to talk to patients about guns?

Yes. No state or federal law bars health professionals from raising the issue.

Why don’t doctors do it?

The top three reasons are lack of time, being unsure what to tell patients and believing patients won’t heed their advice about gun ownership or gun safety, one survey of family physicians found.

“There’s no medical or health professional school in the country that does an adequate job at training about firearms,” Wintemute argued. He said he is now working with the American Medical Association to design a continuing medical education course on the topic.

Polling conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation for the story suggested that few Americans are concerned about the potential dangers of elders and firearms. Nearly half of people queried in a nationally representative poll in June said they had relatives over 65 who have guns. Of those, more than 80 percent said they were “not at all worried” about a gun-related accident.”

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Now that valuation doesn’t include attorney’s fees, court costs and other costs associated with settling the estate. But what is known is that it will be worth a fraction of the 80 million.

So, you don’t have 80 million, but what you have worked for you want to pass along to your heirs without the government taking a huge cut, right? That’s where estate planning comes in.

What if you have debt? Creditors can go after that debt and the heirs who you bequeathed your money if the debt hasn’t been dealt with.

How to avoid such hassles? Here’s a list of what you should include in your estate plan to lessen the possible hassles.

• Assign healthcare power of attorney
• Create a will
• Review your beneficiaries for life insurance, investments etc.
• Set up a trust(s)

Reviewing your beneficiaries is important especially if you assigned them years before. As an example, if you remarried you still might have your ex-spouse as a beneficiary and now you want your current spouse to be the beneficiary.

What happens if you get hospitalized and can’t make decision about your health and money? A healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney can make sure your wishes are carried out.

Suppose you have a sizable estate, maybe not millions but a nice chunk. How do you keep the government frtom getting their hands on it? You can set up a trust. A trust is managed by a trustee for a beneficiary or beneficiaries you choose. You toss the assets right into the trust and it bypasses probate court and the expenses associated with it.

These are just a few ways to shield your estate from the grabbing government hands. The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you manage your estate. Please call us at (212) 693-3737 for a free consultation.

To round out the new leadership team it will be Cesar Gueikian as new chief merchsnt officer, chief financial officer will be Kim Mattoon and its chief production officer will be Christian Schmitz.

Earlier this month a bankruptcy court in Delaware approved Gibson’s reorganization plan to get itself out of bankruptcy and keep itself in business.

On the team’s first day on the job November 1st, the investment firm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) will assume majority ownership control of Gibson.

Under the reorganization plan, the company will continue to manufacture its namesake Gibson and Epiphone guitars, as well as maintain its professional audio business that makes studio monitors and loudspeakers under the names KRK and Cerwin Vega. It will be dropping its efforts to push into the home entertainment and headphone areas, areas the company hoped would make up for the decline in instrument sales, but which accounted for much of its debt.

In filings earlier this year, Gibson estimated that it was up to $500 million in debt.

The good news is Sears is honoring those warranties. The company said in a statement, “We are honoring our warranties, protection agreements and guarantees as normal,” the company said in a statement. If you need help with a replacement part for your appliance, check out the Sears PartsDirect Site.

Eric Arnum, editor of Warranty Week, which reports on the warranty industry said,. “Normally consumers haven’t had to worry about their warranties being dissolved in the wake of a company going out of business.

When Circuit City and CompUSA filed for bankruptcy, outside insurance companies stepped in, and all extended warranties were honored. “That’s been the case for decades in the U.S.,” Arnum said. The reason: Many states mandate that a company work with outside insurance companies or demonstrate assets of a certain amount to continue coverage for consumers.”

So, even though you don’t have to worry about your current warranty, you should definitely think twice about extended warranties in the future. Here’s why you should think twice.

Warnings about extended warranties aren’t new. Consumer Reports against them for decades.

Margot Gilman, Consumer Reports money editor says, “Consumer Reports has always advised consumers to be wary of extended warranties. Whenever we’ve analyzed them, and surveyed our members about their experiences with them, we’ve reached the conclusion that the benefits don’t outweigh the costs. There are better, more financially prudent alternatives to extended warranties for people who want to protect themselves against products that may break.”

Consumer Reports found that almost two-thirds of consumers rated aggressive pitches to buy extended warranties a top annoyance.

Yet in 2017, consumers bought $44.6 billion in extended warranties, according to Warranty Week. In 2010, extended warranties totaled $31.3 billion.

Warranty Week editor Eric Arnum says, “People are often helpless in the face of a determined salesperson. There are people who can sell snowshoes in Hawaii, and they are extremely skilled.

The top offenders according to Arnum P.C Richards and Sears.

“Most consumers do not go into the store even thinking about extended warranties until the salesperson says, ‘Hey, thought about protection?’” Arnum says. “All the research they do is on the product, so it’s easy to convince one in three people, on average, to buy them.”

Many consumers see their kids’ cellphones as a peril worth insuring. They might not think they need the break/fix protection, Arnum says, but loss/theft is seen as worthwhile. ‘What if I drop it?’ You see that with laptops [people are attracted to] the accidental damage protection. Even the Consumer Reports people say loss/theft is good.”

Another critic of extended warranties is Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. “When something is a big profit center for a company, it’s probably not in the best interest of the consumer,” says Rheingold.

“I don’t typically think they’re worth it,” Rheingold said. “Whether [something] needs repairs along the way, the standard warranty is usually good enough.”

“Another issue is you can’t always see the cost of a warranty before you buy a product.” On the Sears website, which is still open for business, a customer has to place a specific refrigerator in the shopping cart before seeing the cost options for an extended warranty.

On its website, The Federal Trade Commission, has a section called ‘Who’s responsible for the contract,’ that says “Before you sign a contract for an extended warranty, think about the company’s financial situation and consider whether the business is reputable.”

All signs point to bankruptcy next week since out of that on hand money the company has to pay vendors, employees and stock up on inventory for the holidays.

Also, three companies that sell items at Sears told Reuters that Sears had missed payments to them over the past few weeks. One of Sears’ major shareholders recently dumped a large bunch of his stock for pennies on his original investment. The company added a new director last week who is familiar with bankruptcies and restructuring.

Robert Schulz, chief credit analyst for the retail industry for Standard & Poor’s said despite years of losses, store closings and other financial problems, “the possibility of a bankruptcy does seem to be higher than over the past couple of years,” . He said in years past the situation did not have the “sense of urgency” that exists now.

The investor mentioned above, Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital Management dumped 142,000 shares of Sears last week.

The Wall Street Jouirnal recently reported Sears has also hired M-III Partners, a boutique advisory firm specializing in seeing companies through bankruptcies and restructuring. The company is also talking to lenders about providing it with debtor-in-possession financing, according to CNBC. That kind of loan is used by companies that file for bankruptcy to fund operations during the process.

There’s nothing wrong with saving some dough by drafting your own estate-planning documents. You can find templates for basic wills and such online or in bookstores. But that should be followed with a review of those documents by an expert to insure everything is in order

Massachusetts estate planner Leanna Hamill, told AARP that, “Ninety percent of the online estate planning documents I see don’t do what the people think they’re going to do. I’ve seen people use online documents, documents out of estate-planning books or documents borrowed from friends. But they screw up their estate plan because they don’t understand the legal and technical aspects of the documents.”

Hamill told AARP that she knows of one client who signed a deed transferring his house to a trust but hadn’t properly created the trust. Thus, the deed had no effect. Another client’s confusion over the term “beneficiary” resulted in the immediate transfer of all his property to his children and required him to pay them an annual income, leaving his wife in the cold.

So even though you can do it yourself, err on the safe side and contact a professional like Jeffrey Weinstein 212-693-3737 for a free consultation.

Most Americans don’t keep track of their online assets like Paypal, Facebook, and merchant loyalty reward programs and chances are will forget to include them in their estate plans. By neglecting these things a it can cause hassles for beneficiaries, powers of attorney and executors.

One group of things that people tend not to think of are reward programs like frequent flyer miles. For example, Anthony Bourdain left his unused frequent flyer miles to his estranged wife and they were substantial. We suggest you write down all your digital assets including logins and passwords and store them when only someone you trust knows where they are.

If you find it all too daunting there are businesses popping up that will do it for you. One business is out of Durham, North Carolina called Back Up Your Life which their site says

We help you organize your life’s documents, details, and contingency plans. If you’re ready to be ready, let’s back up your life.

Then there are digital estate services, such as Everplans, which helps her clients by providing a digital archive of everything your loved ones need if you die or get into an accident and can’t communicate.

Among the things Everplans takes care of:

• Wills, Trusts, and insurance policies
• Important accounts and passwords
• Info about your home: bills, vendors, etc.
• Health and medical information
• Advance Directives and DNRs
• Final wishes and funeral preferences

A health care proxy is a way to eliminate confusion among your loved ones and health care providers about your health care wishes should you no longer b able t make those decsions yourself. Hospitals, doctors, and other medical providers must follow the agent’s decisions as if they were your own.

Here are a some common questions and answers about health care proxies:

Who can be your health care agent?

Anyone 18 years of age or older, including a family member or close friend can be your health care proxy.

A doctor can act either as your proxy or your attending doctor, but not as both simultaneously. A number of special rules apply to patients or residents of a nursing home, hospital, or mental health facility who want to name a staff member as an agent.

What powers do health care proxies have?

Your proxy can decide how your wishes apply as your medical condition changes, but he or she is legally obligated to always act in your best interest.

The person you select as your health care agent will have as little or as much authority as you want. You may allow your agent to make all health care decisions or only certain ones.

A health care proxy is different from a living will because it does not require that you know in advance all the decisions that may arise. Nevertheless, you may give your agent instructions that he or she must follow and specify on the form the treatments you do or do not want.

Also, note that you can continue to make health care decisions for yourself as long as you’re able. You can also cancel the authority given to your agent by informing him or her or your health care provider orally or in writing.

To appoint a health care proxy, you and your agent must sign a New York health care proxy form in the presence of two adult witnesses. This is best done in an attorney’s office like the Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein. Mr Weinstein is an estate professional and can guide you through what you need to do to insure your wishes are carried out.

Here are some instances when you would need a proxy:

• You are in a coma from an accident or illness.
• You are terminally ill and not expected to recover.
• You have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.
• You are under general anesthesia, when something unexpected occurs.
• You are in a persistent vegetative state.
• You suffered from an illness that left you unable to communicate.

Surveys show only 42 percent of U.S. adults currently have estate planning documents such as a will or living trust. For those with kids under 18, it’s even lower, just 36 percent.

People don’t like thinking about death especially their own.That study was conducted in January by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, who asked 1,003 adults whether they currently have estate-planning documents in case of their death, and if not, why not?

Forty-seven percent said, “I just haven’t gotten around to it.” This is not surprising to experts, who say an aversion to end-of-life planning is not only rooted in fear but also procrastination.
Debbi King, author of “The ABC’s of Personal Finance” says, “This is the ‘I’m going to live forever’ theory. No one literally thinks that, but we all want to believe we are going to live until our 80s or 90s so we don’t think we need a will right now. This isn’t true, of course. We all have an expiration date and no one knows exactly when it will be. The best thing you can do for your loved ones is have a will now.”

The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein is here to help you with all your estate planning needs. Call us for a free consultation.

There are a few instances where it would do you well to consult with an estate planning lawyer, like Jeffrey Weinstein Esq.or a health care professional.

Terms such as “artificial nutrition and hydration,” “persistent vegetative state,” and “incapacity” in the forms may leave you confused. A health care professional or lawyer can explain the terms you don’t understand and can answer any questions about how your documents work. Many hospitals and other health care facilities have representatives who can explain the basics of your state’s health care forms and help you complete them.

You might be worried that family members may not agree with your health care wishes or may even fight about your medical treatment. This is where a good estate planning lawyer can ease your concerns by making sure your wishes are clearly expressed. The lawyer can also double check your forms to be sure they are properly finalized and legally sound.

A qualified lawyer can also help you make health care documents as part of a comprehensive estate plan, including a will, living trust, or other documents you may need. While it’s usually possible to accomplish these tasks on your own, it much easier to put the job into a lawyer’s hands. If it’s a question of hiring a lawyer versus putting off doing it yourself, don’t procrastinate. Take steps to make these essential documents or get the help you need.

Your liability depends on the nature of your debt. Mortgages and other debt secured by property must be paid, while unsecured debt such as credit cards and student loans, are another matter entirely. Your liability depends very much on the nature of the bill, the type of property and your state’s laws. The following applies to New York State.

If an accounting of your debts exceed the value of your estate, probate may not be the way to go. If there’a not enough money in your estate to pay your creditors, a court will have to make a settlement which is an additional cost to the estate. There are instances where it might be advisable to proceed with probate, but you should obtain experienced counsel before proceeding. The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you navigate this process. Call us for a free consultation. (212) 693-3737.

• 2120 West Genesee St., Syracuse
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Frank Curci, Tops’ chief executive officer told the Buffalo News, “There are a few stores that are not performing to our standards, due to a number of factors including location, store size, lack of visibility, and lease costs. “We are using the tools available to us through the court-supervised process to conduct an orderly wind down of these stores.”

The ten stores slated to close are scheduled to shutter by the end of November.

The first generation, thirty years after China embarked on a course that allowed individuals to accumulate wealth, is statring to die. This dieoff is creating a spike in inheritance disputes that are clogging up the courts and turning families against each other.

The problem has gotten so bad that even the ruling Communist Party is concerned.

“When people die without a will their children scramble for their property, damaging family ties and having a negative effect on society,”

According to the best estimates, only 1% of China’s 220 million seniors have estate plans, The reason is, in China talking about death and writing a will is the same as putting a curse on yourself.

Even the rich and educated often don’t write them.

Hu Xingdou, an economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology was quoted as saying. “China is entering a crucial period. If we don’t find a way to transfer wealth responsibly it will affect social stability.”

To solve this burgeoning problem, the government has looked to local town and villages to create free legal centers for those over 60. One lawyer, Chen Kai, has stepped up and created a charity called the China Will Registration Center which has processed over 40,000 wills in last year.

An article in the People’s Daily said 70% of inheritance cases in Beijing courts stem from the lack of a will. In the cases where a will is challenged, 60% are found to be invalid.

While the situation in the U.S. isn’t quite as bad, it is pretty serious. Experts say almost 60% of people don’t have wills. A we have written here before, depending on the size of your estate, you need at bare minimum, a will. If you need help planning your estate please call us, The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein (212) 693-3737 for a free consultation regarding your estate needs.

Wherever the truth lies, what is happening to Aldrin is becoming more and more common and not just to the rich and famous. The exploitation of the elderly is growing and is vastly underreported.

Julie Schoen of the National Center on Elder Abuse told AARP, “It’s such a hidden crime. Within families, victims don’t want to prosecute. There’s a huge gap in our system when it comes to recording these crimes. We need better research. Ninety percent of perpetrators are family members or other people the victim knows well, such as caretakers, neighbors or friends.

Schoen suggests some ways to help protect you and your aged loved ones.

• When a person is still mentally sharp, help him or her make a plan that designates power of attorney and health care directives. “We tend to want to keep financial matters private, but if we don’t have those discussions, that’s what blows things apart.”
• Stay connected with older loved ones through regular phone calls, visits or emails.
• Develop a relationship with your parent’s caregiver. “They’ll be less likely to financially exploit Mother because they know you’re paying attention.”
• Become a “trusted contact” to monitor bank account and brokerage activity.
• Sign up for a service such as EverSafe to track financial activity and notify an advocate of unusual withdrawals or spending.
• Set up direct deposit for checks so others don’t have to cash them.
• Do not sign any documents that you don’t understand.

If you need legal help protecting an aging loved one, please call us here at the Law Offices Of Jeffrey Weinstein. (212) 693-3737.

One person caught up in this mess is homeless millionaire Alan Fantin. That’s right, a homeless millionaire. Fantin has a net worth in the millions but he has had trouble getting accessing it for years. He has been under a conservatorship that was created thirty years ago after a car accident left him with a severe head injury and partial paralysis.

He owns a house which is mostly paid off. But right now it’s ridden with black mold and there are squatters in the basement who don’t pay rent and won’t leave. And Fantin hasn’t been allowed near the house since he was arrested last month and charged with assaulting his live-in girlfriend. His pre-trial monitoring says he can’t come within one-mile of his alleged victim’s residence, which is also his home, or it it was.

On top of all that he is currently engaged in a legal tussle with the guy who controls his funds, a court-appointed conservator named Scott Christian. Christian was appointed in early 2015. Since then the two have battled constantly over financial matters, ranging from the amount of Fantin’s cable bills to his marijuana use. Christian has described Fantin’s weed smoking as a “substance abuse habit.”

Fantin has had a license to use marijuana for medical purposes since 2001.

In a report in Westword, Fantin says the weed helps him with the seizures he’s bee experiencing since his accident. “When I run out of pot, my seizures are more aggressive and they tend to last longer.”

Westword also reports

…Christian refused to provide any funds for his lodging after he was banned from his house; directed him to use a public defender in his domestic-violence case rather than hire his own attorney; threatened to cut off his phone if he continued to complain; and has been less and less responsive to Fantin’s pleas for help even as his firm’s fees for the conservatorship have steadily increased.

The case offers a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of probate court, where a professional cadre of attorneys, care managers, estate administrators and others are entrusted with guarding the interests and funds of some of society’s most vulnerable people. In many instances, they may be doing just that, protecting the elderly, the sick, the mentally or physically disabled from unscrupulous relatives or neighbors — and sometimes protecting them from themselves.

It’s a fascinating story which we suggest you read. Homeless Millionaire Alan Fantin Wants His Day in Probate Court

New York doesn’t charge inheritance tax, but the estate tax comes with one big provision. Though December 31st of this year there is a $5.5 million exemption which means if the value of the estate is less than $5.5 million, the estate tax is waived.

That tax is in addition to the federal estate tax that hits individual estates worth more than $11,180,000 between gross assets and prior taxable gifts to pay within nine months of the individual’s death. You can get a six-month extension. But chances are you don’t have an estate worth $11 million. Only a few thousand people do.

New York estate property categories

There are only two categories in New York: personal property and real property, Real property is what you probably think it is; land and houses. Personal property is everything else. New York is not a community property state so the surviving spouse doesn’t automatically inherit the deceased’s property.

It does, however have what they call a spousal right of election when deciding on inheritances for spouses. This law states that should a spouse pass away, his or her spouse will receive an “elective share” of $50,000 or one-third of the decedent’s estate. Should a spouse not receive this elective share, he or she has the right to file for it as long as it’s within a six-month window after an executor for the estate has been named.

Importance of a will

If you die with a will in New York things are normally pretty straight forward, but it will still need to go through probate and people can challenge the will. There are ways to avoid probate and the Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you avoid probate.

The State entitles surviving spouses who have disinherited them to a piece of their estate. But this is limited to non-probate assets, such as property held in joint tenancy or a jointly held brokerage account paid on death to beneficiaries.

Dying without a will

An administration proceeding is the most common legal event that occurs in New York if you die without a valid will, but you own property. If when you pass away you don’t have a will, your estate consists of either jointly-owned or no real property, and your personal property is worth less than $30,000, you must file as a small estate.

Without a will, if you only own real property, it goes to your nearest relative.

There are other issues involve in estate planning and the law offices of Jeffrey Weinstein (212) 693-3737 can help you navigate the process to lessen the hassle for you and your heirs.

Today, funerals are becoming the way for the rich to flaunt their wealth. Along with lavish weddings and over-the-top birthday parties, funerals have become a way for the rich to flaunt their wealth one last time.

William Villanova, general manager of Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, New York’s “undertaker to the stars.” told “Accounting Today, “Whatever we can do that is legal, lawful and in keeping with the integrity of our profession, we will do.”

CEO Nigel Lymn Rose of the U.K.-based A.W. Lymn funeral home said, custom-made Rolls-Royce Phantom VII hearses and a fleet of 25 matching Rolls-Royce sedans are sought-after internationally.

He also told Accounting Today, “I get inquiries from people who have always driven Rolls-Royce’s and want their final journey to be in a Rolls-Royce. They “want to make a statement: Ride it in life, ride it in death.”

Accounting Today also told of the recent funeral of a fashion designer they did not name, where they assembled 120 gospel singers who performed as the casket was carried from the hall. A marching band performed at one service, and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was covered in blue hydrangeas to mirror the deceased’s Hamptons home.

Businessmen and billionaires are often aggressively competitive in life “and that doesn’t end when they think they’re going to die,” said Ted Klontz, a Nashville, Tennessee-based financial psychologist.

If you follow in her footsteps could mean your loved ones won’t receive the inheritance you intended; disbursements could be long-delayed; ugly family squabbles may ensue; and your estate might owe additional taxes and your financial life will become a public record. If you have a special needs child, he or she may wind up losing some government benefits.

Many Americans don’t have a will or a living trust. A 2017 survey by Caring.com found that only 4 in 10 adults do. The study noted 64 percent of Gen Xers and 42 percent of boomers don’t have a will. The top reason for not taking these easy estate-planning steps, according to survey respondents: they “hadn’t gotten around to it.”

Chances are you don’t have anywhere near Franklin’s reported $80 million. But the actual dollar value isn’t the point. It’s about making sure your loved ones receive what you want the way you want them to.

If you don’t have a will, your estate will wind up in probate court, which means it will become public for anyone to see.

In Franklin’s case, the feds will take a big bite, too. There’s a 40 percent estate tax on an estate’s assets over $11.18 million (the exception to this: money or assets left to charity). If Franklin’s estate truly is worth $80 million, the Internal Revenue Service will snag $27.5 million of that.

Get a will for Pete’s sake. You can do it online but your better off having a real attorney to make sure it is totally legal. If you don’t have a will, your estate will wind up in probate court, which means it will become public for anyone to see and create hassles for your loved ones.

Sparrow said, “The fact of the matter is, we don’t know how much is lost, We ought to know. We shouldn’t have to guess. But the truth would be hard to swallow.”

It’s not just taxpayers who pay. Medicare beneficiaries also foot the bill in the form of higher deductibles and co-payments and cuts to services and care. Simply, fraud is directly harming the health of older Americans and compromising the program.

“The real damage is the winding down and gutting of services,” Sparrow says. “And it’s been happening for a long time.” Quite often the fraudsters:

• Charge for services never delivered
• Falsify records
• Inflate claims
• Steal your ID
• File duplicate claims
• Provide unneeded equipment
• Buy off doctors/patients

Every recent president has acknowledged the problem, but the crooks continue to target the program, and new schemes spread across the country faster than officials can keep up. Why does Medicare continue to be a choice target for fraud? Critics say the problem is built into the system. Private health care programs investigate suspicious claims before paying them, but Medicare pays claims first and investigates later. Among insiders, that’s referred to as “pay and chase.” That’s changing, but progress is at a turtle’s pace.

The senior advocacy organization, AARP contacted the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but did not get a response to any questions.

Kirk Ogrosky, a former federal prosecutor who fought Medicare fraud, says the bilking of Medicare should concern everyone, even those who are not yet old enough to take advantage of the program, because they pay for it through their taxes.

Ogrosky said, “Every American should be angry about it. If there is massive fraud, people should know that their benefits are going to be hit.” He Ogrosky believes the solution is more funding to stop fraud before it happens, instead of sending in federal agents later.