Legal, Money & Family
The practical and the consequential — wills, taxes, divorce, philanthropy, family decisions, and the money conversations that the 55-and-better community can no longer postpone.
What We Cover
- Estate planning & wills
- Taxes & charitable giving
- Housing & long-term care
- Retirement income & Social Security
- Working with professionals
Recent Wednesday Reads
Are 55+ Active-Adult Communities Worth It? The Honest Math
Resort pools, pickleball, instant neighbors, someone else mowing the lawn — the brochure is seductive. But what are you really buying? The crucial difference from a care community, the permanent rising HOA and the special-assessment ambush, who it’s genuinely worth it for, and the buyer’s checklist to run before you sign.
Unretirement, by the Numbers: Going Back to Work by Choice — and What It Does to Your Benefits and Taxes
The 2026 Social Security earnings test (and why the “penalty” is really a deferral you get back), how new work can actually raise your lifetime benefit, and the tax and IRMAA lines to know before you say yes.
The Retirement Tax Bomb: How to Defuse It on Your Terms — Before the IRS Sets Them
There’s a silent partner in your retirement account — the IRS. RMDs at 73 and 75, the Roth-conversion window in your 60s, the IRMAA Medicare cliff nobody mentions, and the charitable move that turns the bomb into a gift.
Paying for Long-Term Care: The $100,000 Question Medicare Won’t Answer — and the Four Ways People Actually Cover It
A 65-year-old has a 70% chance of needing long-term care — and Medicare doesn’t pay for most of it. What a year of care costs in 2026, the four ways people pay, and the age you must buy insurance by.
Estate Planning for Solo Agers: Who Decides, Who Inherits, and Why Your State Already Wrote You a Will
One in ten adults over 50 has no spouse and no children — and the intestacy statute assumes both. The four decision-making roles that matter more than inheritance, the five documents, and the fiduciary option nobody mentions.
How to Choose a Financial Advisor After 55: Fee-Only, Fiduciary, and the Questions That Protect You
The title “financial advisor” is not regulated. The one word that separates advice from sales, the three ways advisors get paid, and the seven questions to ask before you sign anything.