With everything we have been through in the past year, I think it would be fair to recommend that all of us have reason to review our estate planning documents. And if you don’t have any, now is the time!
Especially if you are over the age of 60.

Typically, we tend to review our estate plan when we get older or if there has been a significant change in our circumstances. However, if you are over the age 60 and you haven't updated your estate plan in many decades, it’s time to update your documents. After everything has been updated, you should continue to review your plan every two and half years.
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Here are a few age ranges and what they mean in terms of estate planning:

​Compare Costs, Types of Service in Your Area
The rising cost of long-term care, coupled with an increasing array of options, can make it difficult for families to find the best, affordable care. AARP provides a handy dandy calculator that can assist with that process by estimating the cost of long-term care. Options include expenses for care in a nursing home, assisted living facility or adult day care, and use of a home health aide or homemaker service.

​On January 19, 2021, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule addressing Medicare Part C – Medicare Advantage Plans and Part D Prescription Programs. The rule is complex, but here are some of the provisions that are particularly relevant.

Here's what you should and shouldn't do post-vaccination, according to health experts.

Congratulations if you have received your last dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and passed the two-week quarantine period. You are now considered “fully vaccinated,” and armed with our best weapon against a virus that has killed more than 3.3 million people worldwide and upended our lives in unimaginable ways. Before you throw caution to the wind, however, it’s important to remember that the coronavirus is still spreading, and the majority of Americans have yet to be vaccinated — so some precautions continue to be necessary to protect yourself and the people around you.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published specific guidance about what the fully vaccinated can do and cannot do, and AARP asked experts to answer other common questions about life after vaccination. Here is a list recently published by AARP on the top ten precautions to consider.

The longer you live, it makes sense to delay Social Security until your FRA or age 70. If you qualify for Social Security, you can take it as early as age 62 or delay it as late as age 70. However, there are pros and cons for each option, and the optimal choice will be unique to you.

If you decide that waiting is the right decision, needing the money could prevent you from following that choice, but there are some actions you can take in advance that can help prevent this.

Here is some information from a recent Fox Business article you may find useful:

When do you need your estate plan to “go to work” for you? While you may think the right answer is “after I die,” the actual answer is “if you lose the ability to manage your affairs.”

Which means having the right kind of Durable Power of Attorney for Finance is vitally important. A June 2020 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey found that only 28% of retirees have a financial power of attorney, yet many people don’t understand that there are two types of these advance directives and that each one serves a very different purpose.

Knowing how both types work is critically important, particularly in this COVID-19 environment.