The holidays are a traditional time for multiple generations to gather together, and are also a perfect opportunity for adult children to perform a reality check on how their aging parents are doing health-wise as well as assess financial and medical planning issues.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance provides these tips:

Check your elderly relatives’ home for potential fall hazards.  If there is unopened mail and unpaid bills laying around, it may be a sign they are having difficulty coping with everyday living.

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The holidays are traditionally the time for family gatherings, where generations come together and perform holiday rituals that have been passed down through the years.  Part of those rituals includes material possessions – a well-worn set of silver at the holiday table, grandmother’s china or treasured tree ornaments from childhood.

When we sit down to that holiday meal, rarely do we contemplate Susie and Sally engaged in a bitter fight over the sterling butter knives.  But it happens.  A lot.

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The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that Congress passed on New Year’s Day extended the Bush era tax cuts, but the benefits of those cuts for most American taxpayers will be offset by a 2% increase in payroll tax.

According to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington research group, less than 1% of American households will see an increase in income taxes this year. Here are the specifics of what the bill that President Obama signed into law on January 2 entails:

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How to Talk to a Loved One About Estate Planning

Estate planning rarely comes up in the course of regular conversation and if it does, it is usually involves what has happened to a celebrity’s fortune after his or her death.  The distance is safe, so the conversation can take place.

But what if you need to discuss estate planning with a loved one – either your own estate plan or the one they have (or should have)?  Because no one likes to talk about the death of someone close to them, we rarely have this critical conversation.  But we all should.

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