Legal Issues with Funerals and Death
Credit Card Debt That Outlives Mom
By SHERISSE PHAM for the New York Times MARCH 10, 2011 8:00 AM March 10, 2011 8:00 am Following a recent post on the rising levels of credit card debt among the elderly, several readers raised an important question: What happens when borrowers die? Do they take their credit card balances to the grave, ...
Continue ReadingDying With Debt: Will Your Children Inherit Your Obligations?
By Jim T. Miller, Syndicated columnist, NBC Today contributor and creator of SavvySenior.org 04/11/2012 03:11 pm ET | Updated Jun 11, 2012 Dear Savvy Senior What happens to a person’s debt after they die? At age 78, I have accumulated quite a bit of credit card and medical debt over the past few years ...
Continue ReadingWhere is Death with Dignity legal in the U.S.?
Updated 1/19/17 The Death with Dignity National Center has long been working on laws to allow the dying more control of their death and end-of-life decisions. These laws allow terminally-ill, able-minded state residents to request and receive prescription medication to hasten their death. Within the United States, Death with Dignity laws ...
Continue ReadingDeath with Dignity Gains More Attention, Meaning More Control for End-Of-Life Decisions
Death with Dignity, a movement to give the dying more control of their end-of-life care and decisions, has been gaining more media attention as of late. The Death with Dignity National Center advocates for mentally competent adults given six months or fewer to live the option to request medication from ...
Continue ReadingWhat You Need to Know About Advance Directives
Planning for the end of life entails contemplation of possible terminal scenarios. No one likes to imagine one’s final passage, but by giving it some thought ahead of time you will be doing yourself and your life companions a foresighted favor. You can complete this favor with an advance directive. ...
Continue ReadingWho Has The Legal Right to Arrange a Funeral
By Josh Slocum, Executive Director Funeral Consumers Alliance The question of who has the legal rights to arrange a funeral comes up surprisingly often. Conflicts between family members and interested parties over who has the legal right and precedence to make funeral arrangements for a person are sadly common. Here ...
Continue ReadingThe Executor's Guide to Wills & Estate Planning
The Executor's Guide to Staying Out of Trouble The role of an Executor, also referred to as a Personal Representative or Administrator depending on the state, is equivalent to the CEO of an estate. The ideal executor serves the estate and those who are legally interested in it. Is it an ...
Continue ReadingWhat do you mean my will doesn't control everything?
The decision of who gets what after you die is an important one; it is your last one - one that you want to get right. Many people think that a Will controls how everything passes at death, but that may only be partially true, depending on the nature of ...
Continue ReadingVA Funeral & Burial Benefits Eligibility
Veterans Affairs Benefits (VA Benefits) are benefits given to veterans by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Some of these benefits can help when planning a funeral and a lot of veterans are eligible for burial benefits but don’t even know it. Veteran Funeral and Cemetery Benefits Benefits include a ...
Continue ReadingDeath with Dignity - Understanding Your End-Of-Life Rights
Death with Dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care. Melissa Barber of the Death with Dignity National Center helps us better understand the laws and options available to residents in select US states which support Death with Dignity. What does it mean to die ...
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