Creating a Will is an extremely important facet of estate planning, as it governs how an individual would like his or her assets distributed at death.  Once a Will is signed, it should periodically be reviewed to insure that no major changes are needed, and that it provides the best tax benefit to one's estate under the current estate and gift tax laws.  It is best to revisit a Will after a major life event such as a marriage, birth, or death of someone in the family, or upon the occurrence of any major change in the tax law.  

A change in residence from one state to another should also prompt the testator to have his Will reviewed by an attorney admitted in the new state of residence.  Laws governing Wills and estate administration vary from state to state, and it is imperative that a Will be either amended or completely re-drafted to comply with the laws of the testator's current residence.  Out-of-state Wills are typically valid in any state; however, nuances contained in each state's probate laws, if not complied with, could cause the probate and estate administration process to be more burdensome.  Any Trusts created as part of an estate plan should also be reviewed for compliance with local state law.

Here's the dire situation presented to Renee Martin, director of education and outreach for the state attorney general's office: A 72-year-old Lancaster County man was in danger of losing his home because his drug-addicted son had stolen thousands of dollars from his accounts.

The tip came from a woman living next door to the man.

Martin contacted the Lancaster County Office of Aging, which had already been looking into the case. But their investigation turned up something else-the neighbor was allegedly dipping into the older man's funds too. Between the son and the neighbor, the man was out approximately $50,000.

"It seems like she wanted more money. The son was taking it all. She was a 'good neighbor' to the tune of about $12,000," said Martin, who fields elder abuse complaints from a hotline in the attorney general's office, 866-623-2137 toll-free. The Office of Aging was able to take guardianship of the man's accounts so he could keep his house.

          Elder abuse can take many forms, from physical to sexual to neglect. But state officials are seeing a rise in financial exploitation, which is often carried out by trusted relatives or friends.

This policy brief looks at the financial burdens imposed on older Californians when adult children return home, often due to a crisis not of their own making, to live with their parents. The findings show that on average in California, the amount of money that older adults need in order to maintain a minimally decent standard of living while supporting one adult child in their home increases their expenses by a minimum of 50 percent. Low-income older adults are usually on fixed incomes, so helping an adult child can provide the child with a critical safety net but at the cost of the parents' own financial well-being. Policy approaches to assisting this vulnerable population of older adults include implementing reforms to increase Supplemental Security Income (SSI), improving the availability of affordable housing, assuring that all eligible nonelderly adults obtain health insurance through health care reform's expansion of Medi-Cal and subsidies, and increasing food assistance through SNAP and senior meal programs. 

          Most people have very little tucked away for retirement, and many aren't even trying to figure out how much they'll need later in life, a new national survey reveals.

           About 36% of workers have less than $1,000 in savings and investments that could be used for retirement, not counting their primary residence or defined benefits plans such as traditional pensions, and 60% of workers have less than $25,000, according to a telephone survey of 1,000 workers and 501 retirees from the non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald and Associates.

         Only 44% say they or their spouses have tried to calculate how much money they'll need to save by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in their golden years, the survey shows. Workers who have done calculations on what they need to save tend to have higher levels of savings than those who haven't crunched the numbers.