Provided via Craig Curreri, Pacific Union International
Originally posted December 6, 2012

Limits on the mortgage-interest tax deduction are looking more likely after President Barack Obama said this week that tax breaks benefiting middle-class families could be at risk if taxes for the wealthiest Americans are not increased.

Few political observers expect the popular tax deduction to be eliminated, but several proposals floated in Washington in recent weeks could limit deductions on second homes, lower the current $1 million mortgage deduction cap by as much as $500,000, or cap deductions across the board.

Obama and congressional leaders are engaged in an escalating war of words as they work to hammer out a budget plan and avoid a fast-approaching “fiscal cliff” — the steep tax increases and spending cuts that would otherwise take effect in January due to legislation that mandates draconian measures if Democrats and Republicans fail to agree on ways to reduce the public debt.

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According to a survey done by Legal-Zoom.com,  nearly 75 percent of people do not have a will. The reasons vary from thinking they are too young to believing they don’t have enough money for it to matter. Yet it is extremely important to make sure there is a legal document that says to whom your belongings and assets will go – if this is not clear, it can lead to family conflicts and court action that can break relationships apart. So do you and your loved ones a favor this month and make a will! It’s easy and it will ensure that everything you own will go to the people and places you want it to.

Courtesy of Rocket Lawyer

August 21, 2012 NPR.org, by Richard Knox

America’s oldest citizens are generally getting healthier, living longer and doing better financially. But there’s lots of room for improvement.

That’s the take-home from an exhaustive picture of Americans over 65 put together by the federal government and released last week during the summer doldrums.

Long-term gains in longevity continue. Today’s 65-year-olds can expect to live a tad over 20 more years. That’s a huge jump from 1980, when 65-year-olds could expect 14 more years of life. A big part of the reason is that deaths from heart disease and stroke have plummeted by nearly 50 percent.

Read the rest of this NPR article here.

Kirra Beck is suspected of withdrawing about $6,000 from the 89-year-old Petaluma man’s account $200 and $300 at a time between April and June, Lt. Tim Lyons said.

Read the full article here.

“She was a quirky person with a great personality. It was wonderful,” Kowalski said.

But that unique personality also made it difficult for family members to recognize that Moran had developed Alzheimer’s disease.

“It was hard to tell at first that she was sick,” said Kowalski. “Until she was diagnosed, we just chalked a lot of the symptoms of her disease up to her typical absentminded and different personality.”

Being able to diagnosis such illnesses is an increasingly important issue since the 2010 U.S. Census data showed the population of Sonoma County’s residents 65 and older growing at about three times the rate of the total county population. From 2000-2010, the population of residents over the age of 65 increased by 16.2 percent, while the total population only grew by 5.5 percent and the population under 64 rose by just 3.9 percent.

Patty Guinto, director of communications at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Northern California chapter, said that the association conducted a study in 2008 that showed Sonoma County had 8,902 reported cases of Alzheimer’s disease that year. By 2015, the number is projected to increase by 3 percent, bringing the total to 9,169.

But by 2030, Sonoma County, with its large baby boomer population, is projected to see a 72 percent rise in number of cases, bringing the projected total to 15,799.

Read the full article here.