Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Are You Too Old To Get A Mortgage Loan?
A home mortgage is the biggest debt that most people incur in a lifetime. Therefore, the repayment term is usually 10, 15, 20, or even 30 years. When you are young and buying a house for the first time, a 30-year mortgage makes sense, because it has the lowest monthly payment; it is usually… Read More »
Floridians Should Have No Fear Of In Terrorem Clauses
In general, the civil courts will enforce any legally binding agreement between individuals or companies as long as the provisions do not contradict state law. For example, if a contractor renovates a kitchen and the homeowner doesn’t pay him, the court will order the homeowner to pay pursuant to the contract, but if a… Read More »
Lifelong Learners, Beware! Federal Lenders Are Coming To Garnish Your Social Security Check
Once your children are past the baby stage, you have more time to pursue your own goals, and for many parents, that means finishing the college degree program that they left when their children were born or seeking an advanced credential to help them achieve their career goals. Unlike younger students, college students over… Read More »
There Are Better Things Your Children Can Inherit From You Than Money
In a recent article on the Kiplinger website, Maurie Backman discusses seniors who have chosen not to leave inheritance money to their children, even though they can afford to do so. The top search results about estate planning tend to focus on whether your descendants should inherit vast sums of money from you through… Read More »
Earth To Floridian Potheads: Cannabis Is Not A Fountain Of Youth
Florida is as renowned for its populations of old folks and potheads as it is for its populations of crocodilians and introduced species. Of course, sometimes the categories overlap more than you might expect. Yes, Florida is the only place in the world with a native alligator species and a native crocodile species; the… Read More »
Understanding Medicare Plans
When you were so young that the occasional appearance in your mailbox of correspondence from the AARP still made you chuckle, you probably thought it strange that retired people spend so much time worrying about their healthcare expenses. After all, you pay a hefty portion of your paycheck toward employer-provided health insurance, when the… Read More »
Trust Litigation: It Can Happen To You
Toward the end of the movie The Usual Suspects, a criminal’s inner monologue tells the audience, in voiceover narration, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Financial planners would have you believe that trusts are similarly elusive, that they can simply veil themselves and become invisible to… Read More »
Family Caregiving Is Overrated
It is easy to idealize the multigenerational household, but if you do this, you underestimate the stress and conflict that are constantly rumbling below the surface when more than two adults live together in the same house. Orrin Onken, a retired elder law attorney, recently wrote an article on Business Insider, in which he… Read More »
A Dose Of Reality For Geriatric Scientists
Your estate planning lawyer already knows that you never want to retire. In fact, your lawyer probably knew that by the time your first consultation was finished, when you said that you worked for a university in a STEM field. People whose jobs are as intellectually and socially engaging as yours do not count… Read More »
Does Florida Law Divorce-Proof Your Estate Plan?
By now, Floridians know the cautionary tales about updating your will when you file for divorce. We all remember when Burt and Lovey Handelsman divorced after more than 50 years of marriage, and it took years for the court to divide their real estate empire. Gray divorce accounts for the largest share of divorce… Read More »
