Boomer Law

Designing Your Own Yellow Brick Road

Why I Should Read Boomer Law? an analogy in the animal world and a definition:

Marsupial, with over 200 species in various parts of the world, marsupials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial are described with a unique range of characteristics. They are considered to be “diverse”; adaptable to many habitats and, – like boomers -, are intellectually curious with a range of survival skills.

Boomers – we (including this author) represent a cohort of people born between 1946 – 1964. Statistically we are a very, very large cohort (75 million Americans age 50-72) and Wikipedia and others tell us we are:

• focused on social movements;

• worried about the consequences of a time of what is often discussed as one of increasing affluence;
• thoughtful about the possibility of substantial transfers of wealth amoung families
• focused on an acute need to think about governmental support (think nursing home and home health care); and
• for the most part, a belief the “world will improve”. Baby boomers. (2024, May 17 – Wikipedia.

So now that you know who our audience is – where do we go from here and what should we talk about?

Primary objective: to provide a resource for meaningful and practical content targeting Boomers wanting to think about planning their next steps. As a diverse, adaptable and changing group – most Boomers share a common desire – to make it “across the finish line” keeping in mind personal values, resources and lifestyle decisions. So Boomer Law is going to speak to “crossing the finish line” issues -whether that “cross” is on a short or longer timeline. We will focus on:

• whether you are 50 or in your 80s – what is the “plan“ for transferring assets to those I decide or, alternatively, avoiding a transfer to an estranged family member?;
• what are “agents“, i.e. people acting on my behalf while I am alive (powers of attorney – healthcare and financial) and then when I pass away (typically executors and personal representatives);
• care of a loved one who cannot manage on their own – a history of substance abuse, physical disability, other special needs or a mental illness – how do I protect them when I am not around?;
• asset protection – is it possible to keep third parties (creditors, the government, and others) from “reaching into my cookie jar” built over a lifetime.

The Timeline

Beginning this month (February) , we will publish twice a month stories; references to articles of interest and legal comments (with all the disclaimers as to not being able to rely on guidance specific to an individual situation) addressing the Boomer Law world. You will be able to find us on our website and the Maine Elder Law Attorney’s Facebook page.

This week’s Resources – Painting the Road

We follow numerous resources that may be of interest. Be it a newspaper article, our professional resources, or some “intriguing” idea – under the Resource heading in each publication you will find items discussing those unique areas impacting Boomers with some comments. For example,

• This is an excellent article from the Family and Aging Law Center in Michigan for crisis planning when the need for governmental support is on your door step and long after the opportunity to follow other pre-planned strategies is no longer available.
• Similarly, if Medicaid planning is at the top of our concerns for a client, we often start with the straightforward overviews from the American Council on Aging , https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/about-us/ Up to date and specific to state concerns.
• Finally, an e-mail link for comments info@boomer-law.com. We want readers to help “paint” their own yellow brick road and our focus with questions. With a great sense of humility we understand we will never be able to answer all the questions – but reader comments will give us perspective.

Justin Lim, Unsplash – MELA Title: Painting the Yellow Brick Road

By: Claudia Raessler, Esq. LLM (Tax)