Monthly Archives: May 2011

2011 Elder Abuse Awareness Day

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While May was Older Americans month, there are still community events on the calendar to assist and support the elderly in our community. Santa Clara County Commemoration of World Elder Abuse Day will be held on June 11, 2011 from 11:00 – 2:00 at the Santa Clara County Government Building on 70 West Hedding Street in the Front Plaza,  San Jose, California, 95110. If you would like to get more information,  call  (408) 975-4848.

In Santa Clara County the Department of Aging and Adult Services is the social service agency for the county. They provide a number of services and a collection of resources for the community.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Santa Clara County Financial Abuse Specialist Team

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The attorneys and paralegals from CSS attended a Silicon Valley Bar Association educational seminar today given by the County FAST Team.  The FAST Team is comprised of selected members of the offices of Adult Protective Services, the Public Guardian, the District Attorney, County Counsel and law enforcement.  The purpose of the team is to identify, investigate, prevent, and remedy the financial abuse of elders and dependent adults.

The presenters provided us with a great deal of information that will be useful to us for serving our clients. The most urgent warning that they gave to us involved “lottery scams.”  They are seeing an increase in scams where an individual is contacted that they have won a foreign lottery.  The individual is asked to wire money to cover the taxes on the winnings before the winnings can be released.  The Federal Trade Commission has put together information for consumers on this and other scams at their website.

For specific information on lottery and wire transfer scams go to this link at the web site for the Federal Trade Commission.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

New Information About Retirement Benefit Planning

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I was fortunate enough to recently attend a seminar featuring Natalie Choate, one of the foremost nationwide experts on retirement benefits Ataxplan Publications.  Having heard Ms. Choate speak numerous times, I am always amazed how she manages to keep the topic of retirement benefits fresh and timely.

While the seminar confirmed many estate planning and tax strategies which we are utilizing for retirement benefits, a few warnings which were presented might impact our clients in the future. The IRS has now blocked the ability to reform trusts post-death to comply with the trust rules for minimum distribution purposes. The IRS is also apparently going to devote energy to auditing required minimum distributions as a result of non-compliance with people failing to take their annual required distribution.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.