April 1, 2026
A Movie and an Update
Greetings again, everyone! I know you've just heard from me, but I have a few more things to say, including an update on the finCEN real estate reporting rules...
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March 22, 2026
Both a Free Movie and an Update
Spring greetings, everyone - It's so good finally to say those words that I'm tempted to leave it at that. Here's an invitation to a free showing of To Kill a Mockingbird, along with updates on new finCEN real estate rules and later-life prenuptial concerns...
February 11, 2026
Scam Prevention and Avoidance
Scam Awareness and Prevention Tips for New Hampshire Families This installment is about scams - not scabs, scars or Spam - and so I appreciate your opening this...
February 10, 2026
Options Worth Considering No Matter What the Season
Medicaid Planning and Long-Term Care Options for New Hampshire Families Greetings again, everyone! This is my final summer offering, so I'm going to give you so...
December 15, 2025
Charity at Home is Important, too!
Holiday greetings again, everyone! Before all your families arrive in a week or so, and your households rival the Griswolds' in "Christmas Vacation" - though, g...
November 26, 2025
A Thanksgiving Appreciation!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! No law this time, but perhaps a topic of conversation at the dinner table tomorrow, to help us avoid any of those topics that migh...
October 24, 2025
Some Year-End RMD Strategies and a Bit More
Crispy Fall greetings, everyone! It's been a while since I've written, so lest you completely forget me and I end up in your spam folder, I want to reconnect an...
June 5, 2024
Common Dilemmas You May Recognize
I won't offend any of you by assuming you're regular readers of the AARP magazine quite yet, but a recent issue raised some of the knottiest planning dilemmas f...
May 7, 2024
New Developments for a Change!
Spring greetings, everyone! I was going to grouse about the weather taking forever to perk up, but today looks like it's doing its best to keep my mouth shut. I...
March 1, 2024
Views and News
Early (Very Early) Spring greetings to you all! As a native Southerner, I confess to being less than sanguine about the weather of January and February and to b...
January 15, 2024
Nagging is My Specialty
New Year's greetings, everyone! Now that the blur of the holidays is clearing up and we've all written our thank-you notes (we have, right?), I want to make an...
November 28, 2023
Cautionary Holiday Tales
Holiday greetings, everyone! I hope you've all worked off the tryptophan - or whatever afflicts you from eating too much tofurkey. I always swear I'm going to n...
March 5, 2020
Suggestions for Senior Dilemmas
Here's a scenario to consider: Your dyed-in-the-wool New England Yankee parent or grandparent is still living alone in the old Cape or Colonial they've been in...
February 6, 2020
SECURE in the Knowledge
No matter where you are this winter, you'll eventually need to know at least the high points of the new SECURE Act of 2019, much of which became effective on Ja...
December 19, 2019
Holiday Semi-Legal Offerings
Sometimes what I offer you is densely legal, but this time it's less so and based more on my experience with human relations this time of year. Specifically, I...
November 22, 2019
From One State to Another
A recent trip got me thinking about what happens when something goes wrong in another jurisdiction. So let's say you're all up to date with New Hampshire powers...
June 5, 2019
What to Do with Those Documents
**This time around I'm going to assume you've fully executed all those planning documents I harp on - you have, right? - and talk instead about what to do with...
April 24, 2019
It's Never Too Early to Plan Ahead by Phil Runyon
It's Never Too Early to Plan Ahead It occurred to me that most of what I say in these pieces is directed toward my contemporaries rather than our children and g...
February 28, 2019
Gist and Estate Taxes Untangled by Phil Runyon
Gift and Estate Taxes Untangled This time I want to shed some sunlight on how gift and estate taxes work. I spend a lot of time dispelling rumors about them tha...
July 31, 2018
Know Your Family Responsibilities by Phil Runyon
Know Your Family Responsibilities This time I thought you might like to know a little about what you're getting into when you sign a hospital or nursing home fo...
March 15, 2018
A Modest Proposal by Phil Runyon
A Modest Proposal Many of you have already taken the suggestion to convey your assets to revocable trusts to help your family avoid the winter (spring, summer a...
October 12, 2017
LTC and TLC Considerations by Phil Runyon
LTC and TLC Considerations It turns out that most people aren't as worried about climate change or whether Twitter will go to 280 characters as they are about s...
July 11, 2017
EnABLEd Accounts by Phil Runyon
EnABLEd Accounts We've probably all at least heard about so-called "special needs trusts", even if we've never met one in person. They're intended to provide su...
October 31, 2016
Ask the Right Questions by Phil Runyon
Ask the Right Questions Most of us won't ever run for public office, but that doesn't mean we don't engage in important public service. I venture to say that ev...
June 10, 2016
The Conversation by Phil Runyon
The Conversation I hope your good weather activities are off to a fast start - and that all your hiking and biking are making estate planning less urgent, shall...
March 2, 2016
Peering Over the Horizon by Phil Runyon
Peering Over the Horizon My wife and I were just in Cuba and spent much of the trip admiring those beautiful '50's cars of our youth. However, with no seat belt...
January 25, 2016
Another Planning Resolution by Phil Runyon
Another Planning Resolution In addition to resolving to being nicer people this year, let's also resolve to keep our planning documents in good order - and let'...
December 22, 2015
A Holiday Parable by Phil Runyon
A Holiday Parable Here's a story that might be useful to you or a family member or a close friend. Many years ago I had a "senior" client who had become estrang...
December 1, 2015
Those Unavoidable Topics by Phil Runyon
Those Unavoidable Topics Remember several months ago when I explained how you might maximize your Social Security benefits with a technique called "file and sus...
October 23, 2015
Protecting Your Most Precious Assets by Phil Runyon
Protecting Your Most Precious Assets t's always important to get your affairs in order - just in case things happen unexpectedly - but there's one organizing jo...
August 27, 2015
Sometimes More Information is Better by Phil Runyon
Sometimes More Information is Better Here are a few words on a subject that can be totally unenjoyable, even divisive, in many families, at a time when they rea...
July 24, 2015
Be Charitable with IRAs by Phil Runyon
Be Charitable with IRAs I want to talk about IRAs and charities in the same breath here, and I want to acknowledge my good friends at the New Hampshire Charitab...
June 19, 2015
Social Security Untangled by Phil Runyon
Social Security Untangled Having just experienced the indignity of yet another birthday, and being well within the Boomer demographic - maybe not the Greatest G...
May 22, 2015
Asset Beneficiaries are Important by Phil Runyon
Asset Beneficiaries are important As we all know (some more traumatically than others), the divorce bug has attacked nearly every family at some point. And when...
May 22, 2015
Modern Families by Phil Runyon
Modern Families Let's start with the situation that sends a shiver through every parent - what to do if one of the kids is missing (heaven forbid). Well, if you...
February 17, 2015
A Caring Alternative by Phil Runyon
A Caring Alternative This message is about what more and more of us are trying to do to make life as pleasant as possible for our venerable but vulnerable elder...
February 17, 2015
An Important New Law by Phil Runyon
An Important New Law This is the time of year when new laws take effect, and I want to tell you about one of them that may pertain to lots of families. I'll pre...
February 9, 2015
Reversal of Fortune by Phil Runyon
Reversal of Fortune I've written before about the wonders of reverse mortgages, so take a look at our website for all the pros first - before I toss a thimble o...
December 5, 2014
Seasonal Generosity by Phil Runyon
Seasonal Generosity There's just so much going on during the weeks leading up to the holidays that it's hard to see your way through. One important task, though...
November 19, 2014
Express Your Trust Intentions by Phil Runyon
Express Your Trust Intentions Thanksgiving, more than any other holiday, seems to bring us together not only for a gargantuan meal, but also for those awkward c...
October 16, 2014
Help Most Effectively by Phil Runyon
Help Most Effectively While we certainly have plenty of people who are hurting for the basic necessities of life and health in our country, the extent of povert...
September 5, 2014
A Difficult Conversation by Phil Runyon
A Difficult Conversation Before moving on to a new message here, let me pass on a comment I received from a reader about the article on joint tenancies. He ment...
August 12, 2014
Joint Tenancies Redux by Phil Runyon
Joint Tenancies Redux I've written already about the use of **joint tenancies** to help avoid probate. If one of the JTs dies, the other becomes the sole owner...
July 24, 2014
Ensuring a Future by Phil Runyon
Ensuring a Future One of the consequences of summer winding down is that schools and colleges will soon be cranking up again - and cranking out their tuition bi...
July 24, 2014
More Trust News by Phil Runyon
More Trust News If you've been even an intermittent reader here, you know I've proclaimed the helpful uses of trusts on many occasions. Historically, the primar...
June 30, 2014
Be Charitable But Be Careful by Phil Runyon
Be Charitable But Be Careful A couple of weeks ago I was visiting Mom. During our chats around the kitchen table, I couldn't help noticing how many calls she go...
June 30, 2014
Senior Services Suggestions by Phil Runyon
Senior Services Suggestions During a recent visit with Mom in my old hometown, we were faced with how to replace a caregiver who's been helping her out with the...
May 23, 2014
NH's Real Estate Tax Explainted by Phil Runyon
NH's Real Estate Tax Explained Like it or not, your town's real estate tax bills will be arriving soon. So, as you grit your teeth and start mumbling about why...
May 19, 2014
Elder Law Priorities by Phil Runyon
Elder Law Priorities Elder law is the fastest growing practice area for many lawyers, because people now entering their Medicare years are the fastest growing d...
April 1, 2014
Correcting Some Misconceptions by Phil Runyon
Correcting Some Misconceptions There are many misconceptions about the law that often seem to overwhelm the truth, so let's try to dispel a few of them. Many pe...
March 19, 2014
Thinking About a Vacation? by Phil Runyon
Thinking About a Vacation Believe it or not, even you folks lucky enough to get away for vacations have legal issues to consider! Let's say, for example, that y...
March 14, 2014
Insurance and More by Phil Runyon
Insurance and More This time of year - winter, that is - people who slip and fall on the sidewalk or whose cars keep sliding through a stop sign often ask wheth...
February 28, 2014
Defending the Nest Egg by Phil Runyon
Defending the Nest Egg This message is probably more for readers at the far end of the age continuum - or for those of you with a senior or two that you're keep...
January 7, 2014
Joint Tenants Take Note by Phil Runyon
Joint Tenants Take Note As the heading suggests, I'm out to toss a little cold water on the common technique many of us employ to pass our worldly stuff on to o...
December 27, 2013
Year-End Planning by Phil Runyon
Year-End Planning The upcoming year-end always provides the occasion to take stock and make sure our houses are in order on many levels. I'll leave most of that...
December 26, 2013
Maximizing Your Generosity by Phil Runyon
Maximizing Your Generosity It's always a great time of year to do something financially helpful for a family member - likely a child or grandchild - who's charg...
October 21, 2013
More Medicaid . . . and More by Phil Runyon
More Medicaid . . . and More There's new legislation on Medicaid - not Medicare - in New Hampshire that you should consider carefully. Let's get at it by way of...
October 11, 2013
Medicaid Untangled by Phil Runyon
Medicaid Untangled Trying to untangle the knot of myths and confusion about the Medicaid program is a daunting task, and it requires a huge disclaimer: There's...
September 27, 2013
Travel Prepared by Phil Runyon
Travel Prepared With colder weather on the horizon now, many of you are probably firming up plans to seek some sun for at least a portion of our upcoming season...
September 17, 2013
Probate Avoidance Revisited by Phil Runyon
**Probate Avoidance Revisited I've mentioned before - harped may be more like it - about doing your best to keep your family from having to endure the delay (mo...
August 26, 2013
Post-Nuptial Agreements Now, Too! by Phil Runyon
Post-Nuptial Agreements Now, Too! Remember when I went on and on awhile back about pre-nuptial agreements and how they absolutely positively have to be negotiat...
August 9, 2013
Still More Real Estate by Phil Runyon
Still More Real Estate Before leaving the subject of real estate transactions, here are just a few more tips that might be helpful when the time comes. If you'r...
July 18, 2013
More Summer Real Estate by Phil Runyon
More Summer Real Estate I wrote previously about getting the right professional help when you pull up stakes and head for your next residential destination. Fro...
July 11, 2013
Summer Buying and Selling by Phil Runyon
Summer Buying and Selling Summer is traditionally the time of year when the real estate market heats up, and people make a concerted push to actively market wha...
May 22, 2013
Making it Clear and Keeping the Peace by Phil Runyon
Making it Clear and Keeping the Peace Let's face it, most people's planning decisions are more vanilla than Cherry Garcia. They just want to provide for their s...
May 1, 2013
Time for a Trust Tune-up? by Phil Runyon
Time for a Trust Tune-up? Now that the dust is settling on the new tax law, and the rules have become as permanent as anything can be in Washington, it's pretty...
April 23, 2013
Tips for a Better Spring by Phil Runyon
Tips for a Better Spring As I've mentioned before, I have a unique perspective on these issues that may be of some help to you and your mobile progeny, so feel...
April 5, 2013
HIPAA Compliance by Phil Runyon
HIPAA Compliance If I've had anything to do with your planning, most of you have completed Health Care Directives, to give a trusted person the ability to make...
March 20, 2013
More About Organization by Phil Runyon
More About Organization Whenever we lose someone important to us, particularly when it happens suddenly and too soon, we eventually think about whether we'd be...
February 22, 2013
Deductive Thinking by Phil Runyon
Deductive Thinking Maybe you're taking an exploratory peak at your income tax return and trying to see whether all those fiscal cliff shenanigans really ended u...
February 8, 2013
A Unique Idea by Phil Runyon
A Unique Idea I've mentioned a number of times that we can all make annual gifts to our family members without incurring any gift tax consequences, if we restri...
November 16, 2012
Stay Safe and Healthy for the Holidays by Phil Runyon
Stay Safe and Healthy for the Holidays You don't need me to tell you that one of the main challenges this time of year is fighting off all the calories that com...
November 1, 2012
Food For Year-End Thought by Phil Runyon
Food For Year-End Thought We've got about 2 months to go before the end of the year, which is when all our current estate and gift tax goodies are due to expire...
September 28, 2012
Reverse Mortgages Decoded by Phil Runyon
Reverse Mortgages Decoded Many people have heard of reverse mortgages, but few people seem to know how they really work. Here's the scoop. In order to qualify f...
September 14, 2012
Still More Decisions! by Phil Runyon
Still More Decisions! Recently, I passed on some thoughts about how to assess and choose the right folks to act for you if you're unable to tend to business you...
August 30, 2012
Who Do You Trust? by Phil Runyon
Who Do You Trust? I'm calling this topic "Who Do You Trust?", because it's about deciding who to trust when you'll need someone else to tend to your business. Y...
August 20, 2012
Be Your Own Mortgage Company by Phil Runyon
Be Your Own Mortgage Company How many of us have been to a mortgage loan closing where our eyes glazed over at all the forms we had to sign - and all the fees w...
August 6, 2012
Volunteer With Care by Phil Runyon
Volunteer With Care Just about everyone who reads this is serving as a volunteer in some capacity for one or more of the not-for-profit organizations that do so...
July 2, 2012
First, Get Organized! by Phil Runyon
First, Get Organized! These messages aren't intended to ruin your day by reminding you repeatedly about the transitory nature of human life. No, they're aimed a...
June 14, 2012
More on Trusts by Phil Runyon
More on Trusts I've noted previously that most people's estate values are now less than the federal estate tax exemption amounts - currently $5,000,000 per pers...
June 11, 2012
Charity Can be Self-Serving by Phil Runyon
Charity Can be Self-Serving Like me, I'm sure all of you have favorite non-profits that you try to help whenever you can. Maybe the hospital, hospice or youth c...
May 21, 2012
Too Good to be True? by Phil Runyon
Too Good to be True? First a disclaimer: I'm certainly not in favor of people evading their legal obligations! Having said that, I'll also state that much of wh...
April 17, 2012
Durable Powers of Attorney Require Vigilance by Phil Runyon
Durable Powers of Attorney Require Vigilance Let's start with a basic fact. Everyone should have a durable power of attorney naming a trusted family member, fri...
March 16, 2012
Long Term Care Insurance by Phil Runyon
Long Term Care Insurance Attorneys who do estate planning are often asked how to structure their clients' affairs so their assets aren't all taken to pay nursin...
February 17, 2012
Estate and Gift Tax Update by Phil Runyon
Estate and Gift Tax Update You are probably aware that until the end of 2012, the estate, generation-skipping transfer (GST) and gift tax rate is 35 percent, an...
January 18, 2012
A Probate Alternative by Phil Runyon
A Probate Alternative Nearly every family has a horror story about "probating" a relative's estate, the usual complaints being about how long it took, how much...
Not legal advice
A note about Food for Thought
Food for Thought offers general educational commentary only and is not legal advice. Reading a post, using the glossary, or following links on this section of the site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please contact Runyon Law Office PLLC if you would like advice about your own situation.