28 articles. Articles may appear in more than one topic.
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July 24, 2026
Phil Runyon discusses when revocable or irrevocable trusts may be appropriate, including probate avoidance, beneficiary planning, creditor protection, Medicaid eligibility, and asset protection trusts.
June 26, 2026
Solstice greetings from Phil Runyon on reviewing estate planning documents, updating wills and trusts, and keeping powers of attorney and health care directives current.
March 22, 2026
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 10, 2026
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...
June 5, 2024
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
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...
November 28, 2023
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...
May 1, 2023
Phil Runyon explains why wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, and health care directives may need periodic review as family circumstances and legal requirements change.
November 1, 2022
Phil Runyon discusses estate planning for in-laws, caregiver bequests, and helping seniors transition financial affairs management.
July 1, 2022
Phil Runyon discusses keeping health care directives current, preserving family stories, capacity planning, trustee choices, cremation, and trust provisions for vulnerable beneficiaries.
March 5, 2020
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...
July 31, 2018
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...
October 12, 2017
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...
March 2, 2016
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...
December 1, 2015
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...
June 19, 2015
Social Security Untangled Having just experienced the indignity of yet another birthday, and being well within the Boomer demographic - maybe not the Greatest G...
February 17, 2015
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 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 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...
September 5, 2014
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...
June 30, 2014
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 19, 2014
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 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...
February 28, 2014
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...
October 21, 2013
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 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 28, 2012
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...
March 16, 2012
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...
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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.