Happy December --

I know I say this every month but I can't believe it's December already! Do you believe Hanukkah begins next Friday? Christmas is in three weeks and in four weeks it will be 2010. (Boy - that's going to take some getting used to!)

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was wonderful. Family, food . . . even saw a few flakes of snow!

Speaking of December and the holidays . . . Have you signed up for the AgeWiseLiving Affiliate program yet? The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System makes a wonderful holiday gift for someone dealing with eldercare. By becoming an affiliate, you get a great gift too because when you or someone you know buys The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System using your affiliate code, you will receive a 25% commission. There's still time but if you want to buy The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System for the holidays . . . there's not much! To become an affiliate, just go to the AgeWise Living Affiliate Program.

Announcement: I will no longer be doing my Age Wise Living show. It's been a lot of fun to do every Tuesday morning for the past 6 months but I'm doing a lot of speaking - and will be doing lots more around the country in 2010 - so my schedule no longer permits it. However, you can still listen to all 27 shows because they are archived on my website. Just go to my Radio Shows page.

Have a great week.

PS> Are you on Facebook or Twitter? If so, I'd love to have you 'friend' me and AgeWiseLiving. That way you can get the latest news and have lots to share with your followers about AgeWiseLiving, the AgeWiseLiving newsletter, my radio show, etc. A whole new world!

The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System

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ARTICLE: YEAR END FINANCIAL PLANNING

As we make a mad dash to the end of the year, it's important to make sure your aging loved one has done everything they can to maximize their finances. So I've asked Sheila Walker Hartwell of Hartwell Planning to give some important year-end financial planning tips.

Check that the senior's Social Security Benefit has not changed. If the senior was married for at least ten years, is now divorced and has not remarried, s/he is entitled to 50% of ex-spouses Social Security Benefit if larger than 100% of her own. If the ex-spouse has died, the senior is now entitled to 100% of ex-spouses benefit. (If ex-spouse has remarried, it does not affect the ex-spouse or newer spouse's benefit.)

Check that the senior's Medicare D prescription benefit is appropriate for the next year. The rollover period is from November 15th to December 31st. There are online sites such as AARP that help you find the most cost efficient program based on the senior's drug prescriptions.

Suspend the required minimum distribution (RMD) for people older than 70-1/2 for the year 2009. In past years, there has been a 50% penalty for the required amount not distributed. However, for 2009, if the senior does not need the income, he does not have to take a RMD.

Suggest gifting to family members or friends. This is only appropriate if the senior is spending less than his/her income each year, and there are more than adequate assets to support the senior for the rest of his life. Your senior can gift $13,000 per year to each person before year end and give to as many people as desired. If married filing jointly, the couple can gift $26,000 to each and every person. It's a great way to pass on assets during a senior's lifetime without affecting their estate taxes. (In addition to the annual $13,000 gifts, anyone can give $1,000,000 during his lifetime or $3,500,000 in 2009 after death before the IRS levies estate taxes.)

Make sure all charitable contributions, including year-end gifts to the senior's place of worship, are completed. Charitable donation must be backed up with a receipt from the non-profit organization (it must be a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit organization to qualify). These donations are tax deductible but only if you itemize on your tax returns.

Consider making a direct transfer from a traditional IRA to charity, if the senior does not need the income. S/He will not be able to take a charitable deduction for the transfer but s/he will not have to declare the withdrawal as taxable income. Check that the transfer does not get deposited into the senior's bank account. It must be a direct transfer.

Sheila Walker Hartwell is founder of Hartwell Planning, a fee-only personal financial planning firm providing comprehensive financial plans to couples, small business owners, seniors, and divorced and widowed women. She is a frequent speaker to small business associations, nonprofit organizations and women's groups. She is author of "Lift the Burden of Debt™: A Program to Help You Climb Out of Debt and Stay Out in 10 Easy Steps." The program, which is an outcome of helping clients for over fourteen years to successfully eliminate unwanted debt permanently, is available for purchase at www.lifttheburdenofdebt.com. Sheila can be reached by email at info@hartwellplanning.com and by phone at (212) 772-8654.

And remember, if you are concerned that your aging parent need help now or may shortly and you don't know how to proceed, I urge you not to wait for a crisis to develop. Please call me toll-free (877) AGE-WISE or email me at Barbara@AgeWiseLiving.com for a complimentary "get acquainted" conversation or use the information in The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System. I don't want you to have to do this alone.