Long-Term Care Costs Rising - NJ Averages $280 a day

Category: Elder Law

It is no surprise that a lead NJBiz article is "Long-Term Care Costs on the Rise". It is less of surprise that NJ is on the high side of average for the cost of long term care nationwide.

Average long-term care costs have jumped between 5 percent and 13 percent
nationwide since 2006, according to a study released today.

In New Jersey, the average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home in the Somerset area is $280 per day, or $102,200 annually, according to the "2008 Long-Term Care Cost of Care" report by Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU). In the U.S., the average cost is $217 per day, or $72,205 per year.

"Many Americans mistakenly believe that Medicare or private health insurance will pay for their long-term care needs," said Andy Mako, senior vice president of long-term care insurance at Newark-based Prudential Financial. "The reality is long-term care risk is substantial, and under current Medicare and Medicaid policy, much of it
is the uninsured private responsibility of individuals."

Other average long-term care costs highlighted by the study include:
Semi-private room in a nursing home
N.J.: $254 per day
U.S.: $194 per day

Assisted-living facility
N.J.: $3,538 per month
U.S.: $3,241 per month

Home care from a home-health aide or certified nursing assistant
N.J.: $26 per hour
U.S.: $21 per hour

"Legal Eagles" at Fein, Such, Kahn and Shepard, PC

Category: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Estate and Inheritance Tax, Business Law and Planning, Tax Law and Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Financial Planning, Miscellaneous Musings

Fein, Such, Kahn & Shepard PC Shareholders Jim Shepard, Eric Kapnick, and Deirdre Wheatley-Liss were featured in local newspaper Parsippany This Week "Legal Eagles". I bet you don't know the best advice Jim got from his parents, Eric's craziest experience, or Deirdre's favorite part of practicing law. You can find out and catch the full article on-line here:

http://www.parsippanythisweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080813/NEWS01/808130309

While FSKS provides legal services to clients throughout the Garden State, we are proud to be part of the fabric of Parsippany and Morris County. Our neighbors rely on us when buying or selling a house, creating a Will, starting or growing a business, dealing with aging parents, or exercising their rights in court.

People call us because "We fix problems". Please feel free to use us as your resource when evaluating legal issues. We invite you to forward the article along as it shows that attorneys are people too!

Most companies in US avoid federal income taxes - Yahoo! News

Category: Tax Law and Planning

While there are certainly causes for issue with Washington and the tax code, the misleading tone of this article from the top Yahoo News stories today is creating an issue where none exists:

Most companies in US avoid federal income taxes - Yahoo!: "WASHINGTON - Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.

The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period. Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to GAO's estimate.

'It's shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country,' said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who asked for the GAO study with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich."

Well, duh! The only companies that pay corporate level tax - that is to say that the company itself is the taxpayer instead of its owners, are C-Corporations and Professional Corporations. An S-Corporation, LLC, or partnership is a tax-reporter, but the actual tax is paid by its owners. There is no tax avoidance here, the tax is paid either by the corporation or its owners - trillions of dollars of revenue are still created.

I think it is shameful that Sen. Dorgan is misconstruing true statistics to create an issue that does not exist - perhaps Congress should focus on more taxing problems?

Welcome to NJ - The most expensive place to live and die

Category: Tax Law and Planning

From Tax Girl: New Jersey is #1!: "According to the Tax Foundation, New Jersey residents paid the highest percentage of state and local taxes. Folks from New Jersey paid a whopping 11.8% of income in state and local taxes, more than 2% above the national average. New York residents just eked out a second place finish, paying 11.7%."

But wait, there is more - New Jersey is also the most expensive state to die in, as there are state level estate taxes on estate's over $675,000, the lowest estate tax threshold in the country. With all these taxes, isn't it amazing our state in broke?