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Where’s There’s a Will, There’s a Family Fighting Over It

Senior Scene

Some years ago, I was at a local gift shop when I came across a small, decorative sign that read: “Where there’s a Will, there’s a family fighting over it.” It was a cute adaptation of the old saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” As an estate planning attorney who has seen more than a few family squabbles after the passing of a loved one, I found it an amusing play on words. It now sits on a shelf in my office as a reminder that even the best laid estate plan can still be the subject of a family feud. Some families are able to navigate the loss of their ...

Aging in place

Senior Scene

The best time to start thinking about age adaptations in the home is before you really need them. Unfortunately, many people don’t think about accommodations until an injury occurs or they are struggling with daily tasks. “So many people just keep doing the same thing they have ...

Club calendar Fall 2021

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Alamo Senior Center 528-4881 Business Meeting: 2nd Tuesday, 1 p.m. Social Activities: Birthdays, monthly, last Tuesday Cards: Tuesday p.m., following lunch Senior Meals: Tuesdays, noon Foot Clinic: Odd months, Divide County Health Nurse Anamoose Senior Citizens 465-3316 Business Meeting: 1st Monday with bingo & speaker Social Meeting: 3rd Friday of month Senior Meals: Every Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Chair Exercise: Every Monday & Thurs, 9:30 a.m. Free Blood Pressure Check: 1st Monday, monthly Cards & Dominoes: Every Friday, 6:30 p.m. Berthold Senior ...

Books brought to your door

Senior Scene

People have relied on books to provide entertainment and education for hundreds of years and public libraries have supported these needs for almost as long. However, not everyone in Minot is able to make it to the library to check out books. Fortunately, the Special Services program at the Minot Public Library assists these people by delivering materials to individuals who live in Minot and are unable to come to the library. The Minot Public Library delivers books and audiobooks monthly to people who are homebound, have a visual or physical disability or who are living in an assisted ...

Estate planning considerations are for “young people,” too

Senior Scene

The arrival of the covid Delta variant has many of us wondering when life will return to what we knew before. It has also brought estate planning issues top of mind for the “younger” crowd, specifically those between 30 and 50 years old. In my own family and circle of friends I have witnessed multiple ER visits and an ICU stay due to COVID for those in that demographic. This raises two important questions: (1) Have those in younger generations in your family completed their estate planning? and (2) If so, do you know your involvement in their planning, even if it is just in a ...

Ask Rusty: Does paying SS tax now increase my benefit?

Senior Scene

Dear Rusty: I started drawing my benefits at age 62 due to being laid off from my job at age 60. I have continued working part time and been paying Social Security and Medicare taxes ever since. I am now 66. I have been told that even though I continue to pay these taxes, it will not help increase my monthly social security benefit. Is that true? Signed: Working Beneficiary Dear Working Beneficiary: Paying into Social Security and Medicare through “FICA” taxes withheld from your paycheck doesn’t change your Social Security (SS) benefit amount. Those taxes aren’t held in a ...