Keystone Blog
Body Donation to Science in PA
The first time I seriously though about body donation to science after death was when my parents finalized their estate plans and appointed me to be their primary agent. They explained how they wanted their bodies to be donated to science. Although previously I had...
Is Aging in Place Your Goal?
I have a Stone Soup comic (https://www.stonesoupcartoons.com/) posted by my desk. In this two block strip, two older men are sitting on a park bench. One of the men states “They sat me down and said, ‘Pops, we need to talk about aging in place.’ ” In the...
Cremation Considerations
Deciding what to do with the remains of a loved one can be a touchy subject, especially if the deceased’s only stated preference was to say “no muss no fuss,” which means different things to different people. While the topic of advance funeral planning is...
Medical Assistance Qualification with a Gift Annuity
If your widowed parent is in a nursing home, you might think that it is too late to save assets, or that you can’t get government help to pay for their care before all of their money runs out over time. That is not true. You can save money and avoid...
The Voting Process This November
This month we are celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage. It took almost 100 years of struggle until women finally obtained voting rights on August 18, 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Women such as Elizabeth Cady...
Social Security: Unlocking the Secrets
Get What’s Yours, was published on February 17, 2015, and explained how to exploit the “file and suspend” provisions of Social Security. We wrote about that here in November 2015. Congress changed Social Security late in 2015 to close the loopholes...
Have Restrictions Been too One-Sided?
As a child, before video games and central air conditioning, I would sometimes complain to my mother: “There’s nothing to do!” Since in any season I could ride my bike to the park and join in a pick-up game of some sport, my Mother would respond: “Go...
Preparation Lessons from COVID
COVID-19 caught many of us by surprise in March. Who honestly imagined that COVID-19 restrictions would remain in effect for more than four months? After months of optimism that the United States was on the verge of reopening what had been a robust...
Grief and Healing After Loss
Has COVID-19 deprived you of someone or something that was important to you? Perhaps you have lost a family member/friend or employment. A result of the pandemic may also be an altered sense of self due to financial upheaval, cancellation/modification of a...
Is Independence Limiting Your Freedom?
Last Saturday we celebrated Independence Day, commemorating the American colonies declaration of political separation from Great Britain. The establishment of a system of government which recognized individual freedoms in areas such as religion, speech, and bearing...
