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A Message From
Kate White, Executive Director |
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Don't miss your last chance to get more tax deductions for 2009! By making charitable donations directly from your IRAs, you can do good while getting tax deductions for this tax year! Congress has extended a law which allows people who are at least 70 1/2 years to make a tax-free withdrawal for a charitable donation directly from their IRAs. This is great for smaller donors who wouldn't get any benefit from a charitable deduction because they don't itemize. It is great for larger donors who can make a donation from an IRA without first withdrawing the money from the IRA and paying income tax on the withdrawal before making the donation. It also helps retirees who need to make a minimum distribution to prevent a penalty. Don't pay a penalty! Make a charitable gift instead.
The exception applies only to donors who are at least 70 1/2. Gifts are capped at $100,000 per person in 2009. Distributions can be made from traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, but not from Simple IRAs, SEPs, 401ks or profit-sharing plans. The money must be transferred from the IRA to the charity or charities without ever touching the donor's hands. The IRA custodian writes and sends the check directly to the charity. This tax break expires 12/31/09.
So act now to leave a legacy to Elder Law of Michigan. Our EIN is 38-2960530 and our address is 3815 W. St. Joseph St., Suite C200, Lansing, MI 48917, 517.485.9164.
Thank you for your support and consideration.
You can make a difference. Your gift will help make the world a better place for older adults.
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| IS SOMEONE MOVING IN WITH AUNT MILLIE? |
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 Take Steps Up Front To Prevent Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation
The poor economy in Michigan is forcing a lot of families to consider moving in together to save money, support unemployed adults, and provide care for older adults. According to USA Today, US Census Bureau statistics released in September, 2008 reveal a significant rise in the number of parents who live with adult heads of households. From 2000 to 2007 the number of parents living with their adult kids rose from 2.2 to 3.6 million-an increase of 67%. The numbers indicate that 'old age' may not be the catalyst; 75% of those parents moving in are under 65, as compared to 62% 65 and older.
>> Read the article >>
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KATE GOES TO WASHINGTON!
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Trip Serves to Educate Law Makers
Kate White, Executive Director of Elder Law of Michigan,  went to Washington, DC earlier this month to advocate for policies and programs to reduce poverty among older adults. A key focus of her work was to educate law makers and policy makers about the cost to retire in Michigan and the difficult time low income older adults, who don't have adequate incomes in retirement, face as they go without adequate food, housing and prescription drugs. Elder Law of Michigan's work on the Elder Economic Security Standards Index TM plays a vital role in providing evidence to quantify the needs of older adults in our state. In 2010, the work of the Index will continue in partnership with Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology as we analyze the number of older adults by county that have inadequate incomes to make ends meet.
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MiCAFE SOLVES HUNGER FOR OLDER ADULTS
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Reuters reported that the US government announced
that "more than 49 million Americans -- one in seven -- struggled to get enough
to eat in 2008, the highest total in 14 years of a federal survey on 'food
insecurity.'" Food insecurity is simply not
having enough food to eat or enough money to by enough food to eat. Although we think of children and unemployed
adults as those without enough to eat, hunger among older adults is a large
part of the growing number people struggling to feed themselves in these hard
economic times. Read the report >
Elder Law of Michigan's MiCAFE Program (which
stands for Michigan's Coordinated Access to Food for the Elderly) spotted  this
trend more than 8 years ago, recognizing that older adults were skipping meals
to pay for medicine and other bills.
We have developed, tested and refined the MiCAFE program and it plays a
vital role in reducing hunger and poverty among older adults in Michigan.
MiCAFE helps more than 2,000 older adults each year access programs that cover
the cost of food (food stamps) and to reduce their medical expenses so that
they have enough income to live humbly, but decently. For more information please call 1-877-664-2233.
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DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS WITH PERSONS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A Training Manual
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A Training Manual presented by Chris Curtin, RN-BC
The Mental Health in Aging Project, a program of Lansing Community College will sponsor Chris Curtin, RN-BC in a one day training on "Developing Meaningful Connections with Persons with Alzheimer's  Disease: A Training Manual". The training will be held on Monday, November 30, 2009 at the Lansing Community College's West Campus.
While anyone working with persons with dementia will benefit, the training is targeted to professionals who provide training to others working with dementia.
For more information or to register, contact Matt Beha at 517-483-1529 or email: beham@lcc.edu
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NEW TIPS TO PREVENT MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT & MEDICARE FRAUD
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In a joint press conference, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Attorney General Tony West highlighted the Obama Administration's work to fight Medicare Fraud and released new tips and information to help seniors and Medicare beneficiaries deter, detect and defend against Medical identity theft. Assistant Secretary for Aging Greenlee also participated in the press conference as did SMP volunteer Joanna Gibson of Felton, Delaware.
The new tips and a printable brochure were produced by the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and are available now at
www.StopMedicareFraud.gov and www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/idtheft
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