Every day, as an estate, elder care, and special needs attorney, I work with families dealing with any number of senior adult issues, including asset protection, elder abuse, medical and long-term care, housing and much more. Some 78 million Baby Boomers are moving into the senior population, which is having a significant impact on our communities and our collective resources.

This Memorial Day, Moorpark Morning Rotary Club will once again be honoring all Veterans for their dedication and service to our nation. The Moorpark Field of Valor will display American flags that are dedicated in honor of, or in memory of, a family member or friend who proudly served in the armed forces.

We hear the horror stories daily. Equifax, Yahoo, IRS, Sony Kaiser have been hacked. The identities of thousands of individuals are stolen every day. It’s bad enough, when we lose our personal information to cyber thieves through negligence of our own, but we must also contend with trusted corporate and other sources being hacked seemingly on a regular basis.

James Bachner is an amazing man with a compelling life story. He was born in Berlin in 1922, and as a German Jew he was destined to live through some of the unimaginable experiences of the Third Reich. As he grew up he witnessed the transformation of his homeland as the Nazis came to power.

I’m delighted to let you know that the presentation that Pause4kids and I sponsored last evening was a wonderful success.

While we’re alive, we gather a library full of paperwork and access codes relating to such things as insurance policies, bank records, taxes, digital accounts, medical reports, personal property, and real estate and other assets. Protecting this kind of information is very important, but, surprisingly, many people forget to properly manage their documents and digital assets.

One of the great joys of working with families with special needs children is seeing how they can inspire people to reach out to support one another. One of our clients, Marla and David Rosenblum and their daughter, Aubree, is a perfect example.

Senior Concerns is a wonderful organization, and on Friday, March 2, 2018 they will host Caregivers Matter…Conejo Cares, their third annual half-day program and luncheon honoring family caregivers who are caring for aging loved ones.

Other than being famous, what do Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimi Hendrix, Pablo Picasso, James Dean, Howard Hughes, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, and Prince have in common? They all left significant estates behind them, but either had no Will or estate plan in place or if they did they “flubbed” it up leaving their loved ones unprotected. The missteps caused unintended consequences, public disclosure of private matters, enormous family strife and costing their heirs dearly in court and legal fees as well as delay.

If you have a child affected by Autism, there is a terrific resource you may benefit from right here in Ventura County. It is the Autism Society of Ventura County — founded in 1994 by local parents, educators and professionals to help support newly-diagnosed families and develop needed local resources. First known as the Ventura County Autism Society (VCAS), the organization is a non-profit chapter of the Autism Society of America.

Retirees, most of whom are on relatively fixed incomes, are probably the most concerned about what the new tax law will mean for them. But, generally, they will be less affected than others because the changes do not affect how Social Security and investment income are taxed. In fact, many will benefit from the doubling of the standard deduction and, with the new individual tax brackets and rates, will be paying less in taxes when they file their tax returns in April, 2019. (Most of the changes will apply to 2018 income, not 2017 income.)

CPAs are a vital part of a client’s team of trusted advisors. CPAs can work with estate planning professionals to help clients achieve both their short- and long-term financial, estate and charitable planning, as well as compliance and governance needs. Here are four estate planning questions that CPAs should ask clients when approaching their financial planning for the New Year:

With the New Year, many of us will feel as if we are starting off with a clean slate and a whole list of things we want to accomplish. High on that agenda should be taking care of some basics, including reviewing current estate planning documents, planning for retirement and aging, financial planning, and insurance planning.

Who will care for your dog or cat when you pass away?What will happen to your bird should you become incapacitated?For many people, providing care for their pet after they pass away or if they become incapacitated is a very big concern and, as a result, most states (including CA) have statutes that provide for the enforcement of trusts created for the benefit of pets.

Dear Friends & Colleagues,My friend and colleague Robert Keebler, CPA/PFS warns that when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, those with big stock holdings may be out of luck!When selling or gifting stock, we have always been able to pick and choose those with the highest basis, to reduce potential capital gains taxes (or realize losses).Things are about to change.

It was an honor to be chosen recently for the Pacific Coast Business Times annual "Who's Who in Professional Services" list of leading attorneys in the Tri-Counties area.