From the Washington Post...
​How Nest, designed to keep intruders out of people’s homes, effectively allowed hackers to get in

Tara Thomas had a Nest camera in her daughter Avery's bedroom. It was hacked back in August. (Deanne Fitzmaurice for The Washington Post)
By Reed Albergotti
April 23Tara Thomas thought her daughter was just having nightmares. “There’s a monster in my room,” the almost-3-year-old would say, sometimes pointing to the green light on the Nest Cam installed on the wall above her bed.
Then Thomas realized her daughter’s nightmares were real. In August, she walked into the room and heard pornography playing through the Nest Cam, which she had used for years as a baby monitor in their Novato, Calif., home. Hackers, whose voices could be heard faintly in the background, were playing the recording, using the intercom feature in the software. “I’m really sad I doubted my daughter,” she said.
Though it would be nearly impossible to find out who was behind it, a hack like this one doesn’t require much effort, for two reasons: Software designed to help people break into websites and devices has gotten so easy to use that it’s practically child’s play, and many companies, including Nest, have effectively chosen to let some hackers slip through the cracks rather than impose an array of inconvenient countermeasures that could detract from their users’ experience and ultimately alienate their customers.
The result is that anyone in the world with an Internet connection and rudimentary skills has the ability to virtually break into homes through devices designed to keep physical intruders out.
As hacks such as the one the Thomases suffered become public, tech companies are deciding between user convenience and potential damage to their brands. Nest could make it more difficult for hackers to break into Nest cameras, for instance, by making the log-in process more cumbersome. But doing so would introduce what Silicon Valley calls “friction” — anything that can slow down or stand in the way of someone using a product.
At the same time, tech companies pay a reputational price for each high-profile incident. Nest, which is part of Google, has been featured on local news stations throughout the country for hacks similar to what the Thomases experienced. And Nest’s recognizable brand name may have made it a bigger target. While Nest’s thermostats are dominant in the market, its connected security cameras trail the market leader, Arlo, according to Jack Narcotta, an analyst at the market research firm Strategy Analytics. Arlo, which spun out of Netgear, has around 30 percent of the market, he said. Nest is in the top five, he said.
Nik Sathe, vice president of software engineering for Google Home and Nest, said Nest has tried to weigh protecting its less security-savvy customers while taking care not to unduly inconvenience legitimate users to keep out the bad ones. “It’s a balance,” he said. Whatever security Nest uses, Sathe said, needs to avoid “bad outcomes in terms of user experience.”
[The doorbells have eyes: The privacy battle brewing over home security cameras]
Google spokeswoman Nicol Addison said Thomas could have avoided being hacked by implementing two-factor authentication, where in addition to a password, the user must enter a six-digit code sent via text message. Thomas said she had activated two-factor authentication; Addison said it had never been activated on the account.
The method used to spy on the Thomases is one of the oldest tricks on the Internet. Hackers essentially look for email addresses and passwords that have been dumped online after being stolen from one website or service and then check to see whether the same credentials work on another site. Like the vast majority of Internet users, the family used similar passwords on more than one account. While their Nest account had not been hacked, their password had essentially become public knowledge, thanks to other data breaches.
Decoding Internet Security: Internet of thingsHere is what you need to know about the Internet of things: a term used to describe devices like a thermostat or baby monitor that connect to the Internet. (Sarah Parnass, Osman Malik/The Washington Post)
In recent years, this practice, which the security industry calls “credential stuffing,” has gotten incredibly easy. One factor is the sheer number of stolen passwords being dumped online publicly. It’s difficult to find someone who hasn’t been victimized. (You can check for yourself here.)
A new breed of credential-stuffing software programs allows people with little to no computer skills to check the log-in credentials of millions of users against hundreds of websites and online services such as Netflix and Spotify in a matter of minutes. Netflix and Spotify both said in statements that they were aware of credential stuffing and employ measures to guard against it. Netflix, for instance, monitors websites with stolen passwords and notifies users when it detects suspicious activity. Neither Netflix nor Spotify offer two-factor authentication.
But the potential for harm is higher for the 20 billion Internet-connected things expected to be online by next year, according to the research firm Gartner. Securing these devices has public safety implications. Hacked devices can be used in large-scale cyberattacks such as the “Dyn hack” that mobilized millions of compromised “Internet of things” devices to take down Twitter, Spotify and others in 2016.
[‘I’m in your baby’s room’: A hacker took over a baby monitor and broadcast threats, parents say]
In January, Japanese lawmakers passed an amendment to allow the government to essentially do what hackers do and scour the Internet for stolen passwords and test them to see whether they have been reused on other platforms. The hope is that the government can force tech companies to fix the problem.
Security experts worry the problem has gotten so big that there could be attacks similar to the Dyn hack, this time as a result of a rise in credential stuffing.
“They almost make it foolproof,” said Anthony Ferrante, the global head of cybersecurity at FTI Consulting and a former member of the National Security Council. He said the new tools have made it even more important to stop reusing passwords.
Tech companies have been aware of the threat of credential stuffing for years, but the way they think about it has evolved as it has become a bigger problem. There was once a sense that users should take responsibility for their security by refraining from using the same password on multiple websites. But as gigantic dumps of passwords have gotten more frequent, technology companies have found that it is not just a few inattentive customers who reuse the same passwords for different accounts — it’s the majority of people online.
Credential stuffing is “at the root of probably 90 percent of the things we see happening,” said Emmanuel Schalit, chief executive of Dashlane, a password manager that allows people to store unique, random passwords in one place. Only about 1 percent of Internet users, he said, use some kind of password manager.
“We saw this coming in late 2017, early 2018 when we saw these big credential dumps start to happen,” Google’s Sathe said. In response, Nest says, it implemented security measures around that time.
It did its own research into stolen passwords available on the Web and cross-referenced them with its records, using an encryption technique that ensured Nest could not actually see the passwords. In emails sent to customers, including the Thomases, it notified customers when they were vulnerable. It also tried to block log-in attempts that veered from the way legitimate users log into accounts. For instance, if a computer from the same Internet-protocol address attempted to log into 10 Nest accounts, the algorithm would block that address from logging into any more accounts.
But Nest’s defenses were not good enough to stop several high-profile incidents throughout last year in which hackers used credential stuffing to break into Nest cameras for kicks. Hackers told a family in a San Francisco suburb, using the family’s Nest Cam, that there was an imminent missile attack from North Korea. Someone hurled racial epithets at a family in Illinois through a Nest Cam. There were also reports of hackers changing the temperature on Nest thermostats. And while only a handful of hacks became public, other users may not even be aware their cameras are compromised.
The company was forced to respond. “Nest was not breached,” it said in a January statement. “These recent reports are based on customers using compromised passwords,” it said, urging its customers to use two-factor authentication. Nest started forcing some users to change their passwords.
This was a big step for Nest because it created the kind of friction that technology companies usually try to avoid. “As we saw the threat evolve, we put more explicit measures in place,” Sathe said. Nest says only a small percentage of its millions of customers are vulnerable to this type of attack.
According to at least one expert, though, Nest users are still exposed. Hank Fordham, a security researcher, sat in his Calgary, Alberta, home recently and opened up a credential-stuffing software program known as Snipr. Instantly, Fordham said, he found thousands of Nest accounts that he could access. Had he wanted to, he would have been able to view cameras and change thermostat settings with relative ease.

Nest Cams on display in October at a Google product launch event in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News)While other similar programs have been around for years, Snipr, which costs $20 to download, is easier to use. Snipr provides the code required to check whether hundreds of the most popular platforms, such as “League of Legends” and Netflix, are accessible with a bunch of usernames and passwords — and those have become abundantly available all over the Internet.
Fordham, who had been monitoring the software and testing it for malware, noticed that after Snipr added functionality for Nest accounts last May, news reports of attacks started coming out. “I think the credential-stuffing community was made aware of it, and that was the dam breaking,” he said.
Nest said the company had never heard of Snipr, though it is generally aware of credential-stuffing software. It said it cannot be sure whether any one program drives more credential stuffing toward Nest products.
What surprises Fordham and other security researchers about the vulnerability of Nest accounts is the fact that Nest’s parent company, Google, is widely known for having the best methods for stopping credential-stuffing attacks. Google’s vast user base gives it data that it can use to determine whether someone trying to log into an account is a human or a robot.
The reason Nest has not employed all of Google’s know-how on security goes back to Nest’s roots, according to Nest and people with knowledge of its history. Founded in 2010 by longtime Apple executive Tony Fadell, Nest promised at the time that it would not collect data on users for marketing purposes.
In 2014, Nest was acquired by Google, which has the opposite business model. Google’s products are free or inexpensive and, in exchange, it profits from the personal information it collects about its users. The people familiar with Nest’s history said the different terms of service and technical challenges have prevented Nest from using all of Google’s security products. Google declined to discuss whether any of its security features were withheld because of incompatibility with Nest’s policies.
[Google failed to notify customers it put microphones in Nest security systems]
Under Alphabet, Google’s parent company, Nest employed its own security team. While Google shared knowledge about security, Nest developed its own software. In some ways, Nest’s practices appear to lag well behind Google’s. For instance, Nest still uses SMS messages for two-factor authentication. Using SMS is generally not recommended by security experts, because text messages can be easily hijacked by hackers. Google allows people to use authentication apps, including one it developed in-house, instead of text messages. And Nest does not use ReCaptcha, which Google acquired in 2009 and which can separate humans from automated software, such as what credential stuffers use to identify vulnerable accounts.
Sathe said Nest employed plenty of advanced techniques to stop credential stuffing, such as machine learning algorithms that “score” log-ins based on how suspicious they are and block them accordingly. “We have many layers of security in conjunction with what the industry would consider best practices,” he said.
When asked why Nest does not use ReCaptcha, Sathe cited difficulty in implementing it on mobile apps, and user convenience. “Captchas do create a speed bump for the users,” he said.
The person behind Snipr, who goes by the name “Pragma” and communicates via an encrypted chat, put the blame on the company. “I can tell you right now, Nest can easily secure all of this,” he said when asked whether his software had enabled people to listen in and harass people via Nest Cams. “This is like stupidly bad security, like, extremely bad.” He also said he would remove the capability to log into Nest accounts, which he said he added last May when one of his customers asked for it, if the company asked. Pragma would not identify himself, for fear of getting in “some kind of serious trouble.”
[Microsoft calls for regulation of facial recognition, saying it’s too risky to leave to tech industry alone]
That’s when Fordham, the Calgary security researcher, became concerned. He noticed the addition of Nest on the dashboard and took it upon himself to start warning people who were vulnerable. He logged into their Nest cams and spoke to them, imploring them to change their passwords. One of those interactions ended up being recorded by the person on the other end of the camera. A local news station broadcast the video.
Fordham said he is miffed that it is still so easy to log into Nest accounts. He noted that Dunkin’ Donuts, after seeing its users fall victim to credential-stuffing attacks aimed at taking their rewards points, implemented measures, including captchas, that have helped solve the problem. “It’s a little alarming that a company owned by Google hasn’t done the same thing as Dunkin’ Donuts,” Fordham said.
A spokeswoman for Dunkin’ declined to comment.
Don't be a creep with your Ring doorbell or Nest security camera. Follow these steps.Doorbells are gaining cameras for security and catching porch pirates. The Post's Geoff Fowler goes over security camera etiquette you may not have considered. (Jhaan Elker, Geoffrey Fowler/The Washington Post)
According to people familiar with the matter, Google is in the process of converting Nest user accounts so that they utilize Google’s security methods via Google’s log-in, in part to deal with the problem. Addison said that Nest user data will not be subject to tracking by Google. She later said that she misspoke but would not clarify what that meant.
Knowing that the hack could have been stopped with a unique password or two-factor authentication has not made Thomas, whose camera was hacked, feel any better. “I continuously get emails saying it wasn’t their fault,” she said.
She unplugged the camera and another one she used to have in her son’s bedroom, and she doesn’t plan to turn them on again: “That was the solution.”

Estate planning: 6 steps to ensure your family is financially ready for when you die
Tamara E. Holmes, Special to USA TODAY Published 5:00 a.m. ET April 1, 2019
​
On Monday, a Minnesota judge overseeing the legal proceedings in regards to Prince's estate said there will be no fast decisions on who should be allowed to inherit from the late star. USA TODAY
When Vivian Young and her then-husband took their first vacation without the kids, the need for estate planning struck them like a jolt.
“I started thinking about worst-case scenarios,” says Young, now 64, of Los Angeles.
Worried about who would take care of the children if something were to happen to them, they found an attorney who quickly drew up a will.
Over the years, Young’s estate plan evolved when her life changed, such as when she divorced and when her children turned 18. Putting off planning can be tempting, she admits, “but there are consequences.”
More than half of Americans will learn those consequences first hand, as only 42 percent have a will or other estate planning documents, according to a 2017 Caring.com study. Among parents of children under 18, only 36 percent have created a will.
But if you die without a will, your state’s laws will determine what happens to your property or who should be legally responsible for minor children. That might be OK in some situations, but in others, a grandchild with special needs might not get the resources you want him to have, or an estranged family member might get possession of your house.
“What people get wrong is thinking that if they don't do anything, things will work out,” says John Terrill II, incoming president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, an organization of estate planning attorneys.
Since we don’t know when we will die, it’s never too early to start coming up with a plan.
Here is what you should consider:
Start with a willA will is a document that designates who should get your money and possessions, as well as who would become a guardian to your minor children if both parents die.
“Each state has its own unique estate planning laws, and those laws can change each year,” says Dave Hanley, CEO of Tomorrow, a Seattle-based company that developed the Tomorrow app, which lets consumers create wills for free. Websites such as LegalZoom  and Rocket Lawyer also walk you through the process if you want to do it yourself. But make sure any will you create meets your state’s legal requirements.
Joy Loverde and David Schultz in Sedona, Arizona. (Photo: www.elderindustry.com)
Think beyond deathWhen Joy Loverde, 67, and David Schultz, 74,  of Chicago married in 1999, they realized that they had like-minded philosophies about money. However, Loverde, who writes about elder issues in her book, "Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old," found that people often overlooked planning for hardships that can occur while they were still alive. 
“One of the things that I brought to the table early on is this idea about protecting each other in the event of incapacity more so than in the event of death,” she says.
A living will is a legal document that states what medical procedures you want or don’t want if you are incapacitated and can’t speak for yourself. This would be the go-to document if the question ever arises about whether to continue life-sustaining treatment. Durable powers of attorney are legal documents that let someone you appoint make legal, financial and health care decisions for you if you can’t do it.
Consider establishing a trustSome may benefit from establishing a trust, a legal entity that holds any property that you want to leave to your beneficiaries. With a trust, your family won’t have to go through the legal process of probate, where the court ensures that your assets are distributed and your debts are paid. Trusts also allow you to set up rules for how and when property is distributed. If you do this, you’ll need to identify a trustee who will manage the trust.
Communicate your wishesIt’s important to let people know when you’ve designated them a trustee or a guardian, says S. Mark Alton, president of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. “We don't often communicate with the trustees and/or the trust protectors, and say, ‘This is going to be your role. You're going to be a surrogate for me.’”
Review your beneficiary choices If you have investment accounts and retirement plans such as a 401(k), make sure the person you have listed as the beneficiary is the person you want to receive those funds. Even if your will says otherwise, the beneficiaries listed on the account will inherit the money. Your plan will likely change as your life evolves.
“You have marriages and divorces. You have births and deaths,"  says Alton. "You have to change beneficiary designations at those times.”
Seek professional helpEstate planning can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending upon how complex your affairs are, says Terrill. However, if your affairs are complicated, seek help.
When Shultz and Loverde married, he had two grown children and she had one. Like many blended families, their needs were complex.
“I was an attorney myself but didn't handle that kind of legal situation, so knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know is pretty important,” Schultz says.
Not only do estate planners help you ensure that your wishes are met, they can also help you figure out how to allocate your assets in a way that is most tax-advantageous, adds Terrill.
End-of-life planning isn’t something that we typically look forward to, but it’s a necessary action if you want to have full control over your life and your assets.
“We have to move toward more intentional and more purposeful planning,” Alton says.

4 Estate Planning Myths That Refuse To DieRon Carson 

• That’s because estate planning is part of life planning.
• It can mean the difference between loved ones hoping they did right by you and knowing they carried out your wishes.

Estate planning remains one of the most misunderstood areas of planning. Over the years, I’ve met with people who “only needed a financial plan, not an estate plan” or “didn’t need a financial plan, just some help with estate planning.” I’ve also met with people who labeled themselves too young (or too old) to engage in estate planning. What they were all missing is that estate planning is an integral part of a comprehensive financial plan, not something that sits outside of it.
That’s because estate planning is part of life planning. It’s about defining and living out your legacy during your lifetime, enabling you to enjoy the impact it has on the people and organizations you support; ensuring loved ones who depend on your income are protected in the event of your incapacity or death; and ensuring your own wishes and preferences are communicated and can be met should you require long-term care, among other goals. It helps to answer important questions, including: Who will have the legal authority to act on your behalf if you’re unable to do so during your lifetime, whether that’s managing your assets or important healthcare decisions? And who is going to be tasked with making sure it happens?
To help clarify the role of estate planning in the financial planning process, it’s important to debunk some of the most common myths, beginning with: Who needs an estate plan? 
MYTH #1: Estate planning is only for the high net worth.

Often, people believe that estate planning only benefits the uber `wealthy, but nothing could be further from the truth. If you own property and assets or have loved ones that depend on you to provide for their income or care, you have an estate and need a plan—regardless of your estate size. Estate planning is something everyone needs to engage in regardless of age, estate size, or marital status. If you have a bank account, investments, a car, home or other property—you have an estate. More importantly, if you have a spouse, minor children, or other dependents, an estate plan is critical for protecting their interests and their future income needs.
An estate plan can help you accomplish these and other important goals:

• Protect those who depend on you and your income during their lifetime.
• Name guardians for minor children.
• Name the family members, loved ones, and organizations you wish to receive your property following your death.
• Transfer property to your heirs and any organizations you’ve named in your estate planning documents in a tax-efficient and expedient manner, with as few legal hurdles as possible.
• Manage tax exposure.
• Name your executor and/or trustee – the individual(s) or institution you appoint to act as your proxy in settling your estate and distributing your property.
• Avoid probate, the court process for proving that a deceased person's will is valid.
• Document the type of care you prefer to receive should you become ill or incapacitated, including any life-prolonging medical care you do or do not wish to receive.
• Express your wishes and preferences for funeral arrangements and how related expenses will be paid.

MYTH #2: Estate planning is only about distributing my assets after I’m gone.
Legacy and incapacity planning are two areas of planning that encompass far more than managing your assets during or after your lifetime. Just like your goals, your legacy is unique to you and your family. While it includes important charitable planning goals and gifting strategies, it goes well beyond the monetary aspects to include passing down the values, experiences, hard work and memories that define your life and are important to you and your family in a way that’s meaningful to you.
Incapacity planning helps you prepare for unexpected events at every stage of your life from naming a guardian for your minor children, to who will manage your affairs if you’re no longer able to do so yourself, to the type of care you will you receive and who will oversee your care. 
MYTH #3: A will can oversee the distribution of all of my assets.
A will is a legal document that instructs how your property will be distributed after your death. It allows you to name an executor, who is your personal representative charged with overseeing the distribution of your property and shepherding it through the probate process. Probate is the court process that’s required to validate your will and transfer your assets.
However, certain assets may sit outside of your will. These include life insurance policies or qualified retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs, etc.) that have a beneficiary designation, as well as assets or accounts with a pay-on-death (POD) or a transfer-on-death (TOD) designation. These assets transfer directly to the named beneficiaries and are not subject to probate.
This is why it’s so important to review your account beneficiary designations annually or whenever changes in your life occur. For example, if you divorce and remarry and fail to update the beneficiary designation on your IRA account to your new spouse, your ex-spouse would receive those assets upon your death. Even if your will and/or trust names your current spouse as the beneficiary or co-trustee, since these assets sit outside of your will or a trust, they are not governed by those documents.
​

In addition to a will, it’s important to work with an estate attorney to draw up other important legal documents to protect your interests and the interest of your dependents and/or heirs. These include:

• A general, durable power of attorney to empower your “agent” to carry out any legal and/or financial decisions that have to be made on your behalf during your lifetime if you are unable to act on your own behalf. Unlike other powers of attorney extending specific or limited powers to a named agent, a durable power of attorney doesn’t end if you become incapacitated. However, all powers of attorney end at your death.
• A living will, or healthcare proxy, is a legal document that enables you to specify the kind of medical care you do or do not want to receive in the event of illness or incapacity. It indicates who is empowered to make healthcare decisions on your behalf and spells out how you wish to be cared for, alleviating the burden on your family members and loved ones to make those decisions at a highly stressful and emotional time.
• While not everyone needs a trust, it can provide the confidence that you have a plan in place to help provide for the safe and accountable management of family assets and to direct their use and distribution in accordance with your wishes and objectives. It allows While you’re alive, you remain both the trustee and the beneficiary of the trust, maintaining control of the assets and receiving all income and benefits. Upon your death, a designated successor trustee manages and/or distributes the remaining assets according to the terms set in the trust, avoiding the probate process. In addition, should you become incapacitated during the term of the trust, your successor or co-trustee can take over its management. All trusts fall into one of two categories: revocable or irrevocable. (Generally, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at your death.) Within these categories, many types of trusts exist to fulfill a broad range of needs and objectives.

MYTH #4: Once I put a plan in place, I don’t need to revisit it later.
Planning is never a “once and done” proposition. Your life, preferences and goals change over time, and may be also be impacted by outside influences, such as the financial markets, tax law changes and economic events. What if you marry or divorce, welcome a new child or grandchild, your minor children become adults, you move to another state, or experience the death of a spouse? All of these changes need to be reflected in your estate and legacy planning. That’s why it’s important to periodically review and update your estate planning documents, including your beneficiary designations and how your various accounts are titled.
Recently, the estate tax exclusion more than doubled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. You want to make sure your plan addresses these changes and that you and your financial, tax and legal advisors remain abreast of any subsequent changes. This will be very important over the next few years since the current federal estate tax law is set to expire at the end of 2025. You also want to pay close attention to any state laws that may impact your planning if you reside in a state that imposes a separate estate or inheritance tax.
Communication is key
One of the most important steps in the estate and legacy planning process is communication. It can mean the difference between loved ones hoping they did right by you and knowing they carried out your wishes. The more you share, the easier it is for everyone involved. That includes sharing the location of the original copies of your legal documents, where you do your banking and investing, who holds your mortgage and credit card accounts, and where you store important passwords with the trusted individual(s) you have appointed as your executor and/or successor trustee. This is critical information for those you’ve appointed to act on your behalf in the event of your incapacitation or death.


I am founder and CEO of Inc. 5000 firm Carson Group, Barron’s Hall-of-Fame wealth advisor, one of Forbes top wealth advisors in America, radio talk show host, and author of The Sustainable Edge.

Excerpts from an article titled "Five Estate Planning Documents" with original author credited at end of post.  Original post heavily edited.

There are five estate planning documents that every couple needs to protect their money and ensure their heirs are taken care of.
They are:

• Will
• Living trust and pour-over will
• Durable power of attorney
• Advance health care directive
• Updated beneficiary documents

1. WillOne of the most basic estate planning documents is a will. A will is a legal document that expresses how a person would like their assets distributed upon their death.  Formalities in execution must be observed.
The process of distributing your assets to beneficiaries and paying off debts by the court is called “probate.” The court charges for handling an estate and may also require the estate to pay for an attorney.
Keep in mind that a will is a public document that is read by the county and handled by the court. If you value your privacy, you'll want to take a step further and create a living trust for your estate.

2. Living Trust And Pour-Over Will
A living trust is a document that allows the deceased to control how their estate is distributed. It is more advanced than a will and allows for more specialized instructions. For example, you can say that your children get specific amounts at certain ages or upon passing certain milestones, like graduating from college, getting married, or having children.
When there is a living trust, the estate will bypass the courts and probate process. This can save valuable time and money that should be going to your family, friends, and charity instead of the court system.
With a living trust, you will name specific assets and how they should be distributed. A “pour-over will” is used to catch any of your assets that were not transferred to your living trust and ensure that they are distributed according to the rules within your trust.
Some people include a rule that, if the living trust is contested, the people arguing against it will receive a reduced amount. The best way to avoid arguing is to communicate your wishes to your family ahead of time. This will allow you to explain your reasons and allow them to ask questions.
3. Durable Power Of Attorney
Estate planning isn't just about death. It is also about protecting your family in case you get sick, injured, or otherwise incapacitated. This is where a durable power of attorney comes into play.
The durable power of attorney document designates someone who will make decisions on your behalf when you cannot. There are two types of durable power of attorney documents that you should have – health care and finances.
You should have separate documents for health care and finances for a couple of reasons. First, the health care document will contain more personal information about your health history. And, second, you may choose to have different people handle those decisions on your behalf.
4. Advance Health Care Directive
Another important medical document is the advance health care directive. Yes, you've already designated someone to make decisions on your behalf with the durable power of attorney, but they may not share your same opinions on everything.
An advance health care directive spells out the medical care that you do, or do not, want in the event that you are incapacitated.
For example, your family and friends love you and may have difficulty giving the approval to take you off life support when that time comes. And even if they are willing, this removes the burden and guilt of being “the one who pulled the plug” on someone that they love.

5. Updated Beneficiary Documents
For retirement plans, life insurance policies, and annuities & pensions, it is very important to designate a beneficiary.
You've probably seen or heard stories about current spouses or children losing out on expected benefits because the deceased didn't update beneficiary documents after getting remarried or having additional children.
Do You Need An Estate Planning Attorney?HINT:  YES YOU DO!
There are many tools available for people to create their own estate documents. Nolo.com is another online resource that is popular with the DIY crowd.  Just because options are available does not mean that they are workable or proper for your situation!
Because of the complicated nature of this subject, many people choose to involve an attorney in drafting these documents. This is especially true if you have specific conditions that you want to happen before beneficiaries receive money. Every state has different laws dictating what is and is not acceptable. You don't want one sentence in your living trust to invalidate your entire estate plan.

Additional Steps To Take
Beyond having these documents, do everyone a favor a have a list of all of your accounts readily available.  Along those same lines, keep all of your other important financial documents together in one place. Property deeds, vehicle titles, and life insurance policies are good examples of important documents that need to be easily found.

​Plan Now To Avoid Headaches Later
What steps are you taking to preserve your estate? Will you do them yourself or hire an attorney? 

by--Lee Huffman
Lee is a former financial planner and corporate finance manager.

Sad that we have to talk about this, but here we go...

​GET VACCINATED!

By Annalise Knudson | aknudson@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the measles outbreak continues to surge in the United States and New York, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging young children and adults to make sure they are vaccinated.
The high number of cases this year is primarily the result of a few large outbreaks, including two in New York that began in late 2018, according to the CDC.
The outbreaks in New York City and New York state are among the largest and longest-lasting since measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000, the CDC said.
Symptoms of measles begin with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, followed by a rash that spreads over the body, according to the agency. It is highly contagious and spreads through coughing and sneezing.
Here’s what you need to know about measles and the measles vaccination, according to the CDC.
WHO IS PROTECTED
The CDC considers you protected from measles if you have written documents showing at least one of the following:

• You received two doses of measles-containing vaccine, and you are a(n) school-age child (grades K-12), or an adult who will be in a setting that poses a high risk for measles transmission, including students at post-high school education institutions, healthcare personnel and international travelers.
• You received one dose of measles-containing vaccine, and you are a(n) preschool-aged child or an adult who will not be in a high-risk setting for measles transmission.
• A laboratory confirmed that you had measles at some point in your life.
• A laboratory confirmed that you are immune to measles.
• You were born before 1957.

DO I NEED A BOOSTER VACINE?
The CDC said people do not need a booster vaccine for measles.
The agency said people who received two doses of the vaccine as children, according to the U.S. vaccination schedule, are protected for life. They do not ever need a booster dose.
If you were born after 1957, you need at least one dose of the measles vaccine, unless a laboratory confirmed that you had a past measles infection or are immune to measles, the CDC said. Some adults may need two doses.
Adults who will be in a setting with a high risk of getting measles should make sure they have had two doses separated by at least 28 days.
These adults include:

• Students at post-high school education institutions
• Healthcare personnel
• International travelers
• People who public health authorities determine are at increased risk for getting measles during a measles outbreak

WHAT IF I AM UNSURE?
If you’re unsure, try to find your vaccination records of documentation of measles immunity, the CDC said. If you don’t have written documentation, you should get vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
You can also have a doctor test your blood to determine if you’re immune. According to the CDC, there’s no harm in getting another dose of the MMR vaccine if you may be immune to measles.
CAN I STILL GET MEASLES IF I’M VACCINATED?
According to the CDC, very few people -- about three out of 100 -- who get two doses of the vaccine will still get measles if they are exposed to the virus.
While experts aren’t sure why, fully vaccinated people who get measles are more likely to have a milder illness and are less likely to spread the disease to other people.
WHO SHOULD AVOID THE MMR VACCINE?
According to the CDC, people with severe, life-threatening allergies and pregnant women should not get the vaccine.
People with weakened immune systems, and people with a parent, brother or sister with a history of immune system problems, shouldn’t get the shot.
This also applies to those with tuberculosis and people who have a condition that makes them bruise or bleed easily.

Panic! At the Disco - High Hopes Lyrics
Artist: Panic! At the Disco
Album: Pray For the Wicked

Had to have high high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high high hopes
Had to have high high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high high hopes

Mama said
Fulfill the prophecy
Be something great
Go make a legacy
Manifest destiny
Back in the days
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Mama said
Burn your biographies
Rewrite your history
Light up your wildest dreams
Museum victories
Everyday
We wanted everything, wanted everything

Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love and I hate to see you waiting

Had to have high high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high high hopes
Had to have high high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high high hopes

Mama said
It's uphill for oddities
The stranger crusaders
Ain't ever wannabes
The weird and the novelties
Don't ever change
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down
Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down

Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love and I hate to see you waiting
They say it's all been done but they
haven't seen the best of me, eh eh eh
So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see, eh eh eh

Had to have high high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high high hopes
Had to have high high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high high hopes
Had to have high high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high high hopes
Had to have high high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high high hopes

Another good song.  Same topic as yesterday

​Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes
"High Hopes" as written by and Timothy Scott Mcconnell....

Monday morning runs to Sunday night
Screaming slow me down before the new year dies
Well it won't take much to kill a loving smile
And every mother with a baby crying in her arms, singing
Give me help, give me strength
Give a soul a night of fearless sleep
Give me love, give me peace
Don't you know these days you pay for everything
Got high hopes
I got high hopes
Got high hopes
I got high hopes

Coming from the city, coming from the wild
I see a breathless army breaking like a cloud
They're gonna smother love, they're gonna shoot your hopes
Before the meek inherit they'll learn to hate themselves
Give me help, give me strength
Give a soul a night of fearless sleep
Give me love, give me peace
Don't you know these days you pay for everything
Got high hopes
I got high hopes
I got high hopes
I got high hopes

Give me help, give me strength
Give a soul a night of fearless sleep
Give me love, give me peace
Don't you know these days you pay for everything
I got high hopes
Got high hopes
I got high hopes
Got high hopes

Tell me someone now, what's the price
I wanna buy some time and maybe live my life
I wanna have a wife, I wanna have some kids
I wanna look in their eyes and know they'll stand a chance

Give me help, give me strength
Give a soul a night of fearless sleep
Give me love, give me peace
Don't you know these days you pay for everything
I got high hopes
Got high hopes
I got high hopes
Got high hopes

Got high hopes
I got high hopes
I got high hopes
I got high hopes

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"High Hopes" as written by Timothy Scott Mcconnell
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No witty blog today.  Just a good song. More news on this tomorrow.
Frank Sinatra – High Hopes Lyrics
Next time your found, with your chin on the ground
There a lot to be learned, so look around

Just what makes that little old ant
Think hell move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes
Hes got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your gettin low
Stead of lettin go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your backs to the wall
There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he'd punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin that dam

Cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your feelin bad
Stead of feelin sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam

All problems just a toy balloon
They'll be bursted soon
They're just bound to go pop
Oops there goes another problem kerplop


Songwriters: JIMMY VAN HEUSEN, SAMMY CAHN
High Hopes lyrics © BARTON MUSIC CORPORATION

Study: 8 Million Middle-Income Seniors Will Struggle To Afford Housing
Bruce Japsen 

GettyMore than half of U.S. seniors considered “middle income” won’t be able to afford assisted living and other forms of senior housing a decade from now, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.
The study, led by NORC at the University of Chicago and researchers from Harvard Medical School, shows a critical void in future U.S. housing needs at a time when more than 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 each day.
Though the housing market for Americans in need of assisted and independent living has greatly expanded, the cost is often out of reach for an increasing number of people considered middle income who are 75 and older.
“There’s a huge underserved market here,” Robert Kramer, founder and strategic advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care, a nonprofit that provides data and analytics and works with investors and providers of senior housing. National Investment Center funded the NORC and Harvard research.
The study said 54% of middle-income seniors, or nearly 8 million people, will not be able to afford annual costs of $60,000 for assisted living, independent living or other housing related costs even if they allocated all of their annual resources to such housing. “Even assuming that seniors draw from their housing equity in addition to their income, 7.8 million (54 percent) middle-income seniors in 2029 will have annual financial resources of $60,000 or less,” the study shows.
The analysis comes as health insurers and medical care providers begin to address social determinants of health by investing in programs and pilots in certain markets that address everything from loneliness and food insecurity to housing. By investing in new ways to address social determinants of health, insurers like UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, Centene and Humana have said they are investing more in housing and other ways to address social determinants to make sure patients are getting healthcare in the right place, at the right time and in the right amount.
But many of these efforts by traditional insurers and medical providers are for now focused on low income Americans and homeless patients as insurers work to improve health outcomes figuring a place to live helps avoid a much more expensive hospitalization or ER visit because someone lacks shelter. With the number of middle income seniors projected to double, those involved with the study are trying to put a spotlight on a worsening issue for U.S. policymakers given most of these Americans will not have enough money to meet their housing and related healthcare needs.
“This is more than just housing because this is housing with supportive services that is needed,” National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care’s Kramer said. “This has huge implications for the safety net programs for those with low incomes.”
To be sure, the study described those “in the middle-come” category as people between the ages of 75 and 84 with “annuitized financial resources of $25,001–$74,298 in 2014 dollars,” the study said. “For those ages 85 and older, middle income is $24,450–$95,051.”
By 2029, NORC and Harvard researchers project 60% of the nation’s more than 14 million middle income seniors will “have “mobility limitations” and 20% will have “high health care and functional needs” given many of these older Americans suffer multiple chronic conditions.
“While many of these seniors will likely need the level of care provided in seniors housing, we project that 54 percent of seniors will not have sufficient financial resources to pay for it,” the study says. “This gap suggests a role for public policy and the private sector in meeting future long-term care and housing needs for middle-income seniors.”

​Book ReviewWho Moved My Teeth? Preparing for Self, Loved Ones & CaregivingBy Cathy Sikorski, Esq.
Corner Office Books, 2016, 174 pp.
Reviewed by Kathleen Martin, CELAPublished April 2019
Cathy Sikorski, author of Who Moved My Teeth? Preparing for Self, Loved Ones & Caregiving, is an elder law attorney who writes from her experiences with clients in her chosen area of law as well as from her life experience as a self-professed “serial caregiver” for more than 25 years. This is a short book, jam-packed with important information that elder law attorneys wish everyone — individuals, caregivers, and caregivers-to-be — would pay attention to. The information is delivered in a humorous way, with a light hand, grounded in accuracy. The book is easy to read and structured so that one can go back to review sections that become relevant as one’s journey as a caregiver or as a senior progresses. The author’s specific examples of situations in which attorneys, individuals, and caregivers find themselves are side-splittingly funny but also leave the reader with those “I know what she is talking about” moments. Seeing the humorous side helps smooth frustrations — at least sometimes. Sikorski explains legal matters in comfortable language that neither talks down to nor talks over the reader, always injecting humor along the way.

Sikorski begins the book by explaining how the title evolved as she simultaneously provided care for her 92-year-old grandmother and her 2-year-old daughter. Sikorski shares what she learned along her journey, and the journey of her clients, in a straightforward and down-to-earth manner. Throughout the book, she emphasizes that planning is key and, moreover, that knowledge is power. Many fail to plan, believing that planning is unnecessary. Sikorski presents information on planning succinctly and clearly, giving the reader up-to-date information they need to know.

Part 1, “Start Here and Now,” begins with the chapter “What Should I Have Already Done?” Sikorski discusses power of attorney documents, both financial and health care powers of attorney, and living wills. She also discusses the differences between the two types of powers of attorney and a living will and touches on long-term care insurance. Sikorski peppers her exposition with examples that make it easier for the layperson to understand. Chapter 2 takes the reader through the complicated worlds of Medicare, Medicaid, and Medigap and discusses what each means and how to find out more given a person’s particular situation. Chapter 3 discusses money, especially when Medicaid might become necessary. Sikorski emphasizes frequently, especially in this chapter, the need for the assistance of an elder law attorney to avoid making costly mistakes. Chapter 4 delves into the murky waters of Social Security benefits and lists resources for readers to enable them to learn more.

Part 2 is titled “You might be a caregiver …” . Chapter 5, “Now Will You Talk to Me?” is a primer on how to cut through red tape with insurance companies, not just for the benefit of the people caregivers help but also for the benefit of caregivers themselves. Most of us, as attorneys or as caregivers, have entered that twilight zone in which the person on the other end of the line (or letter) apparently speaks a language that differs from ours. This situation can be so much more fraught for new caregivers. Sikorski likely will make the reader laugh and nod his or her head as the familiarity of the situation sinks in. Chapter 6 gives tips on how to ask for help. Most caregivers need assistance but often do not know how to ask for it, or they assume that others know when they need it. Chapter 7, “The Seven Dwarfs of Hidden Symptoms,” addresses symptoms of medical problems, especially the dangerous and sneaky urinary tract infection and what happens when it is not recognized in time. In Chapter 8, Sikorski implores caregivers to stop paying medical bills without researching their validity. Chapter 9 is about patience — what it is and how to achieve it. She extolls 60 ways to find and hold onto patience. Chapter 10 explores methods to care for caregivers, and Chapter 11 talks about how to make employment actually work for them. Many caregivers are employed, and many employers employ caregivers, but the two groups need to discuss how to accommodate one another, making a difficult situation “work” for both (pun intended). Chapter 12, “Ain’t No Shame in Laughing,” sums everything up.

This book is a good read as well as a handy resource for elder law attorneys to recommend to clients, especially new caregivers thrust into the caregiving role. It also gives attorneys a commonsense way of explaining legal matters to clients. Several times I heard my own words echoed in Sikorski’s comments. This practical guide can help caregivers muddle through the complex issues of caregiving and encourages them to find humor in their situations.

About the Reviewer
Kathleen Martin, CELA, is a member of the NAELA Journal Editorial Board.