Adamsky Law Offices Blog

As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s. 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's in their lifetime. Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of death . The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year. $89 Billion of free family care-giving was provided to people living with Alzheimer’s last year. These are just a few of the facts in the new report, 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures from the Alzheimer's Association. The report is a comprehensive statistical abstract of U.S. data on Alzheimer’s disease that includes: · prevalence · mortality · the costs of Alzheimer care · family care-giving · a special report on lifetime risk New Report: Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures (43 pages - PDF)

The United States Senate appears to have shown its support for reducing estate taxes rather than eliminating them and for setting the exemption at $3.5 million. While working on the fiscal year 2009 federal budget resolution, Senators voted on a series of amendments to the non-binding resolution. Although no actual legislation was being voted on, the balloting gives a sense of the Senators’ take on the issue. Senators voted 99-1 for a proposal introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to set the estate tax rate at the 2009 level and index the exemption for inflation. In 2009, the per-person estate tax exemption will be $3.5 million and the tax rate will be 45 percent. An amendment introduced by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million and cut the rate to 35 percent lost on a 50-50 vote. Two similar amendments lost by wider margins. Significantly, an amendment to abolish the estate tax, once a major goal of the R...

The IRS is mailing special information packages regarding the Economic Stimulus Act to the 20.5 million recipients of Social Security or VA benefits who did not file a tax return in 2006. The 10-page package contains everything you will need to file a 2007 tax form. It has an informational notice, tips for completing Form 1040A, a sample Form 1040A and an actual Form 1040A for your use. The package is specially designed for people who may qualify for an economic stimulus payment but who normally aren’t required to file a tax return. Under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, you may be eligible for a payment of $300 ($600 for couples) even if you do not normally file a tax return. There also is an additional payment of $300 for those with eligible children under 17. However, you must file an income tax return to receive the payment. People who don’t normally need to file can use Free File – Economic Stimulus Payment , which is available at IRS.gov. Several Free File software provi...