Planning for Life

By Harry S. Margolis

As you no doubt know, the Cares Act enhanced unemployment benefits of $600 a week are slated to end on Friday, July 31st. There's a debate about whether to extend them based on many factors, including the need to keep the economy functioning during the pandemic, the risk that many renters will no longer be able to pay rent and many homeowners will default on their mortgages, what the nation can afford, and the argument that some workers are staying home because they're making more from unemployment than they would from working.

By Harry S. Margolis

Managing raising children while holding down a full-time job is a challenge for all parents. Add in caring for aging parents and it can feel more like a vise than the proverbial sandwich. Dedham-based marketing executive Liz O'Donnell has written a book, Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living, and started a website, www.workingdaughter.com, both aimed at helping daughters of elderly parents better manage the pressures coming at them from all directions. Both are based on O'Donnell's own experience trying to care for her parents, raise her children, and meet the requirements of a demanding job. They are full of good advice for other daughters (and sons) facing the same challenges.

By Harry S. Margolis

A new website offers information and resources for individuals and families facing end-of-life challenges. It is designed as both a destination itself with answers to questions about end-of-life topics and as a directory of services in the community. The website, www.endwithcare.org, grew out of the work of the Massachusetts Commission on End of Life Care and the Massachusetts Experts Panel on End of Life Care, which in 2014 came out with the report, Looking Forward: 2014 and Beyond. 

By Harry S. Margolis

In Mary Ellen Gioia v. Richard D. and Ann L. Ratner, the Essex County superior court in Massachusetts refuses to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a registered nurse who claims she was injured by a patient in her care. She brought the suit against the patient, Richard Ratner, and his wife and health care agent, Ann Ratner. Judge Diane M. Kottmyer rules that the suit against Mr. Ratner can move forward but dismisses the claim against his wife.