CHOOSING A HANDLE WITH A LITTLE HEFT AND HIP IN IT

By:  Steve Lewis

Seconds after our oldest old son phoned with his outrageous news, Patti and I leaned into each other giggling like third graders.  He had to have been kidding … I mean, look at us: we're still hipsters, contenders, true non-believers, beach dogs.  We have two kids in the house!  We stay up way too late!  We still do the wild thing!  Patti's hair goes down to her waist, for heaven's sake!  And I've got a damn ponytail!  We even have a VW bus!  And if that's not enough, we live in the mountains a half hour from Woodstock!  Not Woodlawn.  Woodstock!

Grandma and Grandpa, my rear end!

Yet, in the profoundly humbling silence that followed our childish hysterics—picture nine-year-old Elizabeth with a decidedly parental scowl on her beautiful and smooth face—it seemed pointless to hope that there was a tongue planted in Cael's cheeky announcement.  And so suddenly there was a new and rather dyspeptic New Age old age wrinkle on the classic Sixties Identity Crisis.

LIFE INSURANCE, LIFE SETTLEMENTS 

In Down Times, Life Insurance Offers a New Option to Fund Senior Housing

If you haven’t just returned from a desert island, you know the news. The U.S. economy is hurting and big-ticket assets such as homes and stocks have lost value—in some cases, lots of value. While experts debate how long it will take for the economy to find its footing, seniors looking to cash in some of their assets to fund retirement living or long-term care are looking for smart options now.

Seniors typically sell their homes first when looking to fund retirement living or long-term care. But today, values are down, so selling could translate into a loss-- or more money later if you wait. On top of that, selling a home is taking much longer now, sometimes more than a year.