UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Growing older gracefully is challenging, and a one-day workshop offered by the Penn State Tax Institute can help people plan ahead for their latter years.

"Elder Care Planning and Law" starts at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1 at the Penn Wells Hotel & Lodge in Wellsboro, Pa. The workshop presents estate management strategies that help lay people and tax professionals accommodate the inevitable reality of old age. Anthony Gentile, coordinator of the Penn State Tax Program, explains that many people don't want to prepare for those demands.

"We're all going to get old," Gentile says. "We tend to think that we'll collect our Social Security, go fishing and live happily ever after. But the startling fact is that many people end up spending as much on health care in their last three years of life as they've earned throughout their working careers. It's not unusual to see a person go through a quarter of a million dollars in acute care costs.

"Without the proper planning, a whole estate can be consumed by medical costs. But an estate can be structured so that you can preserve part of your estate and still take care of your needs. It's a simple process to shelter assets and take advantage of available government programs and other resources to pay for medical care."

"Elder Care" can show tax professionals, CPAs, estate planners and others successful strategies, answer questions and provide planning techniques, while introducing lay people to planning principles. The workshop will start with the individual's legal rights, Gentile says.

"It also will discuss nursing homes -- what they cost, who pays for them, what Medicare will pay for," he says. "And we'll look at how to establish a Medicaid trust to preserve assets through extended illness."

The workshop also will address issues of guardianship, planning for Medicare and Medicaid, how much is Social Security, and what portions of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits are taxable.

People involved in long-term nontraditional relationships will face unique challenges as they grow older, Gentile says.

"Many of our property laws do not recognize a lesbian or gay person's relationship, for instance, with a significant other," he says. "So, typically, a large portion of their assets could be taxable or unsheltered in the case of the transfer of property and debt. If one partner becomes terminally ill for any reason -- MS, cancer, AIDS -- there's no contractual relationship that the law will recognize. Knowledge of the laws will help them see there are many planning opportunities with estate taxes for gay couples that should be addressed."

In addition to Gentile, instructors for the workshop include Julieanne Steinbacher, an attorney with Greevy and Associates Law Firm of Williamsport, Pa., who specializes in elder law and special-needs litigation; John Becker, Penn State professor of agricultural economics and law, an attorney and a fellow of the American Bar Association who has designed and presented many programs on estate and business planning issues; Thomas Taricani, CPA, managing partner of the State College, Pa., office of Boyer and Ritter Certified Public Accountants and Consultants; and Thomas D. Weldon, trust officer with Northwest Savings Bank in State College, Pa.

The workshop fee is $120 for the day, or $200 for attendees who also register for "Planning for the Special Needs Person," a separate one-day workshop to be held on Wednesday, July 31. Attendees can register by phone at 814-865-8301 (fax 814-865-7050) or online at http://agtax.aers.psu.edu/. Registrants for "Elder Care" will get the book, "2002 Social Security Benefits Including Medicare," by Commerce Clearing House. Participants may qualify for certification credits in taxation.

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EDITORS: Contact Anthony Gentile at 814-863-6708 or TONYG@PSU.EDU.

Contact: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax #204