Episode summary
The Long View: Harry Margolis - How to Confront Aging Challenges Head-On
The Long View
· · Hosts: Ben Johnson, Christine Benz, Amy Arnott · Guests: Harry Margolis
Summary
Harry Margolis argues that elder law is less about drafting documents than about preparing for the practical realities of aging: incapacity, long-term care, housing, and family coordination. He says those issues become more pressing in the 60s and beyond, when people are more likely to need help making financial and health-care decisions and may face Medicaid planning questions if care costs become significant.
A major theme is that aging in place is not always the best or cheapest choice. Margolis says families often underestimate the burden of managing a household, arranging care, and coordinating paid helpers, especially when agencies impose four-hour minimums. He is generally positive on continuing care retirement communities and sees age 75 as a useful point to reassess where to live, while still healthy enough to make a move. He also notes that Medicare is often misunderstood: it covers acute care and some short-term post-hospital support, but not ongoing custodial long-term care.
On paperwork, he recommends reviewing durable powers of attorney regularly because financial institutions may reject older forms, and he says transparency can reduce family conflict over who is named agent or executor. For special needs planning, he stresses that housing is usually the biggest issue and that special needs trusts can preserve eligibility for benefits while providing support.
Key takeaways
- Harry Margolis says the key elder-law conversations are incapacity, care costs, and who will make decisions if a client can’t.
- He argues that Medicare covers acute care and limited post-hospital support, but not ongoing long-term care or assisted living.
- Margolis thinks age 75 is a strong time to reassess housing, because finances and retirement are usually settled and people are still healthy enough to move.
- He says durable powers of attorney should be reviewed about every five years, because banks often refuse to honor stale forms.
- For special needs planning, he says housing is the central issue and special needs trusts can protect access to Medicaid, SSI, and subsidized housing.
Notable quotes
“who's going to manage your affairs if you can't anymore? How will they be directed”
“I know everybody wants to age in place and stay home, but I think people have to really as they get older have to really consider whether that's the best plan”
“probably the biggest one is that Medicare will take care of everything”
“I think anything over five years you should consider to be stale”
“I think 75 is again probably a good time to do it”
How the episode opens
Please stay tuned for important disclosure information at the conclusion of this episode. Hi and welcome to the long view. I'm Amy Arnut, portfolio strategist for Morning Star.
And I'm Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morning Star. Our guest on the podcast today is Harry Margolus. Harry has been representing seniors, individuals with special needs, and their families since he started Elder Law Services.
The predecessor of Margolus Blom and Dagustinino in June 1987, his firm helps clients pay for long-term care, manage the incapacity of a family member, and plan for safe and productive futures for their children and grandchildren. Harry served as editor of the Elder Law Report, a monthly newsletter for attorneys, for three decades. He has been selected as a fellow of both the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the American College of Trust and Estate Council.
He has founded two websites and answers consumer questions online at www.askhary.info. In addition, Harry writes about elder care issues on his Substack, Risking Old Age in America, also known as Okay Boomer.substack.com and has a podcast with the same name. Harry, welcome to the Long View.
I'm happy to be here.
We wanted to start out by talking a little bit about your background. Can you tell us how you first became interested in elder law as a specialty? Wow.
That goes back a ways. And it was um very much by chance. I was working for a larger law firm in Boston.
And at the time, as part of the proono commitment, they staffed one position at Greater Boston Elderly Legal Services. And I went over there for what was originally going to be a 4mon stent. I found out about elder law when the field was in its infancy.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- estate planning
- long-term care misconceptions
- aging in place
- power of attorney
- medicare
Watch the episode
Watch “The Long View: Harry Margolis - How to Confront Aging Challenges Head-On” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Long View, this episode and its artwork belong to Morningstar, Christine Benz - Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning, Ben Johnson - Head of Client Solutions, Amy Arnott - Portfolio Strategist. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
