1. Essential Legal Documents All Seniors Should Have
2. Gravesite Care When You Can’t Get There
3. Does Medicare Cover Annual Physical Exams?
4. What Is a Spousal IRA?
Essential Legal Documents All Seniors Should Have
Dear Savvy Senior,
What kinds of legal documents do I need to help my family take care of me in my elder years? I would like to get my affairs in order but could use some help.
— Approaching 80
Dear Approaching,
All adults, especially an older adult like yourself, should have at least five legal documents to protect yourself and your family. These documents will make sure your wishes regarding your estate are legal and clear and will help minimize any conflicts and confusion with your family and your health care providers if you become seriously ill or when you die. Here are the key documents you need, along with some tips to help you create them.
Durable Power of Attorney: This document allows you to designate someone you trust to handle your financial affairs if you become incapacitated.
Advance Directive: This includes two documents that spell out your wishes regarding your end-of-life medical treatment. The two documents are a “living will” which tells your doctor what kind of care you want to receive if you become incapacitated. And a “health care power of attorney” (or health care proxy), which names a person you authorize to make medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable.
To complement your advance directive, you should also consider getting a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment – see POLST.org. This is a state specific form that your doctor would fill out that translates your end-of-life wishes into medical orders to ensure your wishes are carried out.
A Will: This lets you spell out your wishes of how you’d like your property and assets distributed after you die, whether it’s to family, friends or a charity. It also allows you to designate an executor to ensure your wishes are carried out and allows you to name guardians if you have dependent children.
In addition to a will, if you own real estate or have considerable assets, another option you may want to consider is a “revocable living trust.” This functions like a will but allows your estate to avoid the time and expense of probate (the public legal process that examines your estate after you die) and helps ensure your estate’s privacy.
HIPPA Release: This form gives your healthcare provider permission to discuss your medical care and medical bills with those you designate. You may need specific HIPAA release forms for each medical professional or health care establishment you deal with.
Do-It-Yourself
If you have a simple estate and an uncomplicated family situation, there are do-it-yourself resources that can help you create all these documents for a few hundred dollars. Some top-rated options to consider include Quicken WillMaker & Trust software (see WillMaker.com), Trust & Will (TrustandWill.com) and Legal Zoom (LegalZoom.com).
Get Help
If, however, you want or need assistance or if you have a complicated financial situation, blended family or have considerable assets, you should hire an attorney. An experienced lawyer can make sure you cover all your bases – especially when writing a will or living trust – which can help avoid family confusion and squabbles after you’re gone.
Costs will vary depending on where you reside, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $500 and $2,000 for a basic estate plan that includes a will, power of attorney and advance directive. If you want your estate plan to include a living trust, that can run anywhere between $1,500 and $5,000.
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA.org) and the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (NAEPC.org) are two good resources that have directories on their websites to help you find someone in your area.
If money is tight, check with your state’s bar association (see FindLegalHelp.org) to find low-cost legal help in your area. Or call the Eldercare Locater at 800-677-1116 for a referral.
Gravesite Care When You Can’t Get There
Dear Savvy Senior,
Can you recommend any services that offer gravesite cleaning and care? I recently visited my parent’s cemetery gravesite over Memorial Day weekend and found that their headstones were overtaken by weeds and moss and need to be cleaned. I live in a different state and can’t get back very often. Who can I call on to help me with this?
— Long-Distance Linda
Dear Linda,
Depending on where your parents are buried, there are a hodgepodge of places you can turn to for gravesite grooming, decorating and special care when you can’t get there. Here’s what you should know.
Gravesite Care
It’s important to know that as a general rule, most cemeteries, like the one your parents are buried in, only provide basic grounds maintenance like mowing the grass and trash pickup. Special gravesite care and headstone cleaning is almost always up to the family. But for families who live a distance from their loved one’s burial place and can’t get back very often, what options are available?
A good place to start is to contact the cemetery staff where your parents are buried to see if they offer any special gravesite cleaning services or know of anyone who does. If not, try reaching out to some local funeral homes in the area to see if they can help or refer you.
If you don’t have any luck there, another option is to hire a gravesite care provider on your own. These are small or individually run businesses that provide services like plot maintenance including grass trimming and weeding, headstone cleaning and restoration, flower and wreath deliveries and more. And so you know the work was completed or the flowers were delivered, many companies will take pictures of the gravesite and e-mail or text them to you.
There are literally hundreds of small businesses that provide gravesite care services in local communities or regions across the country. To find them, do a simple Google or Bing internet search, and type in something like “grave care services” or “cemetery headstone cleaning” plus your city or state. Or use an AI tool like Chat GPT or Gemini to do a search.
You can also seek help by contacting the local memorial society or funeral consumer alliance program near your parent’s gravesite – see Funerals.org/find-an-affiliate for contact information. These are volunteer groups that offer a wide range of information on local funeral and cremation providers, cemeteries and more.
The cost for most gravesite care services can range anywhere from $50 to over $250 for headstone cleaning and memorial restoration (depending on the job size), $50 to $200 for flower and wreath deliveries, and $30 to $80 for plot grooming. Special discounts for multiple gravesite services and visits may also exist.
Floral Services
If you’re interested in decorating your parent’s gravesite next Memorial Day with fresh cut flowers or live plants, another option is to call a local florist to see if they can make a delivery directly to their grave site.
Many florists will accommodate this request if you provide them the cemetery location and plot number, but you may not get a photo verifying the delivery.
Does Medicare Cover Annual Physical Exams?
Dear Savvy Senior,
Does Medicare cover annual physical exams? I’ve gotten a physical every year since I turned 50 and would like to find out what Medicare covers when I sign up in a few months.
— Almost 65
Dear Almost,
No, Medicare does not pay for annual physical exams, but it does cover a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” checkup during your first year after enrolling in Part B. And after that, it covers annual wellness visits to keep track of your health. Here’s what you should know.
Physical vs Wellness Exam
In an annual physical, a doctor examines you, may do bloodwork and other tests and looks for problems even though you don’t have a specific complaint or risk.
The Welcome to Medicare checkup and annual wellness visits are different. They focus primarily on preventive care.
Your doctor will review your risk factors, develop a personalized health plan for you, check that you’re up to date with preventive tests such as cancer screenings and flu shots and may refer you for other tests. Here’s a breakdown of what these exams may include.
Welcome to Medicare Checkup
This is an introduction to Medicare and focuses on health promotion, disease prevention and detection to help you stay well. It’s an opportunity for your doctor to assess your health and provide a plan for care. During this visit your doctor will:
• Take your height, weight, and blood pressure measurements, and calculate your body mass index (BMI).
• Ask about your personal and family health history.
• Give you referrals for other care as needed.
• Assess your potential for depression.
• Provide a simple vision test.
• Recommend vaccines, tests, screenings and other preventive services you need to stay healthy.
• Offer to talk with you about creating advance directives.
Annual Wellness Visit
This visit includes some of the same elements as the Welcome to Medicare checkup. For example, your doctor will review your medical history, record your vital information and give you an opportunity to talk about advance directives. Your doctor may also provide the following services:
• Create a screening checklist for recommended preventive services for the upcoming year.
• Look at health risks and treatment options.
• Perform a cognitive assessment to look for signs of dementia.
• Provide personalized health advice.
• Review your current prescriptions.
• Study risk factors for opioid problems if you have a prescription for opioids, and screen for potential substance use disorders.
Medicare Coverage
The Welcome to Medicare and annual wellness visits are fully covered by Medicare Part B without any out-of-pocket costs. You don’t need the Welcome to Medicare visit to qualify for later annual wellness visits, but know that Medicare won’t pay for a wellness visit during the first 12 months you have Part B.
During these visits, the provider may order additional tests or procedures that may be subject to Medicare’s deductibles, copayments or coinsurance.
Make sure that when you book your appointment, you specifically ask for the Welcome to Medicare checkup or annual wellness visit to ensure Medicare covers it. Otherwise, you may have to pay for the visit.
If you’re enrolled in Medicare Advantage, you’ll probably need to use an in-network provider for the wellness visits to be covered. Some Medicare Advantage plans also cover annual physicals in addition to the wellness visit. Check your plan for details.
What Is a Spousal IRA?
Dear Savvy Senior,
What can you tell me about spousal IRAs? My spouse and I are in our 50s and are looking for ways to boost our retirement savings. My wife is a homemaker and caregiver, and works parttime too, but her income is very small.
— Need a Boost
Dear Need,
Saving for retirement can be very difficult for married spouses who stay home to care for family or otherwise have scant income. But there is a little-known tax break offered by the Internal Revenue Service – known as a spousal IRA – that can help them, and their partner save for retirement.
Spousal individual retirement accounts allow a working spouse to contribute to a nonworking or low-earning spouse’s retirement savings. They can be set up as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, which allow couples to save for retirement on a tax-deferred or tax-free basis.
How They Work
A spousal IRA isn’t a unique type of IRA or a joint account, but instead it is a separate IRA opened and owned in the name of the nonworking or low-income earning spouse. This will not only help boost your family’s overall retirement savings, but it provides non-working/low-earning spouses access to their own funds in an unforeseen event like the death of their spouse, divorce, or illness.
To qualify for a spousal IRA, spouses must file taxes jointly as a married couple, and the working spouse must have enough earned income (taxable income such as wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, and self-employment income) to cover contributions for both parties.
The process of opening a spousal IRA is also no different from opening a regular IRA. Brokerage firms and many banks and other financial institutions offer IRAs.
In 2025, each spouse under age 50 can contribute up to $7,000 annually to an IRA, or $8,000 annually for those over age 50, but the total contribution can’t exceed the taxable earned income reported on the couple’s tax return. Otherwise, the IRS limits contributions based on their earned income.
Roth or Traditional?
Deciding whether to open a Roth or traditional IRA depends on your tax situation and financial goals.
Traditional IRA contributions typically are tax deductible the year in which they are made and are beneficial during high-income earning years. Contributions grow tax-free until they are withdrawn during retirement.
Roth IRA contributions aren’t tax deductible the year in which they are made, but qualified contributions plus any earnings grow tax-free and are withdrawn tax-free in retirement as long as the couple follows IRS rules. Among them: you must be 59½ and have held your Roth IRA for at least five years before you withdraw investment earnings tax-free and penalty-free.
There are also penalties for withdrawals on traditional IRAs before age 59½ unless the owner qualifies for an exception, and he or she must begin taking the annual withdrawals known as required minimum distributions (RMDs) from these plans the year he or she turns 73 (or 75 beginning in 2033). Roth IRAs don’t require RMDs until after the death of the owner. However, beneficiaries of a Roth IRA generally will need to take RMDs to avoid penalties, although there is an exception for spouses.
For more information on the IRS rules of both traditional and Roth IRAs see IRS.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-and-roth-iras.
Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
