How to protect your parents if they never paid Social Security?
Wow. She really is in a pickle. Even though I can intellectualize that she ought have paid more attention to her family's finances, and assuming she wasn't complicit in her husband's obvious tax evasion, I can sympathize to some extent.  This is a great demonstration of how dangerous it is to just let your spouse handle all the finances because they understand the money stuff. Even if they pay the bills you should have at least a fundamental understanding of the taxes being paid, estate and retirement plans. So here's some practical advice based on the hole she has dug for herself: I'm not unsympathetic, but insurance of what kind? I don't know how he'd have owned a restaurant but failed to pay into the social security system. Was he paying taxes at all?  As for the 'why,' there's not enough checks and balances to make sure that nothing is done under the table. I believe 40 quarters of work would have qualified her for a benefit of some kind, but you say she didn't pay in either. Both people didn't pay into the system, either on purpose or by not understanding the need to do so. This is a sad situation. I am unsympathetic.  His mother made a conscious choice to evade taxes that would have provided her with at least a minimal security when she was too old to work.  First while as business owner she should have been paying self employment tax on the income they made through the restaurant and his other merchant activities.  Second while working in her own career selling Mary Kay and side work she should have paid her taxes on her income from that.   There is a part of me that says good on you for getting by with out getting caught.  But her ultimate failure was to plan for her future.  She should have known she would be ineligible for SSI and saved for her retirement.  Instead she choose to spend her money while benefiting from the government services that the rest of us pay taxes for.  Now we will provide her with medicaid as well as welfare benefits.  She has placed her son in the unenviable situation of having to either provide for his mother because she failed to do the minimum planning for herself or turn his back on her. He might be able to find a sympathetic prosecutor who would prosecute her for tax evasion.  The government would take care of her needs(food and housing) and she would get her medical care taken care of.  He could also move to Alaska.  The oil industry provide residents of Alaska with a stipend, there is lots of work for people willing to work hard, and the compensation for that work is pretty good and would likely put him in a position where he is able to provide care for his mother.
‘Parenting towards Resilience’ was the main theme discussed during a conference held recently, organised by Agenzija Sedqa in collaboration with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. Ms. Sina Bugeja, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Social Welfare Services during her opening address explained that Parenting towards Resilience, was the main theme chosen by the Foundation to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day. Moreover, Ms. Bugeja mentioned the recent launch of the National Children’s Policy that safeguards children’s rights and ensures space for their opinions before decisions are taken. She mentioned that parents need to be kept abreast with changing parenting styles as well as with different influences which might affect children’s development. Ms Helen D’Amato, Commissioner for Children, said that the inherent vulnerability of children requires not only a strong legal and institutional framework of protection but also the consolidated ability on the part primarily of parents to nurture their children in such a way as to instil in them the inner strength and will to overcome the challenges that come their way during their childhood. This is important, she said, as there is a limit to how far the legal and institutional framework can go to actually protect children in the context of an increasingly complex and challenging social and cultural environment, and also because the development of such inner strength and will is an integral part of children’s gradual maturity into strong, independent and responsible adults. The development of this inner strength or resilience should be seen as a main goal of the child’s upbringing. Ms D’Amato thus urged all parents to continue helping their children develop these inner qualities. During his closing address, Mr. Jesmond Schembri, Operations Director, Agenzija Sedqa said that since its inception Sedqa has always been at the forefront of imparting skills to parents to improve their communication with their children. Although the Agency is best known for its work with persons experiencing drug, alcohol or gambling-related problems, it nevertheless invests a lot of resources in prevention. The main presentation of this conference was entitled Inrawmu ‘l Uliedna biex Jilhqu l-Isfidi, delivered Ms. Clarissa Sammut Scerri, Registered Counselling Psychologist and Family Therapist. She is also a full time member of staff within the Department of Psychology at the University of Malta. Her presentation focused on a clear description of what is resilience in children, highlighting the kind of parenting that makes a difference in enhancing resilience in children. She stressed the importance of a warm, parent-child relationship that is attuned to the child’s needs according to his or her unique development. This relationship greatly affects/influences every aspect of children’s learning and development, especially the growth of their inner security, self-worth and ability to build relationships with others. Ms. Sammut Scerri also spoke about how harmony in the family, consistent guidance especially in adolescence, and adequate role models also help to promote resilience in children. She also cited from her research on families with domestic violence highlighting the resilience (and challenges) of these family members. This conference was attended by parents, carers, and various professionals in touch with children of all ages. The workshops delivered were: Families of Children with Disability by Ann Marie Callus and Marchita Mangiafico; Education &amp; Parenting by Juan Camilleri; Role Models by Carmen Delicata; Building Resilience in Adoptive Children by Cher Engerer; The Mindful Parent – Parenting against Substance Use Risk by Anthony Gatt; Building Attachment by Elaine Grech; Parenting Towards Resilience with the Media by John Mallia; Playful Parents, Playful Children, Playful Therapists by Dott Roberta Attard &amp; Daniel Mercieca; Looking After Traumatised Children in Foster Care by John Role’; and Power Struggle between Parents and Young People by Carmen Sammut. http://gozonews.com/20697/conference-on-achieving-better-parenting-for- ‘Parenting towards Resilience’ was the main theme discussed during a conference held recently, organised by Agenzija Sedqa in collaboration with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. Ms. Sina Bugeja, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Social Welfare Services during her opening address explained that Parenting towards Resilience, was the main theme chosen by the Foundation to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day. Moreover, Ms. Bugeja mentioned the recent launch of the National Children’s Policy that safeguards children’s rights and ensures space for their opinions before decisions are taken. She mentioned that parents need to be kept abreast with changing parenting styles as well as with different influences which might affect children’s development. Ms Helen D’Amato, Commissioner for Children, said that the inherent vulnerability of children requires not only a strong legal and institutional framework of protection but also the consolidated ability on the part primarily of parents to nurture their children in such a way as to instil in them the inner strength and will to overcome the challenges that come their way during their childhood. This is important, she said, as there is a limit to how far the legal and institutional framework can go to actually protect children in the context of an increasingly complex and challenging social and cultural environment, and also because the development of such inner strength and will is an integral part of children’s gradual maturity into strong, independent and responsible adults. The development of this inner strength or resilience should be seen as a main goal of the child’s upbringing. Ms D’Amato thus urged all parents to continue helping their children develop these inner qualities. During his closing address, Mr. Jesmond Schembri, Operations Director, Agenzija Sedqa said that since its inception Sedqa has always been at the forefront of imparting skills to parents to improve their communication with their children. Although the Agency is best known for its work with persons experiencing drug, alcohol or gambling-related problems, it nevertheless invests a lot of resources in prevention. The main presentation of this conference was entitled Inrawmu ‘l Uliedna biex Jilhqu l-Isfidi, delivered Ms. Clarissa Sammut Scerri, Registered Counselling Psychologist and Family Therapist. She is also a full time member of staff within the Department of Psychology at the University of Malta. Her presentation focused on a clear description of what is resilience in children, highlighting the kind of parenting that makes a difference in enhancing resilience in children. She stressed the importance of a warm, parent-child relationship that is attuned to the child’s needs according to his or her unique development. This relationship greatly affects/influences every aspect of children’s learning and development, especially the growth of their inner security, self-worth and ability to build relationships with others. Ms. Sammut Scerri also spoke about how harmony in the family, consistent guidance especially in adolescence, and adequate role models also help to promote resilience in children. She also cited from her research on families with domestic violence highlighting the resilience (and challenges) of these family members. This conference was attended by parents, carers, and various professionals in touch with children of all ages. The workshops delivered were: Families of Children with Disability by Ann Marie Callus and Marchita Mangiafico; Education &amp; Parenting by Juan Camilleri; Role Models by Carmen Delicata; Building Resilience in Adoptive Children by Cher Engerer; The Mindful Parent – Parenting against Substance Use Risk by Anthony Gatt; Building Attachment by Elaine Grech; Parenting Towards Resilience with the Media by John Mallia; Playful Parents, Playful Children, Playful Therapists by Dott Roberta Attard &amp; Daniel Mercieca; Looking After Traumatised Children in Foster Care by John Role’; and Power Struggle between Parents and Young People by Carmen Sammut. http://gozonews.com/...r-parenting-for- I strongly recommend that you talk to an accountant right away because you could save some money by making a tax payment by January 15, 2014. You will receive Forms 1099-MISC from the various entities with whom you are doing business as a contractor detailing how much money they paid you. A copy will go to the IRS also. You file a Schedule C with your Form 1040 in which you detail how much you received on the 1099-MISC forms as well as any other income that your contracting business received (e.g. amounts less than $600 for which a 1099-MISc does not need to be issued, or tips, say, if you are a taxi-driver running your own cab), and you can deduct various expenses that you incurred in generating this income, including tools, books, (or gasoline!) etc that you bought for doing the job. You will need to file a Schedule SE that will compute how much you owe in Social Security and Medicare taxes on the net income on Schedule C. You will pay at twice the rate that employees pay because you get to pay not only the employee's share but also the employer's share. At least, you will not have to pay income tax on the employer's share. Your net income on Schedule C will transfer onto Form 1040 where you will compute how much income tax you owe, and then add on the Social Security tax etc to compute a final amount of tax to be paid. You will have to pay a penalty for not making tax payments every quarter during 2013, plus  interest on the tax paid late.  Send the IRS a check for the total. If you talk to an accountant right away, he/she will likely be able to come up with a rough estimate of what you might owe, and sending in that amount by January 15 will save some money. The accountant can also help you set up for the 2014 tax year during which you could make quarterly payments of estimated tax for 2014 and avoid the penalties and interest referred to above. Here's one option:  Telephone is a lower-tech yet relatively more secure means for transmitting your payment information when a secure web site isn't available. And yet another option:  You could send them an encrypted email, but this would require tools (e.g. GPG), setup (public keys), and expertise on their end which they are unlikely to already have. However, ChrisInEdmonton raised a good point in his comment.  How can you consider them to be a reputable seller when they don't take basic precautions to protect customers' payment information online? The seller may with good faith charge your card the correct amount and deliver the goods that you expect, but how will they protect your credit card information once in their hands?  Would you trust their internal systems if they can't even set up an HTTPS web site? ...funds received for the month of death and later must be returned. If the estate is bankrupt, as near as I can tell, the SSA is out of luck. (This applies to payment apart from that covered above.) If you need advice on something other than retirement insurance, a comprehensive list of applicable statutes and rulings is here. In the US, an opposite-sex spouse who is a citizen as well, can receive an unlimited inheritance with no tax due from the estate. IRAs and retirement accounts which were pretax accounts, are inherited by a spouse who can then either treat the accounts as her own, i.e. even co-mingle with current IRAs, or treat as inherited IRA, and begin RMDs. In which case tax is due to the extent the money wasn't already taxed. I see the edits above. No tax should have been due. Mom can gift the kids up to $14,000 per year per kid with no paperwork at all. And another $14K to the kid's spouses or grandchildren. Above this number, a form 709 is used to tap into the lifetime exclusion.  As it stands now, it's unclear why any tax would have been due in the first place. You cannot. Even if your children actually have that money - your fiduciary duty is to them, not to yourself. You cannot gift away money they own for your own purposes. They have to want to gift it away, since it belongs to them. I doubt they do, or they should. Since you have to have their best interests in mind - you shouldn't allow them gift away such amounts even if they're willing to. Doing otherwise will be a criminal act on your behalf (embezzlement/breach of fiduciary duty). Do talk to an attorney of course, since I'm not. But that is my understanding of things. If your kids don't actually have the money, then they can obviously not gift it, so claiming that they did would be a tax fraud. @foreverBroke - Ok, here are the questions - Is mom's house paid for in full? If there's any mortgage, is it current? If not, what are the numbers? Is it underwater, i.e. owe more that it's worth?  Will the tax department talk to you and negotiate? Maybe let you make payments over time? If you have that kind of cash flow, the slower payment may keep you from killing your savings.  We don't know your age. I do know that the early years savings, often around the first 8-12 years, are the funds that turn into half your final retirement savings due to compounding.  Obviously, this a tough time emotionally, what I don't want is for you to make a financial move that is a temporary fix. Not knowing the rest of the story limits my answer. If my mom needed my help I'd want to understand the whole picture.  Not that I'm a fan, but have you considered a reverse mortgage? It may be a way to keep the house but give up the equity, or some of it, on her moving out or passing.