By Pat Malin

John Briant retired from the New York State Police in 1982 following a distinguished 28-year career, including 10 years as a uniformed officer, four years as a station commander and the last 14 years as a BCI Investigator. Thanks to his second calling as an author, however, it’s almost as if he never hung up his uniform.

He now lives vicariously through his alter-ego “Jason Black,” a retired trooper whose dogged pursuit of the criminal element in the Adirondacks has led Briant to pen six novels in the Adirondack Detective series. His next book is due in the spring.

Q.What prompted you to become an author?
A.I always had a desire to write. When I was a kid, I used to write little poems and short stories. When I was still on the force, I wrote some short stories and they were published. One was about an escapee I helped apprehend in Lake Placid. I had my poems and short stories included in 12 anthologies even after I retired.

Q.How did you get started?
A.It had entered my mind a few years before I retired. My first book was called, “One Cop’s Story: A Life Remembered” and it was my autobiography. It was first published in 1995 and reprinted four times.

Q.Were you surprised by the reaction to your first book?
A.I was very pleased. My friend, Dick Case [columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard] wrote a story about it when it first came out. It’s still available, but it won’t be reprinted. I saw it listed for sale on one website for $260. Apparently, I had autographed the book. It might have been the first edition, and the seller claimed I had written a letter to him.

Q.Why do all your books take place in the Adirondacks?
A. I try to have my storyline within the Blue Line [the park’s boundaries].  My wife [Marge] and I decided to retire here. The next one will also take place in the Adirondacks.

Q.Where are you from originally?
A.I was born in Theresa, outside of Watertown. In 1937, my brother, sister and I and my parents moved to Westvale in Syracuse. Later, we lived in Throopsville, outside Auburn. My father did a lot of things, running a gas station in Watertown; a salesman for Nabisco, and he operated a restaurant called the Suburban in Watertown. We also lived in Carthage. Then when my father moved to Syracuse, he worked for the government at the naval base.

Q.Did you always want a career in law enforcement?
A.No, I didn’t plan it. I graduated in 1948 from Port Byron Central School and then attended Auburn Business School. At that time, I wanted to be a teacher. I was about 17 when I first considered becoming a trooper. When I was a junior in high school, I joined the 27th Infantry Division-108th Infantry in Auburn. I trained for three summers at Camp Drum from 1947-49. I went out to Kansas City and enrolled in a radio and TV school, but I was not successful in getting a job. I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and assigned to food service and radio. From September 1951 to September 1952, I was stationed in Keflavik, Iceland. I was a mess sergeant, but my training was equivalent to that of an executive chef. I was honorably discharged in August 1953. Then I went home to Auburn and my father told me about the upcoming exams for the state troopers. I remember that there were 5,000 applicants and only 125 were considered. I was one of the 50 who was hired.

Q.Where were you stationed as a trooper?
A.I reported to Division Headquarters in Albany, and then on Dec. 16, 1953, I was assigned to Troop D Headquarters in Oneida, and my starting salary was $1,600. We got an additional $4.25 a day for meals. I also worked in Pulaski, Ovid, Waterloo and Herkimer. I was the station commander at the Lafayette barracks from 1960-63. From 1953 till 1960 we all lived in the barracks. I also patrolled the Dewitt and Elbridge areas. In 1973 I transferred voluntarily to Malone and Massena.  In 1976, I transferred to Lowville and spent a year there before going to Syracuse. I also trained 13 troopers during their training phase as a senior trooper. In addition, I was a speaker at many community functions. I retired in 1982 at the age of 52.

Q.What types of cases does Jason Black handle? Where do you get your ideas for the plots?
A.Jason’s investigations are very similar to the cases I worked on.

Buy Young

One of the most basic ways a person can lower their LTC insurance premiums is by purchasing a policy at a younger age. For example, a policy that costs a 55-year-old $2,000 a year in premiums could cost a 65-year-old more than $3,000. Health is another fact that can affect costs. While good health can lower your monthly payments, having a preexisting medical condition can increase your costs, or you may not be able to get insurance at all.

Check Your Employer

Some employers offer LTC insurance as an employee benefit that is often 5 to 10 percent less expensive than buying a policy on your own. Or, if you or your wife is a current or retired federal employee, you can get affordable coverage through the Federal LTC Insurance Program (www.ltcfeds.com).

Tweak the Policy

The cost of LTC insurance depends greatly on the policy’s previsions. Here are some simple ways to trim your premiums:
• Reduce the benefit period: A policy that covers you for two or three years, vs. an unlimited benefit, meets the needs for most people and can cut your premiums in half.
• Lower the daily benefit: You can get a policy that pays $100, $150, $200 per day or more, but the higher the benefit, the higher your premium. To figure out how much coverage to get, check out the nursing home prices in the area you plan to be. Then figure out how much of the bill you could shoulder yourself, and choose a benefit that makes up the difference.
• Extend the waiting period: Most policies have waiting periods (30, 60, 90 days or more) that require you to pay out-of-pocket before the policy kicks in. The longer you wait the lower your premium.
• Get cheaper inflation protection: Choosing a policy that offers inflation protection linked to the consumer price index is about 20 to 40 percent cheaper than standard policies that use a 5 percent compound inflation factor.

Get State Help

Many states today have a LTC partnership program that can help you save. Under these programs, if you buy a LTC policy approved by your state Medicaid agency, you can protect an amount of assets from Medicaid equal to the benefits that your policy pays out. How does it work? Let’s say you buy a policy that provides $200,000 in benefits (multiply your daily benefit by your benefit period). If you use up all the benefits but still need care, you can shield $200,000 of your assets and still have Medicaid pay your remaining nursing home bills. With this program, you can choose a shorter benefit period, which will lower your premiums. Contact your state insurance department to see if your state offers a program or see www.dehpg.net/ltcpartnership.

Add a Supplement

Another option to consider is Uncle Sam’s soon-to-be-established LTC program known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act — see healthcare.gov.

Starting in 2013, this program will allow workers to set aside money from their paychecks for five years, in order to receive a cash benefit of at least $50 a day to help pay for LTC services when needed. While CLASS won’t cover all your LTC costs, it can work as a nice supplement to a LTC policy allowing you to lower your daily benefit and reduce your premiums.

By David J. Zumpano

Congress and President Obama passed a new tax bill in the last week of December 2010. So, what does it mean to you?

In 2001, President Bush, with Congress, enacted massive tax changes that were set to expire on Dec. 31, 2010.

Literally, on the eve of the 2001 law expiring, President Obama and Congress extended many of the tax laws implemented by President Bush, and in several areas, even expanded them.

If the laws had reverted back to the 2001 levels on Jan. 1, 2011, the top income tax rate would have been 39.6 percent, rather than the current 35 percent, and capital gains could have been taxed as high as 28 percent, rather than the 15 percent maximum in the new law.

Perhaps, the greatest changes in the new law, however, related to estate taxes.

The new law provides that each individual can die with $5 million in assets before they will be subject to estate tax, and if subject to tax, it is at a 35 percent rate.

If the law had expired, the limit would have been only $1 million with a 55 percent maximum tax rate. In addition, the new law increased an individual’s lifetime gift exemption from $1 million to $5 million.

Essentially, each person can now give up to $5 million away in their lifetime without any gift tax consequence.

Perhaps, the most surprising element in the new law came with the portability of the estate tax to a surviving spouse. Prior to the new law, if one spouse died, he or she would’ve needed to create trusts at death, to utilize the $5 million exemption provided by the government, or it would’ve been lost.

Under the new law, the use of trusts are no longer required after death to preserve an exemption, but rather, a surviving spouse may elect to assume the unused credit of the deceased spouse. In essence, this may permit a surviving spouse to have up to $10 million of assets at their death, without having to pay an estate tax.

The new tax law virtually eliminates any worry of gift or estate taxes for 99.9 percent of Americans.

But beware: the new law passed in December 2010 is only effective until Dec. 31, 2012.

What happens after that date is anyone’s guess.

So, while you no longer have to worry about the tax law, be careful not to ignore the more relevant elements to planning, such as protection from a spouse’s remarriage, children’s creditors, divorce, and lawsuits, or even the threat of going into a nursing home.
Proper estate planning ensures all issues, including taxes, asset protection, Medicaid, and most importantly, your family, are provided for.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). He operates Estate Planning Law Center. He can be reached at 793-3622.

By Suzanne M. Ellis

Ted Pasinski hasn’t even retired yet, but he’s fairly certain he’ll soon be repeating the mantra of many a retiree: “How did I ever have time to work?”

Come Dec. 31, Pasinski will leave St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse after a 16-year stint as its president and CEO — and a career at that institution spanning 36 years.

As he prepares to leave decades of 50- to 60-hour work weeks behind, Pasinski said he’s excited about getting busy on the “bucket list” of things he’d like to do in retirement.

“I enjoy golf, and I’m sure there will be a bit more of that,” said Pasinski, 58, who lives in Clay and is a member of the Onondaga Golf & Country Club in Fayetteville. “And I’m sure my wife and I will have quite a bit more flexibility in terms of being able to travel.”

His wife, Diane, is a registered nurse who works parttime at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing and also as an admissions nurse at the hospital. The couple has three grown children.

Neither of the Pasinskis has any plans, at this point, to become snowbirds in retirement.

“The winters don’t totally bother us, and we have a lot of friends and family here, so we don’t plan to go away for months at a time,” Ted Pasinski said.

The Pasinkis’ son lives in Las Vegas, so that will likely become a regular destination, he said.

“And from there, we’ll probably expand the trip and go on to California,” he said. Their two daughters live in Central New York.

Pasinski said he and his wife have always enjoyed cruises and now that retirement is looming, they’re discussing a couple of long ones to Alaska and Hawaii.

“We’ve always talked about an Alaskan cruise. Well, I’ve talked about it more than my wife,” he said, laughing. “And we would both be excited about going to Hawaii, but I think she’d be more excited than I.”

They’ll continue their yearly trips with friends to the coast of Maine, he said, but “now we’ll be able to stay longer.”

Even though he’s not yet retired, Pasinki said, his “honey-do list” seems to be growing longer and he’ll need to do better about taking care of those things.

“There are a number of projects that need to be done around the house that I tend to put off because I don’t have time to get them done,” he said. “What I should be doing is spending a half hour here and there on them, but instead I just tend to put things off.”

Pasinski said volunteering will “absolutely” be a part of his retirement.

“I plan to serve on health care-related boards because that’s one area where I really feel I can help,” he said. “I’ve been approached about serving on some of the many community boards in the area, but I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

Regardless of what retirement brings, Pasinski said, he’s certain he won’t be bored.

“I am the type of person that will want to keep busy,” he said. “I can certainly envision asking myself how I ever had time to work.”

Are you looking for just the right volunteer position that uses your particular skills and availability? Check out AARP’s Tax Aide program.

This program began in 1968 with only four volunteers who served 100 people in that tax season. Today the AARP Tax-Aide program has attracted more than 34,600 volunteers and has helped more than 47 million people file their tax returns!

AARP Tax-Aide is a confidential, free and quality service supported by friendly people in local communities across the nation. This service is available to low- and moderate-income taxpayers of all ages with special attention to those aged 60 and older. IRS-certified volunteers are trained to assist in filing basic tax forms. A variety of service options are available at nearly 6,500 locations nationwide:

1. On-site tax assistance and preparation, from late January/early February to April 15;

2. 24 hour tax assistance on the Internet all year.

Since 1980, the program has operated under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as part of its Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program.

AARP Tax-Aide sites are operational from late January/early February through April 15 each year. During that time, taxpayers can find the site closest to their home by visiting www.aarp.org/taxaide  or by calling toll-free number 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669) or tax assistance on the Internet is available all year round.

Increasing Community Involvement—AARP Tax-Aide was one of AARP’s early efforts to use volunteers to ensure important services were available to older people. Today, the more than 34,600 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers are made up of individuals of all ages, races, ethnic groups, income levels and educational backgrounds. AARP Tax-Aide offers a myriad of volunteer positions such as:

• Regional coordinator
• State coordinator
• Administrative specialist
• Partnership and communications specialist
• Technology specialist
• Training specialist
• District coordinator
• Communications coordinator
• Instructor
• Tax volunteer
• Local coordinator

There are many kinds of volunteer opportunities — from tax volunteers to greeters as well as well as communications and technology coordinators. One might be right for you! Review the volunteer descriptions below then complete and submit the AARP Tax-Aide Prospective Volunteer Form (www.aarp.org/apps/Volunteer_with_AARP_Tax_Aide/).

Like working with numbers? AARP Tax Volunteers interact with clients by filling out tax returns. Even if you don’t have accounting or tax preparation experience, becoming a tax volunteer may be right for you.Like working with people better than working with numbers? Greeters make sure the clients have all the necessary paperwork before meeting with a tax volunteer and manage the flow of clients being served.

Have a knack for computers and technology? Technology coordinators manage computer equipment, work to ensure taxpayer data security or provide technical assistance to volunteers at multiple sites on technology issues.

Love getting the word about community services? Communications coordinators promote AARP tax-aide to potential clients from February to April and recruit volunteers in the fall for the following tax season.

Good at managing people and programs? Leadership positions at the local and district levels manage volunteers, synchronize plans with other volunteer leaders, and assure smooth program operation. Get the joy and satisfaction of helping others by applying to join the AARP Tax-Aide volunteer team today!

Your expertise will be appreciated more than you can imagine.

AARP Foundation volunteers will receive equal opportunity and treatment throughout recruitment, appointment, training, and service. There will be no discrimination based on age, disabilities, gender, race, color, ethnic origin, religion,  or sexual orientation. AARP Tax-Aide is administered by the AARP Foundation.

By David J. Zumpano

Many of us remember the story of Terri Schivo, a woman who, in her early 20s, went into a comatose state unexpectedly. After many years of being kept alive with feeding tubes, her husband asked that the tubes be removed. Her parents disagreed, stating Terri’s wishes were to preserve her life. In the end, after a long period of court opinions and a public debate around the issue, which involved the Congress, former President George Bush and even the pope, her feeding tube was disconnected

Few people really understood that in the Terri Schivo case, the key legal question was: “Who had the right to determine Schivo’s health care status, her husband or her parents?”

The tragedy of this story is not whether you agree with the husband or the parents, but that we will really never know what Schivo actually wanted.

We are very clear what she got.

Not completing a health care directive can create trauma and tragedy with family members having to make this terrible decision. With a health care directive, commonly referred to as a health care proxy, it is absolutely essential that your health care directive provide and identify your wishes, in the event you are unable to make your own health care decisions.

Also, a properly drawn health care proxy should authorize your agent to make decisions, even if you are not in a “life or death” situation. For example, dementia or incompetency often leaves the care to a nursing home or similar facility. It is imperative your health care directive authorize your agent to make these types of medical treatment decisions, as well.

In addition to a health care directive, you should also consider creating a personal care plan.

A personal care plan provides your loved ones specific detailed instructions of the kind of care you would like to receive, if you become incapacitated. Unlike a health care proxy or living will that deals with life and death decisions, a personal care plan instructs your loved ones of your wishes related to your quality of life, such as a desire to be dressed and groomed daily, family visits, hobbies, what you like to watch on TV, eat, read and the activities you would enjoy.  A properly drafted personal care plan will enhance your quality of life if you are physically able, but lack the mental capacity to ask for it.

Life gets complicated quickly when you have to rely on the state’s rules. Stay in control. Create a health care directive and personal care plan that properly addresses your goals and objectives.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). He operates Estate Planning Law Center. He can be reached at 793-3622.

By David J. Zumpano

In 2001, President Bush signed a major tax legislation that was implemented over a 10-year period ending January 2011. Under the law, the estate tax exemption limit was increased (from $1 million to $3.5 million) for the period between 2001 and 2009. The law, however, also provides that on Jan. 1, 2011 the estate tax law reverts back to what it was in 2001.

We are rapidly coming upon Jan. 1, 2011 — will it revert to the 2001 levels?

One thing we know for certain is what the current law states.

On Jan. 1, 2011, the estate tax reverts back to the levels it was in 2001, providing for the individual exemption amount to fall to $1 million.

Estates in excess of that amount will be subject to a confiscatory 55 percent estate tax.

Interestingly, neither Democrats nor Republicans want the law to revert — but what will they do about it?

There have been many bills in Congress over the last 10 years to make permanent the law as it provided in 2009 and not revert back to the 2001 level. Most of the bills provide for an estate tax exemption somewhere between $3.5 million and $5 million at a maximum 35 to 45 percent tax rate after 2010.

The current political scene, however, assures no action will be taken on this matter until after the 2010 elections in November.

For those of us who live in New York, we also have to be aware of the New York estate tax, which applies to individuals with estates of $1 million. Oddly, while it provides for the $1 million exemption, if an individual dies with more than $1 million, they are subject to an estate tax from the first dollar, rather than just amount over $1 million.

Careful planning is essential to ensure you do not subject yourself to a New York estate tax unnecessarily.

It is also important to know the estate tax exemption is permitted to each individual. Married couples can double the exemption. Unfortunately, most married couples lose the exemption because of improper beneficiary-designations on the titling of their assets, to their spouse or owing them jointly. These types of accounts will act to eliminate the double exemption.

So, what will happen with the estate tax? Not certain, but this I know. It will be in a state of flux for the rest of the year and perhaps into 2011 or beyond.

It’s essential that your planning considers these laws now, and as they change, to ensure your family is not adversely impacted.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). He operates Estate Planning Law Center. He can be reached at 793-3622.

By Gina Roberts-Grey

This holiday season, it’s going to be tempting to open a store credit card when the cashier is promising you huge savings when you sign on the dotted line. The prospect of saving 10-15 percent is always alluring — especially this year when budgets are stretched thin. So is the chance to prolong making payments on a pricey new washer and dryer that inconveniently kicked the bucket a few weeks into the holiday season.

But those instant savings, experts say, might actually work against you, putting a dent in your credit score and budget. And in some cases, they’re real motive isn’t saving you money. It’s padding the retailer’s bottom line.

Everything might not be better

Their TV ads feature the late Bob Hope in a Santa hat saying “Everything’s better at Macy’s…” But “better” might not be “best” for your holiday budget.

When she worked as a manager at Macy’s, Jennifer Krosche was offered some great employee incentives. “Macy’s would pay employees $5 in Macy’s money, which we could only use in the store, for every new Macy’s charge card application we’d get,” says Krosche, explaining that the store would run promotions by which employees could net bonuses. “Other times, it was $5 in “Macy’s Bucks” for every three to five new accounts.”

Macy’s isn’t the only retailer urging employees to sign us up. Krosche, who also worked at several other major retailers as an employee and manager, including Banana Republic, says employees there had a monthly goal of opening five new cards a month. “Any less, and you’d get a tutorial on how to open cards and a “conversation” about why you weren’t.” She says the employee who opened the most cards every month won a prize. “As a manager there, I was always coming up with incentives for employees to open new credit cards just to make our numbers.”

Costly credit points

Instant “savings” can also cost you big for months — even years to come. Jim Randel, author of The Skinny On Credit Cards (RAND Publishing, 2009) cautions every time you apply for a credit card — even the ones at the register — your credit report is checked. He says that credit inquiry has a negative impact on your FICO, or credit score because it “creates the appearance that you may be loading up on debt.” And that makes current and potential creditors nervous.

Randel says a credit inquiry for a store card can cost you “a few points.” Experts estimate one inquiry can lower your score anywhere from 2 to 5 points. “Apply for several store “brand” cards in a couple of months, and you will shave as many as 20 points off your credit score,” Randel says.

Opening a new charge card will cost you an additional 5 to 15 points. “Over time, you can get those points back, but in the short term, those lost points can cost you plenty,” Randel says.

The price of points

Residential and commercial real estate mortgage broker Todd Huettner suggests you think twice before even applying for a store credit card if you’re eyeing any other type of loans. Losing even one point off your credit score can cost you hundreds — or more in the long run. “Interest rates for mortgages, home equity loan, or even a car loans, go up every 20 points starting with scores lower than 740,” Huettner says. For instance, rates are determined at credit score breaks of 720, 700, 680, 660, 640, and so on. Huettner stresses that’s why losing even just one point to a credit inquiry can make a difference. “Having a score of 679 vs. 680 can cost you hundreds annually in interest.”

Assessing the savings

Slashing 10 percent off “instantly” at the cash register can wind up costing you twice that in the long run. That’s because store credit cards usually carry a higher interest rate than comparable non-store cards (like Visa or American Express), says Randel. “The discounts associated with opening or using these cards are only worthwhile if you pay the balance off completely before accruing any interest,” he adds.

But if you carry a balance, Randel says, this option is no bargain. For instance, getting 10 percent off a $100 pair of shoes, creates a “sale price” of $90. That, plus applicable sales taxes, is charged to your new account that comes with a 21 percent APR interest rate. “If you make the minimum monthly payment [in this case $10] those “sale” shoes will have cost about $107; $7 more than if you never opened the card and just paid the full non-promotional price,” says Randel. Now imagine that on a larger purchase amount, like $1000 or more.

Before accepting the cashier’s offer, ask yourself

1 – Do I have the money to pay the charge off in full with the first statement? If not, don’t open the card. You’ll probably spend more in interest than you saved at the register.

2 – Does the store already accept the credit card(s) I already carry? If so, then put on the brakes. Too much credit can damage your credit score, and lay waste to your budget, too!

3 – Will having this account fuel my urge to splurge? Those discounts and the easy access to a new line of credit may derail your budget train. Especially if you’re an impulsive shopper.

4 – Am I planning to purchase a car or house in the next six months? If so, don’t open any new credit card account (store or bank) as it is likely to take your score down a notch. This “ding” could cost you dearly in the interest you are charged for your purchase, or may even prevent your approval for any financing of your home or car.