February! It’s the month of love! It’s the month of taxes! And, weirdly, a month of tangentially related tech?

Changes to Postmark rules

It’s tax season! If you send your tax return in by mail, you may want to drop it off a few days early. Recent changes to post office operations mean your mail may not get postmarked the same day that you drop it off. If you just drop it in the box, the new procedures might mean it’s not actually processed for a day or two. This also means, it won’t get postmarked for that time either.

If you need your mail to be postmarked a certain date, take it to a retail post office. According to USPS: “Customers who wish to obtain a postmark aligning with the date of mailing may request a manual (local) postmark at a retail location. Customers who wish to retain a record or proof of the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of their mailpiece(s) may purchase a Certificate of Mailing. Registered Mail and Certified Mail services also provide mailing receipts for individual mailpieces.”

Some mailings, like tax returns need to be mailed by a certain date to be considered timely. So, put those important mailings in the box a few days early. Or, just take it to the post office and make sure it gets postmarked at the desk. Or, e-file it if you can.

Tech in Elder Law

This month there were lots of articles about how elder law principals are popping up in tech sphere. Funnily enough, most of them have nothing to do with the elderly.

First, “kid-fluencers” refer to children who have massive influence, and usually massive wealth, generated through their followings on social medias. Because the kid-fluencer space is so new, there is a lack of regulation as to how their wealth is managed for them. Professor Naomi Cahn’s article explores how Trust law could be used to protect these children’s fortunes from their parents and other adults who don’t have their best interest at heart.

Second, the AI boom has made tech professionals reconsider long term financial security and what that means for their personal relationships. The result- more prenups. How romantic. While we don’t normally think of prenups as estate planning documents, they can have a huge impact on what happens when you die. Prenups often include provisions about how assets are passed on your death.

Third, the creators of Fitbit are starting a new app, Luffu (pronounced loo- foo) that offers a tech solution to inter-generational family caregiving. The app isn’t out yet, but based on the promotions, it appears to allow family members to check in. The promotions show family members tracking things like medication management or deviations from normal routines.

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