Uneven Inheritance – To Tell or Not to Tell
“I want to leave more to one child than another”, the client will tell me. In some cases one child is more financially established than another. Or maybe one child has special needs, whether diagnosed or not. When I ask whether this has been disclosed to either child the answer often
Using Your Own Money to Pay for Long Term Care – the Better Way? Part 2
Last week I was talking about the difficulties in funding long term care through long term care insurance or Medicaid. Insurance companies are getting out of the long term care market entirely or drastically raising premiums. Medicaid, the primary government program that covers long term care, is still a
Using Your Own Money to Pay for Long Term Care – the Better Way?
As I always explain to people, there are 3 ways to pay for long term care. One way is to use your own money. A second source is long term care insurance and the third is government benefits – primarily Medicaid and the VA Aid and Attendance program. I
Your Digital Assets – Are You Covered? Part 2
Last week I raised the legal issues faced by digital assets – specifically property rights. Who owns my Facebook account after I die? Who can access that account when I am alive but incapacitated? Courts are often wrestling with these issues for the first time. State legislatures have not,
Your Digital Assets – Are You Covered?
Technology has allowed us as a society to go places and do things never before imagined. But, it has created issues and problems that, likewise, we could never have imagined. Much has been written about the problem of texting while driving or “sexting” by minors. Our laws have been
Turning Life Insurance into Long Term Care Insurance (Part 2)
So your parent has an insurance policy that they can no longer afford and they are in spend down mode to qualify for Medicaid. Cashing in the policy and spending the proceeds is necessary before Medicaid will kick in. But last week I mentioned another option, something called a
Turning Life Insurance into Long Term Care Insurance (Part 1)
For 20 years now, I’ve been guiding clients and their families on the spend down of assets before applying for Medicaid. Successful applicants must spend down just about everything before getting Medicaid approval, including any life insurance policies that have cash surrender value. For many seniors the cash surrender value of
The Aide that Moved Right in (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about Sue, who called about her 90 year old aunt, Amelia. Amelia had hired a home health aide through what she thought was a home health agency. Sue recently learned that the aide had taken Amelia to an attorney who prepared legal documents designating
The aide that moved right in
Sue called regarding her 90 year old aunt, Amelia, who had a series of strokes. For the past 6 months she had a live in aide assisting her but it was what Sue told me about that aide which was so troubling. Amelia happened to mention that the aide took her
VA Pension is not Income for Medicaid Purposes
An important decision by federal court judge two weeks ago will have a big impact on many New Jersey assisted living residents – in a positive way. The case, Galletta v. Velez, directly addresses the relationship between VA and Medicaid benefits, which don’t always work well together. Some Medicaid programs have