Some Words About the Latest Stimulus Payment (Part 1)
This month Congress passed and President Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID 19 stimulus package. This new law includes, among other things, another immediate payment to millions of Americans in need. Like the first 2 stimulus payments (which were $1200 last year and $600 in January, 2021 for eligible persons),
How SECURE Act Changed Estate and Long Term Care Planning – Part 3
In the past 2 weeks’ posts I have been talking about the SECURE Act and how it has changed the tax laws with respect to retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401ks. With limited exceptions (as noted in my post last week), beneficiaries who inherit these accounts upon the owner’s death
How the SECURE Act Changed Estate and Long Term Care Planning – Part 2
In last week’s post I reviewed the stretch provision of the tax laws that apply to retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401ks. These laws allowed tax deferred accounts to remain tax deferred for a longer period of time by allowing certain beneficiaries to “stretch out” the time within which they
How SECURE Act Changed Estate and Long Term Care Planning – Part 1
At the end of 2019 Congress passed the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act which made some significant changes to retirement accounts - some positive and some negative. I wrote about it a bit when the law was passed (See posts 1/5/20 and 1/13/20). In the year plus since
Another Word about QITs – Part 3
The past 2 weeks my blog posts have covered QITs. Last week I told you about a case in which the trustee initially transferred the correct amount to the QIT, the Medicaid recipient’s entire monthly Social Security, however, when that amount increased because of the cost of living adjustment, the trustee
Another Word About QITs – Part 2
In my post last week I revisited a Medicaid topic that I am frequently asked about - qualified income trusts. An applicant’s income that exceeds Medicaid’s strict monthly income cap ($2382 in 2021) must deposit some of that income into a QIT before then sending it where it must go according
Another Word about QITs
I last wrote about qualified income trusts (QITs)last September but I want to revisit the topic because of 2 recent applications in our office in which the trustee failed to follow the very specific requirements that the State of New Jersey has imposed. It has often happened that people call our
Divorce and Medicaid – Part 3
In last week’s second part of my post, I laid out some basic strategies for couples who, while still legally married and living together, view themselves as separated or divorced. Unfortunately in the eyes of Medicaid you aren’t divorced unless you’ve got the Judgment of Divorce to prove it. When I tell
Divorce and Medicaid – Part 2
Last week I wrote about the recent calls we’ve received regarding couples in unhappy marriages where one spouse now needs care. Even though they may have kept their finances separate for many years, under Medicaid rules the healthy spouse’s assets will be counted as well as the ill spouse’s assets when
Divorce and Medicaid – Part 1
Divorce rates in America have steadily risen for years and much has been written about it. There are, however, many more couples in unhappy marriages who for varied reasons did not go the divorce route. For some, it may have been about being more comfortable with the life they know vs. the