Is a Damaged Will an Invalid Will? Part 2
In my post here last week, I told you about a call we received from Son concerning Dad’s will.  The original will had been in Son’s possession but after Dad’s passing he discovered that it had been damaged.  Someone spilled liquid on it which had caused parts to be unreadable.  When he separated
Is a Damaged Will an Invalid Will? Part 1
We received a recent call in our office.  The caller’s father had passed away leaving a will that had been given by father to son to hold in his possession after Dad had signed it several years earlier.  Son retrieved the will after Dad’s passing in order to submit it the Surrogate
Another Reason People Fail to Plan – Part 2
In my previous blog post here I gave you another reason why people fail to plan for a potential crisis .  Sometimes personal background or culture plays a role. We received a recent call from a daughter concerning her dad who had been traveling abroad when he had a stroke. The family was
Another Reason People Fail to Plan
In this blog over the years I have written often about how the lack of planning makes things more complicated and the outcomes worse when a crisis hits than when there is a plan in place.  In many instances lack of planning stems from the lack of urgency and the belief
A Six Figure Medicaid Mistake (Part 5)
In my blog post this week I continue with the story of the family that tried to get Medicaid for Dad but failed.  In the past several weeks I have explained that while Dad’s assets need to be under a $2000 to achieve eligibility, Mom also has an asset limit, which
A Six Figure Medicaid Mistake (Part 4)
In this week’s blog post, I continue to tell you about a call I received from a family who tried and failed to get Medicaid for Dad.  As I explained last week, the nursing facility employee misunderstood how Medicaid works in the case of a married couple where only one spouse
A Six Figure Medicaid Mistake (Part 3)
In this week’s post I continue with the story about a recent call we received in our office from a family concerning a Medicaid denial. The nursing home employee processing Dad’s Medicaid application misunderstood the rules with respect to married couples.  As I explained last week, Mom was told she did
A Six Figure Medicaid Mistake (Part 2)
In my blog post last week I began to tell you about a recent call we received.  A family called seeking help with a Medicaid application for Dad.  The nursing home had filed the application on Dad’s behalf but it had been denied.  I asked if they had provided Medicaid with 5 years
A Six Figure Medicaid Mistake (Part 1)
We received a recent call from a child about her parents.  Dad has been in a nursing home for more than a year.  A Medicaid application was first filed by the facility on behalf of Dad 16 months ago.  The reason for the call is that the application was denied.  As far as I
What Does the One Big Beautiful Bill Mean for Medicaid? Part 2
In my blog post last week, I reviewed some of the changes to Medicaid contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that was signed into law earlier this month.  These changes are specific ones, such as imposing a work requirement for some Medicaid recipients (doesn’t apply to those receiving long