Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 5)
In last week’s post about Bill and Mary, I told you that we applied for a guardian to be appointed for each of them. The court approved their neighbor and friend, Nancy. Bill had sufficient assets to pay for his care for at least several years. Mary did not. By the time we were
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 4)
In my last 3 posts I have been telling you about the saga of Bill and Mary.  First Bill had a stroke.  Mary called concerned about how to care for him and still be able to afford to pay her bills.  Most of the assets, including the house, are in Bill’s name.  Should they
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 3)
In this 3rd post on longtime partners living together but never married, Bill needed long term care and Mary was concerned about how to pay for it and at the same time be able to afford her own living expenses.  As I explained last week, the house they lived in and
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 2)
In my post last week I began to tell you about Bill and Mary. Partners for 50 years, they never actually tied the knot. Bill had a stroke and they are now faced with $14,000 per month in long term care expenses. The home they live in is owned by Bill. Mary is not
Long Time Partners but Never Married
A recent call we received started with an increasingly common problem.  Mary had called because her partner, Bill had a stroke which landed him in the hospital.  He failed to make enough progress to be able to go home and would need to stay in a long term care facility. Mary told me
Medicaid When a Spouse Owns a Business – Part 2
In my blog post last week I wrote about a more frequent scenario we are seeing with married couple Medicaid applications.  It’s one in which one or both spouses own a business from which they derive income.  As I explained last week, Medicaid allows the healthy spouse to keep a certain amount
Medicaid When a Spouse Owns a Business – Part 1
If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that in the case of a married couple where only one spouse is applying for Medicaid, the healthy spouse, known as the community spouse, is entitled to keep a certain amount of countable assets.  The assets of both spouses are
The Importance of Updating Your Will – Part 2
In last week’s post, I talked about two recent estate administration cases in our office.  In each instance the decedent left a will but no living executor was available to serve. In the first case, the two children who inherited the estate equally were not named because at the time the will
The Importance of Updating Your Will – Part 1
A will is something everyone should have, but just as important is to update a will when it is clear that changes are necessary.  No will can be designed to last forever, no matter what happens.  By way of example, we have had two recent cases in our office in which the
2022 VA Aid and Attendance Numbers
In this week’s post I will review the updated numbers for 2022 for the VA program that provides a benefit to wartime veterans and their spouses. Known as the VA Aid and Attendance program, this benefit provides a special pension to eligible applicants who need long term care. The maximum pension amount