New VA Rules Effective 10/18/18 (Part 2)
               In last week’s post, I reviewed some major changes to the VA Aid and Attendance program. The one that gets the most attention for obvious reasons is the imposition of a 3 year look back and penalty period. This will restrict immediate access to the benefit for many veterans,
New VA Rules Effective 10/18/18 (Part 1)
               I have written many times in the past several years about possible rules changes to the VA Aid and Attendance pension program, which provides additional income to aging veterans and their spouses who need long term care. Well, those changes are finally here and with almost no warning. The
A Family Theft – Part 2
               In last week’s post I told you about Joe’s problem. He needed to apply for Medicaid for his sister, Sophie. His sister, Mary, however, had told him that she took some of Sophie’s money and spent it herself. He had confirmed at least $100,000 and counting.                As I explained
A Family Theft – Part 1
        What happens if a family member takes money from another family member without permission and the second family member needs to apply for Medicaid? That is exactly the scenario faced by Joe who called me about his two sisters, Mary and Sophie.               Â
Hospital Escape Story – Part 2
               Last week I was telling you about a story related to me by a parent of children who just turned age 18 and which reinforced for her the importance of having proper legal documents in place now that would allow her to make important decisions for her children.                So,
A Hospital Escape Story
               Every year between June and September we are contacted by parents who have children that have turned age 18 and are going off to college. I have written in the past about the importance of parents having their child execute a power of attorney and health care directive because
Shifting Drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D
               A few months ago President Trump announced a plan to lower prescription drug costs under Medicare by moving coverage of certain expensive drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D. Part B is the medical benefit that was part of the original Medicare law passed by Congress in 1965.Â
A Pension Hole the Size of Japan’s Economy (Part 2)
    In last week’s post I wrote about the growing public pension crisis in our country. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the efforts by different states to try to start solving the problem which will only grow worse in coming years.     Some pension recipients
A Pension Hole the Size of Japan’s Economy
               The title of the article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago was intended to turn heads. (See https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pension-hole-for-u-s-cities-and-states-is-the-size-of-japans-economy-1532972501?mod=hp_lead_pos7) There has been an increasing amount of coverage in the media about the pension crisis in the country, specifically the underfunding of public employee pensions. According to the
Resistance to Power of Attorney – Part 3
               In this week’s post we continue with the topic of power of attorney and specifically how to handle resistance from banks and financial institutions. Last week I outlined the scenarios in which a bank can refuse to honor a power of attorney. New Jersey law says that a banking