The Money Wasn’t a Gift – It Was a Transfer to a Caregiver (Part 1)
I received a call last week from Jim. His tale was a variation on the same theme you have heard me reiterate for the last few years if you have been reading my blog – how the Medicaid rules are a trap for the unwary. Jim’s dad had cared for
Do We Lose Benefits When Veteran Dies While Claim is Pending?
This is a common enough scenario, especially when it seems that the VA is taking longer to process claims than ever before. As with most VA questions, however, the answer is not a simple yes or no. It depends on the facts of the particular situation. But first let’s review. Specifically,
The Problem of the Unmarried Siblings – Part 2
Last week we were discussing Denise’s problem. Her Mom was one of 10 children. 2 of her uncles and 1 aunt had never married but lived together for many years. As their health declined Denise became their support system. We discussed how Medicaid views their assets and the trap that
The Problem of the Unmarried Siblings (Part 1)
Denise called me regarding her family. Her mom was one of 10 children. 3 of the siblings had never married but lived together for many years in a home they owned together. As they reached their 80’s the siblings’ health began to decline and Denise, as the closest family member,
New Regulations For Special Needs Trusts
I have written about special needs trusts in past posts on this blog. SNTs are a safe harbor for the assets of disabled individuals that allows them to receive government benefits and be able to use the trust assets to supplement those benefits, because we quickly find that what the
Mary’s Dilemma – Don’t Let it Be Yours
Mary called me in desperation. Her husband Bob had recently been hospitalized with heart problems. He is also struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. Mary has been able to administer care to this point but it has taken its toll on her physically and mentally and her children are
The Second Marriage Long Term Care Problem Revisited
Last year I wrote about the impact long term care has on a second marriage (see blog post 1/5/09). In the 19 months since then, I have seen an increasing number of second marriage “horror stories”. A call we received last week, again highlights the danger. Joe, a 70 year
Will They or Won’t They? An Update on Federal Estate Tax Law
My first post of the year (1/4/2010) concerned the elimination of federal estate tax for this year and this year alone. While that sounds like a good thing for the average American it’s not really because the law also eliminated the capital gains step up in basis. So many estates
My Disabled Child is Now 18 – Does Anything Change? Part 2
A few weeks ago I wrote about a scenario we are seeing with increasing frequency, the child with special needs who reaches adulthood and how that changes the ability of a parent to protect and/or act for that child. There probably won’t be any noticeable change in the family’s life
Will I Lost My Family Business if I Need Long Term Care (Part 2)
So, we were discussing Joe’s situation last week. He owns a business and a building which rents space to his company and 3 other tenants. Their combined value is $1.25 million dollars. As we learned last week these assets are countable for Medicaid purposes as assets that need to be