Is There Ever an Easy Medicaid Application? Part 1
When I speak with people for the first time about the Medicaid application process - specifically about the 5 year look back and the amount of documentation required - they often tell me that in their case it should be easy. “Mom never had much,” they’ll tell me. But is that necessarily true? Maybe yes, maybe no but we won’t know until we go through the Medicaid process. A recent case in our office illustrates this point. Jane was in a nursing home. Her daughter called about getting Jane on Medicaid. When I asked some questions about her finances, I was told that Jane only had 3 accounts over the past 5 years and it should be a very straight forward application. We sent Jane’s daughter a checklist of the documents needed. There was not much left to spend down so we filed the application within a couple of months when the remaining funds were spent. That’s when the problems began. We discovered money had been deposited into one of the accounts early in the 5 year look back time period. I knew this was going to be a problem and sure enough, the Medicaid caseworker picked up on it as well and asked for the source of the deposit. The daughter had
Yet Another Real Estate Problem – Part 3
In this third post of three, I finish telling you about an executor’s sale of real estate that hit a snag. As I explained last week, the Buyer’s title company concluded that the decedent didn’t own 100% of the property. Instead they said he owned only 50%. The confusion arose from that the fact that at one time the property was owned jointly by the decedent with his brother and mother. When his mother died her name was never removed from the deed. When the brother transferred his interest to the decedent, the title company concluded that the mother’s interest was being transferred at the same time. Since she had already died, this would constitute andimproper transfer. If that deed was invalid then the decedent still only owned 50% at the time of his death. What the title company is ignoring, however, is the fact that when the mother died a transfer of her interest did occur. Jointly held property passes by law at death to the surviving co-owners of that property. Property that is held individually or as tenants in common passes by way of a last will or if there is none than by intestacy. Property held jointly passes by operation of law to the surviving co-owners. The fact that
Yet Another Real Estate Problem – Part 2
As I wrote in my post last week, our client is executor of the estate of a decedent who owned 100% of his home - at least that is what the most recent deed shows. When he found a buyer for the home and the title company did a title search, however, the title company reached a very different conclusion. The home had been purchased by the decedent’s mother. She then executed a deed putting her two sons on the deed with her. They each then owned a 1/3 interest jointly with right of survivorship. That is how title remained until decedent’s mother died. No deed was ever recorded removing the mother’s name from the title but a few years after she died decedent’s brother signed a deed transferring his interest to decedent. That is how title remained at the time of decedent’s death. The title company concluded that the deed to the brother was invalid because it was dated after the mother’s death. The company interpreted the deed as transferring the mother’s interest as well even though she obviously never signed the deed. To add to the set of facts here, the brother died a few months after the decedent. So, if the title company is correct, then the brother’s
Yet Another Real Estate Problem (Part 1)
I wrote a few months ago about a real estate sale that hit a snag when it was discovered that one of the record owners had died many years ago (as well as the sole heir to that owners estate and the sole heir to the sole heir’s estate). With our help, the home was sold after several months of delays. Unpaid taxes going back 12 years still need to be paid before the estate administration process can be completed and funds disbursed. That case illustrates how a failure to administer an estate until many years later can cause lengthy delays and a more difficult and costly process. Another estate sale of real property has come to our office which, likewise has hit a roadblock. These issues tend to arise once a buyer is found and a title search is done for the purpose of issuing a title policy to the buyer to protect his/her interest. Does each person offering the property for sale actually own it or are there other parties who may have an interest? In this case, our client is the Executor of the estate of the Decedent who owned a 100% interest in his home - at least that’s what the most recent
A Celebrity Estate Plan Lesson (Part 2)
In my post last week I wrote about the trial in the matter of Aretha Franklin’s estate to determine which of two handwritten wills would be admitted as her last will. The case illustrates the reasons why everyone should have a will executed in accordance with state law and preferably typewritten and prepared by an attorney familiar with trust and estate law and the estate administration process. Having a will prepared by an experienced attorney will greatly reduce the risk of a court battle which can be costly in terms of legal fees but also family harmony. In Aretha Franklin’s case, it pitted 2 of her sons on one side against a third son. That’s because the two handwritten wills that were discovered in her home differed in their terms. For one thing, her Michigan home was left to one son and her grandchildren in her 2014 which was not the case in her 2010 will. For another her 2010 will stipulated that her sons were required to obtain a business degree or certificate before receiving their inheritance whereas the 2014 will had no such requirement. While the court did resolve the issue of which will controls, there are indications that the family may be back in
A Celebrity Estate Plan Lesson (Part 1)
Over the years I have written a number of blog posts about the reasons everyone should have a will and more specifically a formal one. Too many adults don’t and high profile celebrities are no different than the general population. I wrote 10 years ago about the litigation surrounding James Gandolfini’s estate because he didn’t leave a will. Aretha Franklin is another celebrity example. Franklin died in 2018 but only this month a trial settled - at least for the moment - the issue of what document should be considered to be her last wishes with regard to the assets that comprise her estate. That’s because she didn’t leave a formal will prepared an attorney. Instead she left what is known as a holographic will - one that she hand wrote and signed rather than one typewritten and witnessed and notarized in accordance with state law. In fact she left two holographic wills. Both were discovered in her home. A 2010 will was found in a locked cabinet and a 2014 will was found in the couch cushions in her living room. Both were handwritten and signed by Franklin but differed as to their terms. This led to a predicable legal dispute amongst 3 of her sons as to which