New Jersey Courts Decide Case Involving Estate Recovery and Elective Share #EstateRecovery
Estate recovery is something I am asked about frequently when it comes to Medicaid, although families rarely pose it in those terms. The question, or some variation of it, goes as follows: “Will Medicaid put a lien on my home?” What we are talking about is the State of
How Medicaid Treats Life Insurance (Part 2)
Last week I was talking about life insurance as it affects eligibility for Medicaid. While term insurance has no value while the insured is alive and only provides a payment at the death of the insured, other types of life insurance – namely whole life and universal life –
How Medicaid Treats Life Insurance (Part 1)
Medicaid requires the applicant to spend down all assets to under $2000 before approving an application for benefits. The question comes up frequently about life insurance. Is it an asset and if so, what is the value? In order to answer that question, we must examine what kind of
When to Sell the Home (Part 2)
Last week I told you that Dave called because his dad needs to go to a nursing home and he is now in “spend down mode”. He plans to sell the home, spend down the proceeds from the sale and then apply for Medicaid. A straight forward, sound approach?
When To Sell The Home
Dave called me because his dad had just recently suffered a stroke and was in the hospital but ready to be discharged. Dave told me, “Dad can’t go home. We’ve been able to keep a promise we made to keep him home but at this point the family recognizes
Home Based Medicaid – A Deceiving Benefit – Part 2 #HomeBasedMedicaid
I told you last week that Jim’s dad was running out of money. Living at home with aides providing him with round the clock care, Jim was thinking that once the cash runs out he can apply for Medicaid under New Jersey’s home based Medicaid program #NewJerseyMedicaid. Jim’s plan
When Protecting Assets Beware of Capital Gains Tax (Part 3)
The last two weeks I have been explaining the danger of ignoring a potential capital gains tax while focusing on the avoidance of estate tax and asset protection from the cost of long term care. Mom wants to protect her $600,000 home from being lost to the cost of
What Happens When You Don’t File for Medicaid When You Should #Medicaid
Shelly called to ask the following questions, “Does my mom have to tell the nursing home where her bank accounts are located?” In order to answer the question, I had to dig a bit deeper to find out what exactly was going on. This is what I learned. Shelly’s dad had
Correcting a Medicaid Mistake from 15 Years Ago (Part 2) #Medicaid, #MondayMorningBlog
Last week I was telling you about Monica’s dilemma. She thought the home she and her husband, Paul bought together with her mom had been retitled to them 15 years ago with Mom retaining a legal right to live there for her life time. But, that’s not what happened.