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My father was having a cup of coffee with his buddies the other day
They wondered where the time went – as they are now in their eighties
They say that they feel like they're 39
My father told his friends – hey, guys, we are in over-time
– make the most of it!
My Planning Tip of the Day is live each day to the fullest.
When problems arise, let us give you peace of mind – so you can enjoy the day
At our law firm, we can help protect assets if long term care is needed
Wishing you health and happiness this holiday season!
Effective IMMEDIATELY, New York State has "EXPANDED" Medicaid Estate Recovery.
- Life Estates
- Revocable Trusts
- Certain Irrevocable Trusts
Everyone with a Life Estate or Irrevocable Trust needs to take action to ensure that their assets are protected.
The time to act is NOW!
- Contact us Immediately for a Consultation
- Attend one of our Free Seminars
- Participate in our Free Webinars
New York State has implemented new regulations effective September 8, 2011 that have “Expanded” Medicaid Estate Recovery.
In the past, New York State (NYS) was limited to recover against the estate of the Medicaid recipient as to assets passing under a Will or by intestacy (when there is no will). As a practical matter, generally, Medicaid recovery would occur when a Medicaid recipient retained ownership of his or her home while receiving Medicaid benefits. There are other restrictions on NYS as to Medicaid estate recovery which is not covered in this article.
There has been a monumental change in New York for same sex couples. For the first time in New York, same sex couples will have the right to be treated as spouses under the Marriage Equality Act of 2011, effective July 24, 2011. This means that same sex couples will have the option to marry under New York Law and hence be entitled to a whole host of rights as a married couple. These rights include the right to health insurance coverage, the right to file a NYS income tax return as a married couple, the right to favorable Medicaid treatment when one spouse requires long term care, the right to an inheritance when one spouse dies and the right to the marital deduction for New York State estate tax purposes.
It will be important for same sex partners to understand their rights and legal obligations under this new law. In our free webinar this coming Tuesday, August 23, 2011, we will explore estate planning options for same sex couples. Join Us!
FREE WEBINAR: MARRIAGE EQUALITY ACT & ESTATE PLANNING
Tuesday August 23, 2011, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST
Join Us to Learn How the Equality of Marriage Act
Grants Rights to Same Sex Couples in New York State
LOCATION: Participate by Phone or Online!
To Register:
Contact: Susan Tame at 800-680-1717
Register Online: www3.gotomeeting.com/register/910652398
It has become clear to me that my worst fears regarding the 2006 changes to the Medicaid transfer penalty rule have become true. Expanding the lookback period to five years from three years has put an insurmountable burden on seniors with dementia and their families.
The Counties have been very aggressive in their documentation requirements for the five year period to the point that Medicaid eligible seniors are not qualifying for Medicaid.
At a recent fair hearing, I successfully argued that the gifts were made exclusively for purposes other than to qualify
for Medicaid, even though the applicant was in frail health at the time of the gifts.
Without this approval, I do not know how the nursing home would have been paid the $100,000 it was owed; the gifted money had been spent. This was a win-win situation for both the client and the nursing home.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) is not part of a natural evolution of the Medicaid program that was created along with Medicare and the Older Americans Act in 1965 in order to prevent the elderly from living their final years in poverty. Instead, the DRA is an unnatural partisan product of those determined to scare boomers and their parents into purchasing long-term care insurance. It contains the most regressive and punitive changes to the Medicaid program since its creation. These new rules will hurt seniors, the nursing home industry, and may or may not drive boomers to purchase long-term care insurance out of fear from what their parents are about to experience. That remains to be seen. And certainly the ethical question of denying care to chronically ill older Americans and people with disabilities in order to strengthen the demand for a private sector product must be evaluated by policy makers and the American people in the years ahead.
As reported in Newsday on March 20, 2011, the Henley family continues to struggle financially as they provide loving care to Mike at home.
Unfortunately, navigating through the broken long term health care system is an overwhelming burden placed on the family. For today, the Henley's problem is that Mike is on both hospice and Medicaid home care for additional services necessary to properly take care of him at home. But Medicaid only lets the family keep about $1,100 of Mike's income to pay for his care while the excess amount has to be spent down on for his care. Mike’s wife, Karen not only takes care of Mike but works full time and she has two children to take care of. This is a travesty but there are no hardship rules for Karen.
One step that can be taken is for Mike's excess income to be paid into the NYSARC Pooled Income Trust so that money can be used for Mike's living expenses instead of being spent down. Unfortunately, you have to have the right Durable Power of Attorney to establish this special account with NYSARC. Now, the Henley's are facing commencing a guardianship proceeding. To compound the problem, there is a now an outstanding bill with the home care agency. Thank goodness for the Alzheimer's Association Long Island Chapter (Mary Ann Ragona, Executive Director) who have stepped in to help Mike and his family.
I was privileged to have Karen and her two children, Courtney and Brandon on my TV show, Family Comes First. To get to know the Henley Family more personally, you can go to:http://www.familycomesfirst.tv/families/2010-season
With the New Year, come the NEW Federal Estate Tax laws. Congress has done it again. We now have new gift and estate tax laws for 2011 and 2012, but in 2013 the estate tax laws revert to the old laws: a $1 million exemption with a top tax rate of 55%. There are also provisions that retroactively change the federal estate tax laws for 2010.
Many seniors have Powers of Attorney, but do you have the right one? This is a very important question because no one has the right to make financial decisions for you, unless you have legally appointed a person with the authority to act for you. The best way to give that legal authority is by executing a Comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney.
Several little-noticed provisions of the recently-enacted law that extended the Bush-era tax cuts fundamentally alter how the Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs treat tax refunds and other tax credits, making it easier for people with special needs to maintain their benefits.
Under the new law, tax refunds are no longer considered countable income for Medicaid or SSI purposes. Furthermore, any money received through a tax refund will not be a countable resource for 12 months following receipt of the funds, and SSI and Medicaid recipients will be under no obligation to segregate the funds from their other resources (SSI recipients can only keep $2,000 of resources and still qualify for benefits). Because of the change in the law, an SSI beneficiary can now retain his tax refund, even if it puts him over the $2,000 resource limit, for up to one year from the date of receipt, which is welcome news for beneficiaries who usually have to count every penny in order to avoid a disruptive loss of benefits.
The new law also changes the treatment of several other important tax credits. Under previous rules, Making Work Pay, Earned Income, Advanced Earned Income, and Child Tax Credits were all excluded as countable income for Medicaid and SSI purposes, but if the income was retained, it had to be spent within nine months of receipt. Now, the 12-month rule applies to all of these tax credits and, furthermore, First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits that were previously countable as income and as a resource are now exempt and subject to the same countability rules as the other tax credits.
In one more piece of good news, the law applies to any refunds or credits received after December 31, 2009, which means that, in limited cases, applicants who were initially denied SSI or Medicaid benefits due to receipt of a tax refund or credit may actually be retroactively eligible for benefits. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services have also indicated that seniors and other people seeking Medicaid coverage for long-term care will not be subject to transfer-of-asset penalties if they give away their tax refunds or credits during the 12-month grace period.