Second to the house, an individual retirement account (“IRA”) is usually the largest asset when looking into someone’s financial portfolio. The tax and Medicaid rules dealing with IRAs are very different yet related, quite complex and often misinterpreted or misapplied. It is important to have a general understanding of these rules in order to avoid…
A Medicaid Trust is an irrevocable trust designed to protect your assets from the staggering costs of long-term care, usually nursing home care. You will be pleased to know that while the trust is irrevocable, many bells and whistles can be included in the trust, which give you a great degree of control. In fact,…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman Under the usual fact pattern, a retirement account will not render someone ineligible for Medicaid. There are initially two major issues when considering whether someone is eligible for Medicaid: resources and income. Retirement accounts can fall in both categories. For resources purposes, in New York, retirement accounts, such as IRAs, 401(k)s,…
While I cannot say whether there are mistakes in your estate planning documents, the wording of your document may be confusing to you as a non-attorney. Legal documents contain a great deal of legalese. For purposes of this response, I am assuming that you are leaving all of your assets to your children. First, it…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman To be eligible for Medicaid benefits in a nursing home in 2018, one may have no more than $15,150.00 in available assets. A life insurance policy with no cash value is not considered an available asset. If a life insurance policy has cash value, however, the cash value of the…
While an annuity might serve you well from a financial planning perspective, financial planners and clients must be aware of the treatment of annuities for Medicaid purposes. For Medicaid eligibility purposes, the cash value of an annuity is considered an available resource. This means that an annuity is treated like cash and if you need…
The nomenclature used to title accounts can be daunting and quite frankly downright confusing. After creating trusts for our clients, we review our client’s financial accounts and advise them as to which accounts need to be transferred to the trust. It is a common misconception that accounts “in trust for” another individual are in a…
When I meet with people for the first time who are interested in estate planning, their focus is usually on after-death planning. Whether their concern is minimizing estate taxes, planning for minor or spendthrift children, or simply passing assets to the next generation as quickly and efficiently as possible, nearly every meeting begins with a…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman The truth is that very often, “elder law” attorney is a misnomer as it pertains to many of our clients. For example, nearly everyone should have a comprehensive Power of Attorney. Some of our youngest clients have just become adults who come to us for a Power of Attorney before…
We have all heard the saying “life is full of regrets”. I have compiled a list of the most common regrets that I often hear from clients, but more often, their family members, during my practicing as an elder law and special needs planning attorney. If you have neglected any of these topics, my hope…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman This is a question that often comes up in the midst of the grief of losing a loved one. The thought of having to deal with bureaucracy, attorneys and Courts can be overwhelming. The first step is to determine – to the extent that you’re able – whether your sister…
Remember, the purpose of a revocable trust is to avoid probate and following fact patterns make it a necessity to use a revocable trust. Owning property outside of New York State If you own property outside of New York State in your individual name, a proceeding must be commenced in the other state to transfer…
Obtaining eligibility for Medicaid often requires transferring assets to a spouse or other family members. When transferring assets, one must always consider the tax consequences of doing so. Obviously, there are many types of assets and each asset class may be treated differently from a tax perspective. There is no simple answer to your question….
Contrary to popular belief, it is never too late. An elder law attorney can work to implement many different techniques even at the 11th hour to preserve assets. What is important is that you have a relationship with an elder law attorney. An elder law attorney can relieve some of the anxiety natural to this time…
In a perfect world, everyone would craft an estate and elder care plan well in advance of having to implement it˗ but the world isn’t perfect! I have had the opportunity to work on a fair amount of cases where clients, who had no estate or elder can plan, fell ill or became…
Special Needs Trusts are an integral part of almost every estate plan. I use them in most of my estate planning documents. There are two types of Special Needs Trusts: First Party and Third Party. A First Party Special Needs Trust is a trust created with the assets of a disabled person who is under…