Dear Mr. Di Costanzo: Can Medicaid take my home if I get sick? If you fall ill, you may seek Medicaid benefits to help pay for your care at home or in a nursing home. If Medicaid begins paying for care, Medicaid can try to recoup what it has paid on your behalf either by…
Dear Mr. Di Costanzo: I own my home. If I need to apply for Medicaid will my home be protected? Your home is likely your most valuable asset and it is important to know if it will be protected in the event you need long term care.
Over the years, I have found that one of the biggest obstacles preventing clients from pulling the trigger on a Medicaid Trust is the perception that all control is lost over the assets being transferred to the trust. While it is true that legal title to the assets must be transferred to the trustee, a…
Co-Authored by Joanna C. Feldman, Esq. Long-term care insurance can be a great arrow in one’s quiver of tools when planning for the future. But long-term care insurance premiums can be expensive, or, possibly more importantly, the coverage can be capped in a variety of ways. Many long-term care insurance (“LTCI”) policies have a maximum…
The Power of Attorney (“POA”) and Statutory Gifts Rider (“SGR”) are two of the most important documents drafted by an elder law attorney. The absence of or deficiencies in these documents increases the likelihood of the need to commence a costly guardianship proceeding to be able to implement many common elder law planning techniques necessary…
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 This question was recently asked at an event we hosted during which we discussed strategies to leave a legacy after death. A Medicaid Trust is an irrevocable trust used to protect assets should one need nursing home care and seek Medicaid to help cover the cost. Because assets in a Medicaid…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman Let’s consider the cost of care versus the legal fees to implement proper planning. So often, when I ask clients about their assets, they respond “I have nothing”, yet they own a house. For some reason, it seems to be common that where there are little cash assets, there is a…
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…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman A Medicaid Trust is often used when planning for the future and contemplating the fact that one might eventually need nursing home care. The average monthly cost of a nursing home in our area exceeds $12,000.00, and there are only four ways to pay for such care: privately (which can be…
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…
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….
Unfortunately, we cannot control if and when we may fall ill but we can be proactive to protect our financial assets by planning early. The risk of requiring a nursing home within five years of creating a Medicaid Trust is generally a risk associated with waiting too long to meet with and elder law attorney….
It is worth noting at the outset that there are many types of irrevocable trusts. I think it is safe to assume that when you reference an irrevocable trust, you are speaking of the trust that we regularly use to protect your assets if you need to apply for Medicaid in the future. For our…
For 2017, the federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption have increased to $5,490,000. This means that you can gift this amount over your lifetime without incurring a federal gift tax and to the extent you haven’t done so, any exemption remaining at death can be applied against the value of your estate for…
Medicaid Planning in Advance of Changes to the Healthcare System By: Salvatore M. Di Costanzo, Esq. With Congress about to break for a two week Spring recess, the repeal of Obamacare appears to have stalled and remains uncertain. Notwithstanding, we must pay attention to the various proposals that have been put forth by the…
