Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney
How frequently you should review your estate plan depends on how old you are and whether there has been a significant change in your circumstances. If you are over age 60 and you haven’t updated your estate plan in many Read More …
Medicaid Snapshot Date When a married couple applies for Medicaid, the Medicaid agency must analyze the couple’s income and assets as of a particular date to determine eligibility. The date that the agency chooses for this analysis is called the Read More …
The Biden administration has announced far-reaching nursing home reforms, targeting staffing and accountability at facilities with deficient care. Advocates are calling the proposals, which include the first-ever federal minimum staffing levels, the most significant reforms in decades. Nursing homes have Read More …
When loved ones pass away, there are lots of considerations, including what happens to their Social Security. The decedent’s payments need to be stopped, but survivor’s benefits may be available to the spouse or, in certain cases, children. Social Security Read More …
Long-term care costs climbed again in 2021, with rates for home health aides and homemakers seeing the sharpest rises, according to Genworth’s annual Cost of Care Survey. The coronavirus pandemic continues to contribute to cost increases. In the past year, Read More …
Federal law requires the state to attempt to recover the long-term care benefits from a Medicaid recipient’s estate after the recipient’s death. If steps aren’t taken to protect the Medicaid recipient’s house, it may need to be sold to settle the claim. For Read More …
To qualify for Medicaid coverage of long-term care, you must satisfy very complicated financial eligibility rules—rules that often can be traps for the unwary. One of the most significant traps is Medicaid’s right to recover its expenses from your estate Read More …
This month’s Northeast Ohio Boomer magazine features an article written by Joseph Motta. Understanding Long-Term Care One of the greatest concerns of seniors and their families is the cost of long-term care, especially the cost of nursing home care. Long-term Read More …
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the amounts taxpayers of different ages can deduct from their 2022 income as a result of buying long-term care insurance, and the figures are almost the same as in 2021. Many types of Read More …
Many people believe that Medicare covers nursing home stays. In fact Medicare’s coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. Medicare covers up to 100 days of “skilled nursing care” per illness, but there are a number of requirements that Read More …
With the fate of the estate tax exemption uncertain, you may want to use the current large exemption to transfer assets to a trust to benefit your spouse. A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) can help transfer assets outside of Read More …
The year was 1983: The U.S. invaded Grenada. A gallon of gas cost 96 cents. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video premiered. That year was also the last time that recipients of Social Security disability benefits saw a cost-of-living increase steeper than the Read More …
When applying for Medicaid’s long-term care coverage, in addition to the strict income and asset limits, you must demonstrate that you need a level care typically provided in a nursing home. Whether you are applying for nursing home coverage or Read More …
The Social Security trustees are projecting that due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic the Social Security trust fund will be depleted in 2033 — one year earlier than the previous estimates. Once the fund is depleted, Social Read More …
Every year Medicare gives beneficiaries a window of opportunity to shop around and determine if their current Medicare plan is still the best one for them. During Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, which runs from October 15 to December 7, beneficiaries Read More …
With nursing home care in some parts of the country costing as much as $10,000 a month, a long-term need for care can deplete even the best-planned estate. As a result, many seniors buy long-term care insurance to cover this Read More …
One of the greatest concerns of seniors and their families is the cost of long-term care, especially the cost of nursing home care. Long-term care refers to a range of services necessary to meet your personal needs. Most long-term care Read More …
This is our first post about reverse mortgages. If you have questions about how a reverse mortgage could fit into your estate planning, please contact us for a free consultation. New Protections for the Non-Borrowing Spouse of Reverse Mortgage The Read More …
Qualifying for Medicare hardly means free health care — there are still premiums and deductibles. However, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (called “dual eligibility”) receive help paying their out-of-pocket costs. Medicare is a federal program available to Read More …
In recent years a number of non-lawyers have started businesses offering Medicaid planning services to seniors. While using one of these services may be cheaper than hiring a lawyer, the overall costs may be far greater. If you use a Read More …
