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 can freely enroll in or switch plans.
Every time I help a client with estate planning, we have the "talk" about how to handle bank accounts. Here is a discussion of the relative merits of different methods for handling bank accounts in estate planning, from best to worst.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case disputing how much states can recoup from Medicaid recipients’ settlements in personal injury cases. The decision has the potential to affect anyone who receives government assistance with their medical care following a disabling injury that results in a lawsuit.
A number of tax proposals being considered in Congress could significantly affect gifting and estate plans for those with larger estates -- over $3.5 million. If you're in that category, you might want to meet with your estate planner to take advantage of gifting opportunities that are available under the current law.
I get this question all of the time - do I HAVE to hire an attorney to help me purchase a home (or a residential lot). The answer is there is no law that requires it, but it is a really good idea, and the cost in pretty nominal compared to what it will cost to fix problems that arise later due to not having legal representation.
Britney Spears’ legal fight to wrest back control over her personal and financial affairs has flooded the issue of guardianship in Klieg lights.
As life circumstances change (births, marriages, divorces, and deaths), it may become necessary to make changes to your will. If an estate plan is not kept up-to-date, it can become useless.
For better and for worse, Medicaid is the primary method of paying for nursing home care in the United States. But navigating the Medicaid system is complicated and confusing. Here are the basics.
Increasingly, several generations of American families are living together. These multi-generational living arrangements present legal and financial challenges around home ownership.
Long-term care involves not only a loss of personal autonomy; it also comes at a tremendous financial price. Proper planning can help your family prepare for the financial toll and protect assets for future generations.
While a will is one of the most important estate planning documents you can have, there are things that it won’t cover.
Medicare and Medicaid are two different government programs for healthcare. It is important to understand the difference between them. Here, we will discuss how the program benefits differ, how eligibility for each program is established, and discuss some recent news pertaining to each program.
Medicare is not free; there are premiums and deductibles. If you don't qualify for Medicaid and can't afford a Medigap policy, you may be able to get help paying for the costs of Medicare.
Long-term care costs can add up quickly. For veterans and the surviving spouses of veterans who need in-home care or are in a nursing home, help may be available.
Revocable trusts are a very popular and useful estate planning tool. But the trust will be ineffective if you do not actually place your assets in the trust.
Don’t assume your estate will automatically go to your spouse when you die. If you don’t have an estate plan, your spouse may have to share your estate with other family members.
The IRS has announced that the tax deduction for medical expenses includes amounts spent on face masks, sanitizer and other products purchased to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Medicaid planning can be a difficult and confusing process. The following are some common mistakes people make when planning to apply for Medicaid.
The one-year deadline for nursing home residents on Medicaid to spend down their first round of stimulus checks is here, but they may have a little extra time.
I review a lot of existing estate plans, and I see a lot of estate plans that are terrible and beyond repair. Why? Sometimes the reason is they were created by a "trust mill".
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders (D) has introduced legislation that would require more estates to pay estate tax and that raises the amounts they would pay. Another proposed law would eliminate the step-up in basis that inherited assets currently enjoy.
Pets are members of the family, so it is important to consider how to provide for them in your estate plan just as you would the human family members.
Life insurance can play a few key roles in an estate plan, depending on your age and situation in life.
Netflix’s popular new movie, I Care a Lot, may be far-fetched in a lot of ways, but it does highlight some real weaknesses in the guardianship system that make it possible for an unscrupulous guardian to take control of an elderly person’s life and bleed their resources dry.
Just as we create estate plans for our eventual demise, we also need to plan ahead for the possibility that we will become sick and unable to make our own medical decisions.
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