Being able to make health care decisions for ourselves is so important to us, but what happens if you become incapacitated and are unable to voice your opinion?  If you don’t have a health care proxy or guardian in place, state law chooses who can make those...

Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants to make sure the spouses have the minimum support needed to continue to live in the community while their husband or wife is receiving long-term care benefits, usually in a nursing home....

For those aging in Kansas City, we are blessed with many wonderful senior living communities. However, some seniors do prefer to stay at home as long as possible rather than move into an elder care community such as assisted living. For many families, this means...

A New Jersey appeals court holds that the state cannot impose a penalty period against a Medicaid applicant whose daughter returned transferred property to the non-institutionalized spouse. L.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (N.J. Super. Ct.,...

Under the Medicaid rules, when one member of a married couple applies for benefits their combined assets and income must be reported to determine the eligibility of the nursing home spouse. However, there is an exception that is often used in cases of late, short-term...

Written By: Evie Curtis – Development Director, Assured Trust Company It happened again. The conversation that starts with, “BUT, it’s my inheritance.” My reply, “BUT, it’s not your money. It belongs to Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle ….” It is the time when families have that...

The Sixth Circuit holds that long-term care policies purchased by residents of Ohio and Florida remained in force continuously from their effective dates, so they were not affected by both states’ subsequent ban on long-term care policies requiring a hospital stay...

Do you need an attorney for even "simple" Medicaid planning? This depends on your situation, but in most cases, the prudent answer would be "yes." The social worker at your mother's nursing home assigned to assist in preparing a Medicaid application for your mother...

The year was 1983: The U.S. invaded Granada. A gallon of gas cost 96 cents. Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video premiered. That year was also the last time that Social Security recipients saw a cost-of-living increase steeper than the one just announced for 2022. This...

During the holidays, most are blessed to spend time with loved ones...including and especially an aging parent. While this is a time for celebration, it is also a chance to really see how your aging loved one is doing. How is his/her memory? Are they able to take care...

While it is preferable to conduct long-term care planning well in advance of needing care, if you haven’t planned ahead, there are some strategies available to avoid spending all your assets. Three so-called "half a loaf" approaches allow a Medicaid applicant to give...

Individuals who are researching nursing homes can now see staff and resident vaccination rates along with other quality and safety measure information at Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare website. The official Medicare website includes a nursing home rating...

When most of a couple's income is in the name of the spouse who is receiving Medicaid, the spouse remaining in the community (i.e. the healthy spouse) may wonder what he or she will live on. Medicaid has created some protections for the community spouse. Although...

First, it isn’t likely that the tax bill for selling your home would eat up half the proceeds. The top capital gains tax rate is 20 percent and that is just a tax on the capital gain, not all of the proceeds. In addition, you can exclude the first $250,000 of gain....