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. The best way to make changes is either through a codicil -- an amendment to...

If you want to make a gift to family members but have exceeded the annual gifting limit, there is another way. Payments for a family member’s education or health care expenses are exempt from the gift tax. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2020 and 2021 is $15,000....

For most people, the durable power of attorney is the most important estate planning instrument available -- even more useful than a will. A power of attorney allows a person you appoint -- your "attorney-in-fact" or “agent” -- to act in place of you – the “principal”...

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. Medicaid (sometimes called by other names, such as "KanCare" in Kansas,...

Parents and other family members who want to pass on assets during their lifetimes may be tempted to gift the assets.  Although setting up an irrevocable trust lacks the simplicity of giving a gift, it may be a better way to preserve assets for the future. A trust is...

This is something of a grey area. You must report most asset transfers to the Medicaid agency, and the transfer will usually cause a period of ineligibility for benefits. You could make an argument that the transfer of a non-countable asset does not need to be...

President Biden has signed the latest COVID-19 relief bill, which in addition to authorizing stimulus checks, funding vaccine distribution, and extending unemployment benefits, also provides assistance to seniors in a number of ways. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued new guidance on whether families can visit loved ones in nursing homes. The guidance allows indoor visitation even when the resident has not been vaccinated. The coronavirus pandemic has hit long-term...

A New Jersey appeals court holds that a Medicaid applicant’s transfer of her interest in her house to her son qualifies for the caretaker child exemption even though the son worked outside the home and hired aides to help care for his mother. A.M. v. Monmouth County...

People with developmental disabilities are more than three times more likely than their peers to die from Covid-19. Despite this, most states have prioritized health care workers and people in nursing homes in their initial Covid vaccine rollouts, bypassing numerous...

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...

For better or 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. Medicaid (sometimes called by other names, such as "Kancare" in Kansas,...

Most long-term care involves assisting with basic personal needs rather than providing medical care. The long-term care community measures personal needs by looking at whether an individual requires help with six basic activities that most people do every day without...

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