When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2020 federal guidelines for how much money the spouses of institutionalized Medicaid recipients may keep, as well as related Medicaid figures. In 2020, the spouse of a Medicaid recipient living in...

Advocates are warning that a little-noticed proposed rule change could result in hundreds of thousands of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, many of them children, losing benefits.  The change would subject...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its Spousal Impoverishment Standards for 2020.  As we earlier reported, due to CMS's apparent departure from past rounding practices the 2020 numbers differ somewhat from the earlier and usually quite...

President Trump has signed a spending bill that makes major changes to retirement plans. The new law is designed to provide more incentives to save for retirement, but it may require workers to rethink some of their planning. The Setting Every Community Up for...

Inheriting real estate property from your parents is either a blessing or a burden -- or a little bit of both. Figuring out what to do with the property can be overwhelming, so it is good to carefully think through all of your choices. There are three main options...

Written By: Lelia Wardwell Mander It is possible that an individual, once diagnosed as a person with special needs, some time in the future will no longer qualify as “disabled” according to IRS regulations. The individual’s condition might have improved through...

No parents want their children to fight among themselves after they are gone. Sadly, conflicts often arise, especially when a parent has gifted or loaned money to one child and not others. However, a few key words in your estate plan can minimize the potential for...

Married couples have a special way to jointly own property in some states that has advantages over regular joint ownership. If you are married and own property jointly, you should make sure you have the right form of ownership. Joint tenants must have equal ownership...

Yes, you can rent or sell the home. As a co-owner, your mother will receive her proportional share of either the net rental income or the proceeds of the sale. In terms of income, her share will have to be paid to the nursing home along with your mother’s income. If...

Written By: Andy Jones Every year nearly one million Social Security recipients nationwide rely on nonprofits, nursing homes and other so-called organizational payees to manage their benefits. However, the Social Security Administration exercises limited oversight to...

Imagine you bought a house and, a year and a half later, you discovered bundles of cash totalling more than $100,000 that had been hidden away by the deceased former owner. Who would be entitled to the money -- you or the former owner's estate? Confronted with just...

Being appointed guardian of a loved one is a serious responsibility. As guardian, you are in charge of your loved one's well-being and you have a duty to act in his or her best interest. If an adult becomes mentally incapacitated and is incapable of making responsible...

Written By: Patricia Kalla Zonnenberg The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published proposed regulations governing annual contribution limits to ABLE accounts. The proposed regulations, issued on October 10, 2019, will implement statutory changes to section 529A of...

When creating an estate plan, the main decision is how your assets will be distributed after you pass away. Understanding "per stirpes" and "per capita" distribution is key to that decision. The terms "per stirpes" and "per capita" become important when your...