Medicaid’s Gift to Children Who Help Parents Postpone Nursing Home Care
In most states, transferring your house to your children (or someone else) may lead to a Medicaid penalty period, which would make you ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time. However, there are circumstances in which transferring a house will not result in a...
Getting Paid as a Family Caregiver Through Medicaid
Caring for an ailing family member is difficult work, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be unpaid work. There are programs available that allow Medicaid recipients to hire family members as caregivers. All 50 states have programs that provide pay to family...
From the Special Needs Alliance: Preserving SSI When Divorcing Parents Have a Child with Disabilities
The Voice® Newsletter July 2019 - Vol. 13, Issue 4 The Voice is the email newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member, Lee M. Holmes, of Holmes, Holmes and Neisent, PLLC in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The law...
The Best and Worst States for Protection Against Elder Abuse
The older the population gets, the greater the potential for elder abuse. States have laws in place designed to combat elder abuse, but some states are doing a better job than others. The consumer finance website WalletHub researched the protections in place in all 50...
Six Things to Consider Before Making Gifts to Grandchildren
Grandparents often are particularly generous to grandchildren as they see their family’s legacy continuing on to a new generation. In many cases, grandparents feel they have ample resources and their children or grandchildren may be struggling financially. Assistance...
Passing Retirement Benefits to a Child with Special Needs: It’s Complicated
Many parents have their retirement savings socked away in 401(k)s and IRAs. So that your beneficiaries do not have to pay taxes on the funds prematurely, it’s important to properly structure the beneficiary designations for these accounts. Unfortunately when a...
Estate Planning Question: What Exactly Can I Spend Money on When Spending Down Assets to Qualify for Medicaid?
Medicaid has strict asset rules that compel many applicants to "spend down" their assets before they can qualify for coverage. It is important to know what you can spend your money on without endangering Medicaid eligibility. In order to be eligible for...
Study Finds Many Doctors Unaware of Their Legal Duties to Treat People with Disabilities
In medical settings, accommodations for people with intellectual or physical disabilities can be a matter of life and death. If a doctor refuses to see certain patients, the result may be an irreversible delay in a necessary procedure. To take just one example,...
How to Deal With Student Loan Debt as You Age
The number of older Americans with student loan debt – either theirs or someone else’s -- is growing. Sadly, learning how to deal with this debt is now a fact of life for many seniors heading into retirement. According to a study by the Consumer Financial Protection...
2019 Guidelines Used to Protect the Spouses of Medicaid Applicants
At the end of 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2019 federal guidelines for how much money the spouses of institutionalized Medicaid recipients may keep, as well as related Medicaid figures. In 2019, the spouse of a Medicaid...
Estate Planning 911: Aretha Franklin’s Lack of a Will Could Cause Huge Problems
According to court documents, legendary singer Aretha Franklin did not have a will when she died, opening up her estate to public scrutiny and potential problems. Failing to create an estate plan can cause lots of headaches for heirs, in addition to unnecessary costs....
Medicaid Eligibility Question: Will My Mother’s Jewelry Count as an Asset for Medicaid Eligibility Purposes?
Answer: Your mother should be able to keep her jewelry because personal items are not countable against the Medicaid asset limit, similar to clothing and furniture. The fact that her jewelry is more valuable than that owned by most Medicaid beneficiaries shouldn’t...
Special Needs: Helping Clients Devise Housing Solutions That Work
At the 2019 annual meeting of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP), special focus was placed on helping clients find housing solutions for their loved ones with special needs &/or disability. Here are the details. With traditional residential options for...
Should You Sell Your Life Insurance Policy?
Older Americans with a life insurance policy that they no longer need have the option to sell the policy to investors. These transactions, called "life settlements," can bring in needed cash, but are they a good idea? If your children are grown and your mortgage paid...
New Law Ensures That the Needs of People with Disabilities Are Part of Disaster Planning
Written By: Andy Jones The federal government will do more to protect people with disabilities during natural disasters and public health emergencies under legislation signed into law in June. “No American should ever feel like they might be left behind or forgotten...