Medicaid Estate Recovery Program; Protect your Home

Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) is where Medicaid will attempt to recover funds paid out for nursing home expenses by putting a lien on their home.

Here is how MERP works:

Know your nursing home residents rights. Once a person passes away, MERP can place a claim or a lien on the home, through probate court. If a person takes over payments to protect their loved one’s home when they get placed into a nursing home, they can put their own claim in against the estate. There are also several exemptions for family members that could help you protect your home.

Keeping Track of Money Spent; Elder Law

Once your loved ones are placed into a nursing home, Medicaid will not help with their home any more. All Medicaid benefits will now be paid to the nursing home. If their home is still mortgaged, it can get very expensive to keep up. Make sure you let MERP know that you are filing a claim for money spent on anything to do with that home: mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.

Getting legal advice; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican, LLC., Boston, Raynham, Andover Massachusetts

Every state has different laws regarding MERP. These laws can be very difficult to understand and you could end up losing a lot of money. Find out how to handle probate when your loved ones die and MERP starts looking to recover the money they provided the nursing home. Elder law attorneys Cohen and Oalican know what the proper state laws are and will help protect your house and get through these tough times.

Medicare to Help People Quit Smoking; Medicaid Law

According to Health and Human Services, over 5 million Americans on Medicare smoke. Medicare finally created a new free program to help people quick smoking. There should be no copay or deductible for this program. Make sure your doctor will accept payment from Medicare as full-reimbursement first so that you can avoid any unexpected charges.

Quit Smoking Program Guidelines; Medicare

This new Medicare program allows two attempts per year to quit smoking. Each time you will be allowed four sessions for counseling. Doctors are told to follow guidelines formulated by the government:

1. Ask the patient questions
2. Advise them to quit smoking
3. Assess the situation and the patients willingness
4. Assist the patients attempt to quit smoking
5. Arrange a follow-up session

Also, doctors may prescribe certain anti-smoking drugs that will be covered by Medicare.

Getting Help Can Work; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican, LLC.

Quitting smoking takes willingness and commitment. Less than 7% can quit without help, but with counseling and drugs together, these percentages go up nearly 4 times, according to the American College of Physicians. The Society for Vascular Surgery says these things WILL happen within 48 hours when a person quits smoking:

• Blood carbon monoxide level will return to normal
• Increase in taste/smell
• Decreased blood pressure
• Heart attack chances will decrease
• Drop in pulse rate
• Hands and feet body temperature will go up
• Nerve endings will grow back

Proper understanding of Medicaid law and appropriate Medicaid planning is an essential part of any plan for the future. With proper planning you can protect your home, protect your spouse, and protect your assets.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission. 

Three Important Questions for Retirement Planning; Part Two

As we talked about in part one of this series, planning your retirement is only as good as how these three things might culminate:

• How long you might live
• How well your investments might (or might not) work
• How much money you will require to live comfortably until you die

We know that those are things that not many can ever predict. There are asset protection plans that attorneys Cohen and Oalican can help you to understand. In this installment of “Three Important Questions for Retirement Planning”, we will explain more about protecting all that you’ve worked for.

How much monthly income will you need to survive when you retire?

Nobody can tell you what inflation rates, health care costs, or tax rates will do in the future. First thing you should do is decide when you would like to retire and what type of lifestyle you would be happy with. There is obviously a benefit in saving as much as possible for your retirement. If the market does well, your retirement plan and trusts will do well, but even if the market doesn’t do well, a dollar saved is still a dollar saved and a higher percentage saved is better than a lower percentage saved.

Saving, living on less and/or delaying your retirement

1. Saving. It is recommended to save at least 15% of your salary while saving. Some say 10%, but it’s all about playing it safe. There is also a hidden benefit to regular saving: when people make a habit of saving, they usually become more modest spenders.
2. Delaying your retirement. Retiring later than you regularly planned raises your monthly Social Security/Medicaid benefits. Your benefits almost double if you wait until you’re 70 as opposed to retiring at 62.
3. Living on less. How much you think you need at retirement could be a lot less than you think. You should definitely aim high with your retirement plan, but there are hobbies that you could pick up that cost less than your current hobby and you might like it even more than your current hobby. Author Ralph Warner said so well, “You'll do much better planning for retirement if you recognize that it's not all about money." 

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Three Important Questions for Retirement Planning; Part One

You’ve seen “retirement calculators” time and time again on different websites leading you to believe that if you were to save a certain amount of money you would be able to retire comfortably. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. Planning your retirement is only as good as your answers to three questions:

• How long might you live? 
• How well (or not-so well) will your investments work out? 
• How much money will you require to live comfortably until you die?

Your life expectancy; Elder Law Attorney Cohen & Oalican

Retirement planning would be a lot easier if you knew how long you were going to live for. That’s obviously never the case. Fortunately, there is an insurance called an immediate annuity which allows you to never run out of assets, however long you live. Of course, just like anything that sounds too good to be true, there are setbacks, so talking to an elder law attorney would be a smart idea.

Your asset protection plan; Boston, Raynham, Andover Massachusetts

To stay on track with your asset protection plan you must always monitor your investments and adjust to market changes. You may have to save more and/or work longer than you originally thought when you first started thinking about your retirement plan. Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in helping you protect your home and protect your spouse.

To be continued…

Medicaid Planning; New Free Medicare Checkup

We can't say this enough times: Medicaid planning is not an easy thing to do. Until January 1st, 2011, the only routine exam Medicare covered was the “Welcome Exam”. This exam is only for brand new beneficiaries. Now, a new annual wellness visit has been established under the Affordable Care Act. This free Medicare checkup was a big step in Medicaid Law, but can be very misleading.

How to get your free Medicare wellness checkup; Boston, Raynham, Andover Massachusetts

William Schmitz, a retired engineer from Maine, was upset when he found out Medicare Law had defeated him once again and denied his claim when he went for what-he-thought was a free physical. “When I asked the doctor’s office what had happened, they clued me in that I was mistaken about the difference between Medicare’s wellness exam and a physical”, William said.
In order to get this free check up, don’t just set up an appointment for a physical. Specifically ask for the free Medicare wellness visit, billing code G0438. Medicare does not cover the cost of a physical.

Medicare wellness visits and doctors; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican

As always with Medicare planning: be cautious and double-check with your doctor. All doctors do not have to offer these Medicare wellness visits. Also, Medicare does not have the authority to tell a doctor what services to offer. If the beneficiary’s doctor will not perform this check up, the beneficiary has the right to go to another doctor. It is always good to choose a trustee to get the proper help you need with Medicaid planning.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Your Retirement; Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning

Happy retirement ideas are a little different for everyone. For some, it might be relaxing and spending time with family. Others may want to travel the world while others might want to stay in their hometown and work a meaningful part-time job. Regardless of what your retirement plan is, proper estate planning and Medicaid Planning is a must.

Managing Assets; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican

Medicaid imposes a period of ineligibility if you transfer assets before you enter a nursing home. This is very complicated and confusing to do without guidance from an elder law attorney. Properly transferring assets will help you protect your spouse and protect your home.

Choosing a Trustee; Estate Planning

A good estate plan will take care of you if and/or when you cannot take care of yourself anymore. If done properly, it will also take care of your family after you die. Family, good friends, banks or trust companies and attorneys are only a few of the routes you can go. There are no perfect choices, but try to choose somebody who is relatively experienced in investments and public health benefits programs and regulations. Elder law attorneys Cohen & Oalican can help with all your estate planning needs.

Attorneys Cohen and Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Medicaid Law; Making it Hard for Men to Enter a Nursing Home

Recent studies prove that it is a lot harder for a man to find a bed in a nursing home than it is for a woman because of Medicaid law. Most people just don’t think about problems like this coming up when Medicaid Planning.

Nursing Home Population; Elder Law Attorney’s Cohen and Oalican, LLC.

Like the elderly population itself, nursing home residents are mostly female. An Elder Law report in 2010 stated that two-thirds of nursing home residents are women. The problem with that for men is: Medicaid will ONLY cover semiprivate rooms in a nursing home, so since a man can’t bunk with a woman, men are forced to wait for a bed to open up in another man’s room.

Family’s Search for Other Nursing Home Options

These numbers are definitely something you can’t dispute, but they definitely make an already hard process even more difficult. Someone who is leaving from their own home can probably wait for a bed, but what about somebody who’s leaving a hospital or a rehab? You then might have to settle for a place far away from the family or something not as nice as you’d prefer.

Attorneys Cohen and Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Is Your Spouse Entitled to Your Social Security Retirement Benefits?

Social Security will provide your retirement benefits to your spouse, ex-spouse or surviving spouse in certain circumstances. Here is a breakdown of the circumstances where the spouse would be eligible to collect Social Security benefits:

• If the marriage lasted 10 years your spouse would be entitled to your Social Security benefits
• You must be at full retirement age for your spouse to collect
• Your spouse must have filed for Social Security Benefits for themselves

Social Security will automatically pay your spouse a larger benefit if he/she could receive more based on their own earnings. Your spouse can also elect to take your benefits first before taking their own.

Social Security Benefits for an Ex-Spouse; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican, LLC.

Your ex-spouse is entitled to half of your retirement benefits as long as you were married for over 10 years. An ex-spouse can receive benefits before you have even applied for Social Security benefits, unlike your current spouse.

Social Security Benefits of a Surviving Spouse

Your spouse is entitled to your full benefits if they are at full retirement age. Even if you were divorced before you deceased your spouse is still entitled your retirement benefits if you were married for more than 10 years. If your spouse is over 60 but below retirement age, they will receive a reduced amount. If they are under 60 they will only be able to receive benefits for special circumstances such as caring for a disabled child or if they are disabled themselves.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Millions still working at 70 years old

Medicaid planning is getting more and more difficult these days. Millions of Americans are working a lot longer than their 63rd birthday (the average age Americans claim benefits). The truth is: Social Security benefits are not made to last as long as people are living, as life expectancy is getting longer.

Elderly worker percentages growing fast; no early retirement

Your early retirement is becoming a thing of the past. Erma Paliani finally retires at 92. "I didn’t expect to work this long,” Paliani says, who worked as a secretary for the government for 67 years. (Carole Fleck - AARP Bulletin) The percentage of people over 65 that are still working is growing faster than any other age groups.

Proper estate planning; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican, LLC.

The best way to avoid this situation yourself is by proper estate planning. Durable powers of attorney are a critical piece of any estate plan. They will make financial decisions on your behalf if you were to become ill or incapacitated. Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican can advise you on how to choose an agent and how best to draft your power of attorney.

Nursing Home Rights and Eligibilty

Nursing homes can be very costly. Medicaid is just about the only insurance that will cover nursing home expenses, although some private insurances will pay a certain amount. Nursing Home eligibility rules are not so easy to understand. There are rules that can help protect your home and protect your spouse when using Medicaid.

Nursing Home Resident's Rights; Elder Law

The rights of nursing home's residents are no different than the rights of any citizen. Unfortunately, nursing home residents aren't always treated as they should be. In 1987 laws were passed for elder law by Congress that help protect you or your spouse while in a nursing home.
Here are just a few laws that were passed:

• Resident has the right to see all of their records
• Residents must be informed of services available and how much they will cost
• Residents can share a room with their spouse
• Residents can get up and go to bed whenever they want

Disputes in the nursing home

There are certain steps that can be taken if needed when you feel you or your spouse or loved one has been mistreated.

• Talk to the nursing home staff
• Talk to nursing home supervisor/administration
• Request a meeting with nursing staff
• Talk with the ombudsperson that is assigned

If all else fails contact Elder Law Attorney's Cohen and Oalican, LLC.
Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Supplemental Needs Trusts

Supplemental needs trusts are created for disabled children to provide luxuries that aren't available through public assistance. This is also known as a special needs trust. These trusts are setup so that beneficiaries are allowed to receive gifts or settlements without losing their eligibility for public benefits.

Public Benefits Restrictions for Supplemental Needs Trusts; Elder Law

Supplemental needs trusts need to comply with certain rules/restrictions so that public benefits will not be jeopardized. There are two ways to go about this:

• A "Payback" program can be setup where the state or Medicaid will be paid back at the time of the beneficiaries death.
• A "Pooled Trust" can be setup (a non-profit agency manages resources "pooled" between many disabled beneficiaries.)

Supplemental Needs Trusts Restrictions on Income Paid to Beneficiary; Cohen and Oalican, LLC

There are restrictions on how funds in a supplemental needs trust can be spent. A beneficiary can lose one dollar of SSI benefits for every one dollar paid to them. Attorneys Cohen and Oalican can draft a trust to limit a trustee's discretion. They can also setup the trust to NOT limit their discretion, but properly counsel the trustee on how their money should be used.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Medicaid Planning 101; protecting your home

If you receive Medicaid assistance, once you die the state has to try to recoup whatever moneys you have received for your care. This is also known as “Estate Recovery.” The first place they will look will be your home. There are ways to protect your home from recovery by the state by transferring assets.

Trusts; Cohen & Oalican, Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts

Transferring your home to an irrevocable trust is one way to protect your home. If your house is sold the money must stay in the trust. If done right, $250,000 in taxable gain can be excluded for the settlor. Be careful though; once your house is in the irrevocable trust you can not take it out.

Protect your home with Life Estates; Elder Law

The easiest way to protect your home from estate recovery is by setting up a life estate. A life estate is when 2 or more people own a property. You will have primary ownership of the home for life. The second owner has ownership interest in the home but can not solely take the home until you die. At death, the home will be directly passed to that person that has interest in the home. Once the house is passed on to the other interested party, the state can not recover the home to repay Medicaid expenses.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Medicaid Planning 101: Trusts

Revocable trusts are considered as assets that cannot be transferred without being counted towards your Medicaid eligibility. Irrevocable trusts are trusts that cannot be changed. Therefore you will not be penalized if you were to include irrevocable trusts into your Medicaid planning.

Testamentary Trusts; Cohen & Oalican LLP, Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts

Testamentary trusts are a great way for community spouses to leave assets to their surviving spouse that is in a nursing home. The assets can be used for estate planning for certain things that are not covered by Medicaid, including specialists, therapy, legal fees or transfers to a different nursing home.

Income-only Trusts; Elder Law

Income-only trusts are used for just that; income. This trust is made so it will pay an income to you for the rest of your life. When you die the rest of your assets will be transferred to your beneficiaries. These funds are protected and are not counted as assets. If you do end up going to a nursing home the income will go to the nursing home to pay for your stay.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission. 

Medicaid Planning 101: Transferring Assets

Last week in part one of Medicaid Planning 101, we briefly explained that it is possible to transfer assets in advance so that you could protect them. This article will go more in depth of how this can be done.

Remember: you should always talk with an Elder Law Attorney before you make any estate planning decisions.

Medicaid Eligibility; Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican, Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts

There is a 60 month look back period if you have just transferred assets. The length of the penalty depends on how much you actually transferred. The penalty is: assets you have transferred divided by the average cost of a nursing home in your state. This penalty does not start until you actually move into the nursing home.

Transfers that are permitted by Medicaid

• Transfers to your spouse
• If you have a child that is under the age of 21
• A sibling that has part ownership of your home
• If you had a child that lived with you for at least 2 years who cared for you
• A disabled child

While most asset transfers will be penalized, any of the above transfers are allowed and cannot be penalized.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Reverse Mortgages; Should I?

Reverse mortgages seem to be almost too good to be true at first glance. And like everything else that seems too good to be true, it too has its downsides. The closing costs on this type of mortgage tend to be a lot higher than usual. Most instances the closing costs will be “rolled” into the loan, but that means less money for you in the long-run.
Reverse mortgages are getting more and more popular with people that are planning for retirement.

Pros and cons of a reverse mortgage; retirement planning

Here, Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican will go more into detail to help you learn if getting a reverse mortgage is the right thing for you:

Pros of a reverse mortgage

• Receive a monthly income
• Don’t have to rely on family members for income support
• Extra money for vacation

Cons of a reverse mortgage

• High closing costs
• May affect your eligibility to collect Medicaid
• Loan has to be paid back after your death – home will have to be sold

There are alternatives to a reverse mortgage. You could choose to just sell your home and downsize to a smaller/less expensive home or apartment. You could get a roommate; a roommate – if you can find the right one – will also offer companionship at the same time they are helping with the bills.

Make sure you explore all your options before jumping into anything, especially something that will burden your family. Call Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican with any questions that you may have. Offices: Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts.

Shopping for long term care insurance; Elder Law, Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts

The cost of nursing home care is expensive. Long term care insurance is purchased to cover your nursing home residence, and can also pay for home care and assisted living. But there can be some problems with this coverage... Probably one of the biggest concerns for long term care insurance is the cost.

Questions to ask when comparing long term care insurance policies; Cohen & Oalican, LLP

There will be lots of questions that you will have when comparing long term care policies, but here are – without a doubt – some of the most important questions to ask:

• This one will be listed first because it is probably the most important; is the long term care insurance company reputable? Are they known to pay claims?
• Look for restrictions in the policy
• How long is the elimination (waiting) period?
• Should you purchase an inflation rider?
• What is the qualification policy?

When should you start looking at policies for long term care insurance?

Deciding when to start looking into purchasing a long term care policy is not an easy decision. It is sort-of a catch-22 situation. If you purchase one when you’re 80 for example, your premium – if they even accept you – will probably way more than you can afford to pay. But, with the way things are changing daily you probably don’t want to look into purchasing a policy when you’re only 50 because you probably won’t need to use it for at least 20 years and who knows what’s going to happen in 20 years…

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Medicaid Planning 101

Eligibility for Medicaid is always changing. Careful Medicaid planning can help you and your family tremendously. More often than you would think, people are rushing around trying to figure out what their next step will be when an unexpected need for nursing care financing pops up. Planning ahead can help you protect your family’s estate.

Long Term Care eligibility

In the U.S. the only plan that will cover long term care is Medicaid. Most people end up paying for nursing home care out of their pocket until they exhaust all their funds and then, and only then, will Medicaid kick in. Medicaid is considered a form of welfare which you can only qualify for if you’re “impoverished”.

Protecting your assets; Elder Law

There is a way to distribute/transfer your assets in advance to protect yourself and your family. Every persons case will be different though, so the need to talk to an attorney that specializes in Elder Law before it gets too late is imperative. Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.

Contesting a will; Can it be done?

A family member dies and you quickly find out the beneficiary was not who you thought it would be. So, what do you do? There are steps you can take to contest a will if proper estate planning was not done.

Do you have any legal ground to contest the will?

Here are some things you want to ask yourself if you want to contest a will's validity:

• Was the deceased person pressured into changing the will before they died
• Were they tricked – maybe told that it was a different document – into signing the will
• Was the deceased person mentally capable at the time of signing
• Was the will executed properly

Would contesting the will be ‘worth’ the money it would cost for legal representation

Maybe you don’t care about the dollar value. You just want to prove this person’s wrongdoing. Before you make that decision think about how much it would cost to go that route. Sometimes court costs could get high and if the inheritance is not substantial enough to cover that it might not be ‘worth’ the headache of going through probate court.

If abuse is suspected you might want to think about criminal charges being brought up. If you find yourself in this position call Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican, LLP; Offices Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts

Estate planning with Cohen and Oalican LLP

Estate planning is not any easy thing to do. It requires a lot of homework, and a lot of talking with family members and attorneys. You will have plenty of questions that have to be answered in order to make the right decisions. Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law and will answer any questions you and your family may have.

Things to think about when estate planning:

• Drafting a will or trust
• Appointing a health care and financial power of attorney
• Finding out how to save on your estate tax

Drafting a will or trust with Elder Law Attorneys Cohen and Oalican

Trusts are generally more complex than wills. A lot of people have a trust as well as a will. Certain possessions can be covered with a trust to shield them from federal taxes. Also, when a trust is drafted it saves your trustee several trips to the court house.

Appointing a power of attorney for estate planning

You will need a power of attorney for your health care and finance. In some circumstances the same person is appointed to do both, but make sure the person you appoint as your power of attorney can manage both; if not, you will need to think about getting one person for each task.

Saving money on your estate tax; estate planning

There are several things that one can do to save money on estate taxes. Several insurance-based trusts are not subject to taxing. There are also programs where you can appoint money from your IRA that will be excluded. Gifts can be given up to a certain amount that will lower the value of your estate to reduce taxes also.

Call Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican for help with your estate planning; Boston, Raynham, Andover Massachusetts.

The revocable living trust

The revocable living trust is a legal agreement that designates somebody full responsibility for your property - but can be changed at any time or any reason if you are alive and mentally competent. It becomes irrevocable after you die and is quickly becoming the best tool for estate planning.

The power of a revocable living trust

If done correctly a revocable living trust can save a lot of headaches and will also save a lot of time at the court house. Immediately after your death, your assets will be transferred directly to your beneficiaries or will start to be passed out over a period of time (if that is how you set it up).

Living trust or will

Trusts are generally for larger estates and are more complicated and expensive than a will. They both serve the same purpose: who gets your property, who gets your money and how and when they get it.

Protecting your assets, and your dignity through this process is the core mission of each of the attorneys at Cohen and Oalican, LLP.