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.

Cohen & Oalican discuss The UPC and guardians

Cohen & Oalican, LLP; Medicaid, MassHealth and Elderlaw Attorneys in Boston, Andover, Raynham.

Welcome to the Uniform Probate Code cont'd...

Reports

In the past, courts have only been involved in keeping track of the incapacitated person’s finances. Specifically, guardians and conservators were required to file annual accountings to show how they were managing the funds. The UPC directs the probate courts to create a new system to monitor guardians. Guardians are now required to file a report within sixty days of their appointment describing the person’s condition, living arrangements, what the guardian has done on behalf of the person, plans for future care and whether the guardianship should continue. The guardian is required to then file these reports on an annual basis. It remains to be seen how the courts will monitor whether these reports are being filed.

Special Guardians

If a guardian is not meeting his or her obligations and the incapacitated person is at risk, the court has the authority to appoint a “special guardian” to take over as the patient’s guardian for up to ninety days or longer if necessary.

This series, brought to you by Boston Attorneys Cohen & Oalican, LLP, specializing in Guardianship and Conservatorship Attorneys in Boston. Posted by Elder Law Boston Lawyer

Boston Elderlaw Attorneys, Cohen & Oalican, discuss the Deficit Reduction act

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Changes to MassHealth (Medicaid) laws...

Elder law attorneys Cohen & Oalican of Boston, Andover and Raynham want to alert you that on February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which significantly changes the federal Medicaid laws. The three most important changes concern: 1) the transfer of assets to qualify for Medicaid; 2) Medicaid annuities; and 3) Medicaid’s treatment of the primary residence. This article covers the changes in Medicaid annuities.

Annuities

Congress has also changed the annuity regulations. Medicaid allows a spouse whose assets exceed the Medicaid limit to protect those “excess assets” by purchasing an irrevocable, immediate annuity. The old Medicaid rules allowed the spouse to name anyone he or she wanted to receive the remaining annuity payments if the spouse died during the annuity term. Under the new rules, Medicaid requires that annuities name the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the beneficiary. Although the revised statute is somewhat ambiguous, it appears that the Commonwealth can only seek reimbursement from the annuity for benefits provided to the community spouse. The new rule does not apply to annuities purchased prior to February 1, 2006. Buying annuities remains an effective strategy to protect assets for the spouse of a nursing home resident; however, the new rules have added a risk to this strategy.

This is third in a series regarding changes the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has made in dealing with Medicaid (MassHealth). Thank you for putting your trust in our Elder Law legal practice, Cohen & Oalican, LLP