Preview of the Proposed New Tax Relief Act of 2010–Conclusion

 

 

Changes to Regulated Investment company (RIC). 
Do you have investments in an offshore owed Regulated Investment company (RIC).  Here’s what changes you might be able to expect if the current bill is extended.

 

Estate tax look-through of certain Regulated Investment Company (RIC) stock held by nonresidents. Although stock issued by a domestic corporation generally is treated as property within the United States, stock of a RIC that was owned by a nonresident non-citizen is not deemed property within the United States in the proportion that, at the end of the quarter of the RIC’s taxable year immediately before a decedent’s date of death, the assets held by the RIC are debt obligations, deposits, or other property that would be treated as situated outside the United States if held directly by the estate (the “estate tax look-through rule for RIC stock”). The proposal permits the look-through rule for RIC stock to apply to estates of decedents dying before January 1, 2012.

 

By the time you read this, much may have been changed.  What we know for sure is that there will be change and it will impact our elder and special needs clients.  Please consult with us, or with an appropriate elder law attorney as you make decisions that will impact your taxable situation for the coming years.

 

Your friends at…

 

Cohen & Oalican

Boston Elder Law Attorneys
Raynham Elder Law Attorneys
Andover Elder Law Attorneys

Sharing of Data Leads to Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease–Part 2

The need was for all researchers and experts to come together to work and evolve a standard data set. But how was this possible? It would entail an incredible collaboration as no one company or researcher could manage to do this alone. The project would involve 800 subjects with varying degrees of memory impairment; some normal, some with a little impairment, some with Alzheimer’s and all had to be tested for the biomarkers and then followed up for several years to judge whether the markers heralded the progression of the degenerative disease. It did seem an impossible project and one that was way beyond anybody’s implementation.

But in the car, Dr. Potter had an intuitive flash when he felt that this project due to its seriousness of objective and aim of ending untold suffering may well propel people to work together in a way that had never been attempted before. The concept was to make the National Institutes of Health the go-between or broker between the world of academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Very soon afterward the director of the National Institute on Aging Dr. Richard J. Hodes talked about this to the former scientific director at the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Steven M. Paul and the latter agreed to consult the drug companies to find ways of getting funding for the research. Soon it became clear that all these companies were ready to assist as the development of diagnostic methods was a gigantic task that no one could manage on their own. Collaboration was the need of the hour. Congress established the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to find ways and means to garner private funds for the institutes. Dr. Steven M. Paul was appointed to the board of the foundation.

Ultimately, $ 41 million was given by the National Institute on Aging, $2.4 million was contributed by some other institutes, 2 non-profit associations and 20 organizations together managed $27 million and this became the initial seed money to get the project started and keep it going for the first 6 years. The National Institute of Aging advanced another $24 million last year and on the basis of further federal and private funding the foundation made plans for the project to continue for another 5 years.

In the beginning, the unique parameters of the project had many scientists worried as they wondered whether giving up ownership and sharing valuable data with all and sundry would result in anything positive at all. There could be misinterpretation, misuse and wrong information being disseminated that could do more harm than good. But despite the misgivings, all realized that there was no alternative to this collaborative endeavor. Even the drug companies, who were usually looked upon with suspicion, were roped in and everyone had to overcome this mental block, according to Dr. John Karlawash an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Karlawash stresses the need to combine resources and work together. The need to find these valid biomarkers for Alzheimer’s was urgent and the entire process demanded such huge funding and massive research that it was impossible for any one company or academic institution to even think of embarking on the project. It had to be a collaborative exercise and now all concerned are making use of the data. The huge data set has been downloaded at least 3200 times and the data sets comprising images of brain scans have been downloaded almost a million times.

The positive outcome of the project has delighted Dr. Buckholtz who says that he is quite “pleasantly surprised” by the way it has turned out. No one was sure how this innovative concept of sharing everything in the public domain in a research project would evolve, but they were confident that ultimately there would be some good coming out of the hard work and combined research. That is how it has turned out to be and it has kindled new hope for the conquest of these diseases.

Could someone you love have Alzheimer’s? Do you have a long term plan to deal with the Medicaid issues surrounding this? Call Cohen & Oalican, LLP to draw up a plan.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans - Part 3

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans -
US Department of Veteran Affairs -
Part 3

Question: My father was a veteran of World War II and my widowed mother is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Is she entitled to any VA facilities or services?

Answer: Certain VA health services are available for spouses of veterans. The websites given below can be looked at for more detailed information on these programs.

1. 1-800-827-1000: You can get information on VA benefits that are not medical.

2. CHAMPVA and CHAMPVA for LIFE (CFL), These sites give information on the health services available for the spouses and other dependents of veterans.

3. TRICARE and TRICARE for Life (TFL): The site provides information on the health services available for retired military personnel, their families and surviving dependents.

4. This site has the complete list of VA Medical Center locations and the contact details.

5. State Veterans Home Program: Owned and managed by the various states of the country, the admission criteria are also decided by the individual states. Care and services provided may sometimes be chargeable. The State Veteran’s Home offers a range of services, including day care, domiciliary, nursing home care and others. Some of these Homes take in the spouses of veterans, but there is no funding given by the particular state or the VA for the spouses or other family members of veterans. Your mother therefore would have to pay for all the services provided at the State Veteran’s Home, while the admission application would have to be made to the state authority concerned.

6. This site has information on the Aid and Attendance Benefit


Call one of our Elder Law attorneys at the offices of Cohen & Oalican, LLP, and let us guide you through the government requirements and available programs.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans - Part 2 Application Procedures

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans -
US Department of Veteran Affairs

Part 2

Application Procedures

1. The person (veteran) must be enrolled for VA medical services. You can call 1-877-222-VETS (1-877-222-8387) toll-free or apply online by filling in the enrollment application form. You may also contact the enrollment coordinator at your nearest VA Medical Center or the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic.
2. At the VA facility, you can have a detailed discussion with the patient-care coordinator to understand and choose the suitable services that are available and appropriate for the medical condition of the veteran. The enrolled veteran’s priority status would matter in the payment for certain services. The services could be provided free of cost or may need some co-payment for some part of the services. The coordinator could help you with the different options available, offer you the specifics that you are looking for and also explain the co-payment terms and conditions. The prescription benefits are also part of the medical care provided by the facility. The veteran must go through a medical checkup by an authorized VA physician to obtain the medication from a VA pharmacy. The medication according to the prescription would be given as per the veteran’s priority group and income. There could be co-payment for this as well depending on the status of the veteran.

State Veterans Home Program:

The various states own and operate the Veteran Homes and establish their terms for admission and care. A variety of extended-care services, including adult day care, domiciliary and nursing home services are provided, though there may be charges for some of them.

The Department of Veteran Affairs pays a portion of the daily expenditure (per diem), which does not exceed 50% of what the state provides, for the veterans who are admitted to a State Veteran’s Home. The admission for application to the Home is made directly to the state concerned and the veteran need not be enrolled with the VA health care system to do this. He should however be eligible to get the VA per diem payments. The State Department of Veterans Affairs should be contacted for all the details on the Veteran’s Home services, including the procedures for admission and residency. The department would also be able to provide guidelines for the specific services provided for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The National Association of State Veterans Homes have a list of the State Veteran’s Homes, which is useful for knowing the locations of the different centers.

To discuss your Medicare and Long Term Care planning needs call Cohen & Oalican, LLP elder law attorneys in Boston, Andover and Raynham.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans : Part 1

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care for Veterans -
US Department of Veteran Affairs

There are misconceptions about the care provided for veterans afflicted with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. There are some usual queries that people usually ask us about this assistance.

Question: My father has been diagnosed recently with Alzheimer’s disease and he was a veteran of World War II. What kind of care and support does the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) provide for people with dementia and what is the method of application for such services?

Services offered by VA: Veterans who qualify and are eligible for care, can avail of the range of services offered by the VA, which includes in-house care, community, outpatient care, inpatient and extended-care services.

The entire ambit of VA services includes the following:

• Primary Care/Home-based: This would be focused on support for the homemaker and home-health aide, with respite being an important area. It would also include adult day health care, visit to the outpatient clinic and related services.

• Extended/Inpatient care: Veterans with dementia are entitled to general care in the VA outpatient and inpatient facilities. Along with this, some care infrastructure has been developed for specific dementia services, which includes Dementia Clinics for outpatient treatment and extended care in a Dementia Unit for inpatient services.

There are no special eligibility conditions for veterans with dementia. The normal procedures for eligibility and applications must be followed.

To discuss your Medicaid and long term care planning needs call Cohen & Oalican, LLP elder law attorneys in Boston, Andover and Raynham.

Cohen & Oalican : New Health Care Law and Presciption Drugs

Cohen & Oalican answer:

Does the new health care law have any provisions to deal with the coverage gap in prescription drugs?

Medicare’s drug coverage was inadequate for approximately 8 million people in 2007. Most Medicare plans have a prescription drug coverage gap or “donut hole” , which forces you seniors to pay out of pocket for your prescription medicines to a certain limit before the plan will begin to cover medication costs. Coinsurance, private payments and annual deductible amounts are all taken into account for each plan’s limit within the coverage gap, however, even these high costs do not always translate to cost savings for many Medicare recipients.

2010: Coverage Gap Rebate of $250

In March, the President signed a new health care law, which offers discounts and savings for seniors during the coverage gap period. The rebate is designed to assist Medicare recipients with prescription drug costs while in the donut hole.

Here’s how it works—Beginning in 2010, Medicare will send you a check for $250 as a one-time payment, three months after the end of the quarterly period when you reached your prescription drug coverage limit. It is important to note that the coverage gap rebate only applies to Medicare recipients who are eligible for the drug coverage and are not currently receiving assistance from another source. Seniors should also be advised that no personal information has to be provided to receive the rebate check, like the number of your bank account, your Social Security number or your Medicare information. If you are contacted by regarding the rebate payment who asks for personal information, please do not divulge any
essential or pertinent facts about yourself. For more information about the coverage gap rebate check, call the designated location dealing with your particular plan.

If you have further questions please contact Cohen & Oalican LLP, elder law attorneys in Boston, Andover and Raynham.