The High Cost of a “Free” Medicaid Plan
Free Medicaid Plan There are so many myths, folk remedies, and outright falsehoods surrounding Medicaid qualification for nursing home care that it becomes impossible to list them all. Unfortunately, it becomes easy for people to look online for the simple answers they want to hear rather than researching and understanding a much more complicated truth. […]
The Snapshot Date in Medicaid Planning
The Medicaid Date The snapshot date in Medicaid planning is simply the date that the person entered the nursing home, and therefore is “locked in” to how their assets were arranged at that time. More specifically, it is the first day of the first month in which the person enters the nursing home and is […]
The Medicaid Squeeze Can Be Reversed
The Medicaid Squeeze The intricate maze of Medicaid Planning confuses even seasoned professionals if they don’t focus on this type of planning in their daily practice, and it’s easy to find differing opinions. Accountants cringe when told to liquidate an IRA because they’re used to minimizing taxes. Bankers gasp when told to liquidate or just […]
Medicaid Whoopsies vol. 1
Medicaid Planning When it comes to Medicaid Planning, there are tons of loopholes that can help a family preserve a lot of assets and have a loved one still qualify for nursing home Medicaid. On the other hand, this also means there are a lot of opportunities for people to “go rogue” and make mistakes […]
Mom Needs Help… What Do We Do?: Basic Long Term Care Options
While Medicaid and Long Term Care Planning is often focused on preserving money, at least for the families who speak with me, but the overall process has to be about more than just assets and income. Unfortunately, many professionals push those aside and focus only on the money without sufficient emphasis on the care needed. […]
How to Buy Out Siblings From a House
One of the most expensive estate assets for many families is their home, usually coming in second only to retirement accounts in terms of value. When the house ends up being far and away the most valuable asset in the estate, there are multiple children who are to be treated equally… BUT one of the […]
The High Cost of “Low Probate Fees”
Probate Fees “Probate fees in our state are not that high.” Unfortunately, I hear this from some attorneys who focus their practice on handling probate, and probate is exactly what you get when you rely on a Last Will and Testament for your estate plan. Considering the massive attorney’s fees involved in handling full-blown probate […]
Myths of Special Needs Planning
Common Knowledge Myths Special Needs Planning Sometimes something that is “common knowledge” is just a myth, and myths are prevalent in estate planning for special needs beneficiaries. For example, MYTH: You can’t leave an inheritance to a beneficiary with special needs. MYTH: You should leave a house, a car, and $2,000 directly to your beneficiary, […]
Anatomy of a Destroyed Estate Plan
Estate Plan Destroyed How do you destroy your own well-crafted, strategically created, solid estate plan in one move? In this podcast, I cover how one of our most airtight estate plans explicitly drafted to benefit a grandson with special needs ended up being placed in jeopardy… because the clients decided to perform their own DIY […]
EINs and Trusts
Do I Need a Tax ID Number? This question keeps coming up… “Does a trust need a separate taxpayer identification number?” It depends. In general… * Revocable Living Trusts do not need an EIN/Taxpayer ID if the Trustor(s) are still alive: As long as that person is alive, it is their trust, they are the trustees, […]