Trusted Attorneys News

Good News from the NYS Budget 2012

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:29:00 GMT

News from the New York State Budget 2012: Spousal Refusal is still a viable practice and the repeal of Estate Recovery

Relief for Life Estates- for now

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:55:00 GMT

Effective December 6, 2011, the regulations that implemented the expanded definition of an estate for Medicaid estate recovery purposes expired. Medicaid cannot recover costs paid on behalf of the Medicaid recipient from assets that pass outside of the Medicaid recipient’s probate estate.

Assets that are, as of now, free from Medicaid claims include:

(1)    Interests in Life Estates,
(2)    Jointly owned bank accounts,
(3)    Jointly held real property,
(4)    Interest in trusts,
(5)    Annuities, and
(6)    Life insurance

In all likelihood this “relief” is TEMPORARY, as the promulgation of revised regulations is expected

2011 Medicaid Regional Rates

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:54:00 GMT

Effective January 1, 2011, regional rates for calculating transfer penalty periods for 2011 were increased from 2010. The 2011 Medicaid regional rates are as follows

Too often people associate estate planning with death.

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:53:00 GMT

Too often people associate estate planning with death; however, the lives of your family, your loved ones, and yourself should be foremost on your mind. Estate planning, at a minimum, involves the preparation of a heath care proxy, a living will (not to be confused with a last will), a durable power of attorney, and a last will and testament. A health care proxy is a document that appoints an agent to speak on your behalf regarding health care decisions if you cannot make decisions for yourself. The living will works hand-in-hand with the health care proxy in that it instructs your agent about your wishes under certain circumstances; for instance, it can direct your agent to withhold artificial nutrition and hydration in the event you were ever diagnosed to be in a permanent vegetative state. A power of attorney gives your agent the power to make financial decisions for you in the event you were to become sick or disabled. An agent often needs to act when a person is hospitalized or suffers from dement ...

Retirement Accounts- IRA’s & 401(K)’s & Medicaid Eligibility

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:51:00 GMT

Retirement accounts are often one of the larger assets that a potential Medicaid applicant owns. It is important to understand how these accounts affect Medicaid eligibility. A Medicaid applicant is financially eligible when he or she has resources (assets) no greater than thirteen thousand eight hundred dollars ($13,800.00). If an applicant owns a retirement account with a value greater than $13,800.00, the applicant is financially ineligible for Medicaid benefits. One would think that the value of the retirement account is easily obtained by looking at the statement. However, Medicaid values the account as the amount of money that the individual can currently withdraw. If there is a penalty for early withdrawal, the value of the retirement account is the amount available after the penalty deduction. Any income taxes due are not deductible in determining the resource's value. One way to make an applicant with a retirement account Medicaid eligible could be to transfer the asset to the applicant’s spo ...

"IF" is the biggest word in Medicaid planning.

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:50:00 GMT

What if you are faced with the difficult decision of placing an elderly parent, spouse or family member into a nursing home? What if you do not have long term care insurance or $10,000.00 to $17,000.00 a month to privately pay for a nursing home? What if you do not have a plan in place? The answers to these questions are emotional and difficult. Equally emotional and difficult will be your overwhelming concern about how to pay for nursing home care. You could be facing nursing home expenses that can quickly consume savings that took a lifetime to save. Most families have no idea how they will pay for nursing home care. In fact, most people can’t identify the payment source for long term care expenses (hint: Medicare is not the answer). With nursing home costs of $10,000.00 to $17,000.00 per month — it’s not hard to figure out how quickly the money will run out. ...

Health Care Proxies

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:49:00 GMT

A competent adult may appoint a health care agent and every adult shall be presumed competent to appoint a health care agent unless he or she has been adjudged incompetent or unless a committee or guardian of the person has been appointed. A validly executed health care proxy is signed and dated by the adult in the presence of two adult witnesses who shall also sign the proxy. Another person may sign and date the health care proxy for the adult if the adult is unable to do so, at the adult's direction and in the adult's presence, and in the presence of two adult witnesses who shall sign the proxy. The witnesses shall state that the principal appeared to execute the proxy willingly and free from duress. The person appointed as agent cannot not act as witness to the execution of the health care proxy. For persons who reside in a mental hygiene facility at least one witness shall be an individual who is not affiliated with the facility and, if the mental hygiene facility is also a hospital a ...

Medicaid Changes as of April 1, 2011

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:47:00 GMT

As of April 1, 2011, the New York State legislature passed the 2011-2012 Budget Bill which made significant changes to Medicaid. These changes may have a significant impact on Medicaid planning and it will be necessary to review and update our client’s estate and Medicaid planning documents; documents traditionally used to protect assets so that they will be able to pass to intended beneficiaries free of Medicaid claims after the Medicaid recipient has passed away. The most troubling change involves Medicaid's authority to seek recovery of amounts paid on behalf of a Medicaid recipient. Prior to the change in the law, Medicaid had only been permitted to look to assets, if any, passing through the Medicaid recipient's Last Will and Testament (probate estate) on death. Clients, planning for Medicaid services, commonly used non-testamentary planning techniques, such as living trusts and life estates, in order to protect their assets from claims by Medicaid upon their death. The new law ...

Health Care Proxy and Living Wills

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:21:00 GMT

If there is one lesson we can all learn from the untimely death of actress, Natasha Richardson, it is to make sure we all have two critical legal documents in place regarding our health care. The two documents are a health care proxy and a living will. The health care proxy appoints an agent to make all decisions regarding health care and end-of-life care, including refusal of treatment. The agent’s power to handle your affairs goes into effect only when you are no longer able to make decisions on your own. The second critical document is a living will, also known as an advance directive, which allows you to state what kind of medical care you want and which life-support procedures you do not want. Your living will acts as directions for your health care proxy to follow. Nobody expects to fall into a coma after a seemingly minor fall while skiing down a bunny slope and THAT’S THE POINT. Make sure your documents are in place, plan ahead, and have reasonable certainty that you ...

Income Taxes and Long Term Care Insurance

Aaron Futterman, CPA, Esq — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:19:00 GMT

February 18, 2009 As you prepare your tax returns this year please remember to consider any premium payments for long term care insurance you have made. On your federal income tax return (form 1040) you may be entitled to a deduction and on your New York State income tax return (form IT-201 or IT-150) a refundable credit. Federal Income Taxes The deduction for your federal income tax return is reported on Schedule A, line 1 entitled “medical and dental expenses.” Please note that several tests must be passed for the premium to be deductible: (1) The premium paid must be for a “qualified long-term care contract” which is defined as an insurance contract that provides only coverage of qualified long-term care services. The contract must: (a) Be guaranteed renewable, (b) Not provide for a cash surrender value or other money that can be paid, assigned, pledged, or borrowed, (c) Provide that refunds, other than refunds on the death of the insured or complete surrender or cancellation of the contract, and di ...