This is another installment in our series on Medi-Cal planning. In this blog post we discuss common eligibility problems and a few of the tools we can use to solve them. Once we have analyzed our client’s situation and see why they are ineligible, either because they have too much income, too much assets, or both, we can create a…
This is another installment in our series on Medi-Cal planning. We are focusing on the income requirements for Medi-Cal eligibility. In our last blog post we discussed income in the context of in-home care. Here we look at nursing home care. Nursing Home Medi-Cal The income calculation for nursing home Medi-Cal is slightly different from in-home Medi-Cal. There is almost…
In this continuing series of posts we will focus on Medi-Cal for our over-65 clients who need assistance with long-term care. Here, we continue our discussion of the issues we discuss in our first appointment with our clients. What About Veteran’s Benefits? One preliminary question we ask our clients has to do with their prior military service. In some cases,…
In this series of posts we will focus on Medi-Cal for our over-65 clients who need assistance with long-term care. We will take you through the laws and what we do for our clients, from the initial meeting until we receive that eligibility letter, to help them qualify, apply for and receive Medi-Cal, for long-term care. The Initial Appointment –…
IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred retirement accounts allow your savings to grow tax-free until you retire. The year after you become age 70 ½, you must begin taking required minimum distributions from your retirement accounts, and you will pay ordinary income taxes on all distributions. The rest of the money that stays in your account continues to grow tax-free until…
All attorneys will agree with me that if there’s one thing we wish our clients would do it would be to talk to us before they act. It’s much better for the client, and less expensive in the long run, to have your attorney review that lease or contract before you sign it than to be surprised later. We find…
Each year, the Social Security, Medicare and Medi-Cal programs have the potential to adjust rates for programs that benefit many of our clients, who are dependent, at least partially, on these programs for support or care. We think it is helpful to review some of the changes to these programs this year. The Social Security Administration annually issues a Cost…
In our last post we began a discussion of the various roles that must be filled in the planning and administration of a SNT, contrasting that with a conventional estate planning trust. Here we will continue discussing the roles that must be filled in the planning of a SNT. As we’ve mentioned before, a unique feature of most SNTs is…
Special Needs Trusts (SNTs) are different from other trusts that we use in estate planning in many ways. One of those ways has to do with the number and variety of the participants, both family members and professionals, whose assistance is needed. The roles of some of these participants must be clearly defined in the SNT document. Other roles will…
Were you aware that there are about 75 million people in the United States with disabilities? That’s about 25% of the population! Did you know that 53% of disabled people are over the age of 50? The U.S. Census Bureau has labeled disabled Americans the country’s largest minority population. Consider this story from a recent New York Times article: According to…
