Wealth Preservation, Trusts and Estates

The Family Caregiver Exception is one opportunity available to protect the family home from nursing home spending. Generally, there is a 5 year ineligibility for Medicaid qualification that results from a transfer of the family residence to a child. However, there is no penalty for a transfer of a primary residence if a son or daughter lived with mom or dad for the two years preceding mom or dad moving to a nursing home. Further, the child must prove that he or she provided care that allowed them to stay at home and prevented mom or dad from going to a nursing home during that two year period.

I recently answered a question posed by a reader on AVVO regarding this family caregiver exception and thought you might like to take a look at that commentary here. Here is the relevant federal statutory provision 42 U.S.C. §1396 p (C) (2)(A)(iv). This is an important provision and could provide significant economic protection if utilized properly.

Please feel free to contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esq. any time at 610-933-8069 or dkaune@utbf.com to discuss your particular Medicaid Asset Protection, Nursing Home or Elder law case to determine the appropriate planning for you and your family.
Wills * Trusts * Elder Law * Probate * Asset Protection * Power of Attorney * Estate Planning
Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C. his a full service law firm with offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, West Chester and serving surrounding areas such as Royersford, King of Prussia, Wayne, Media, Paoli, Exton, Downingtown, Norristown and other towns in Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County, Philadelphia County Pennsylvania (PA).

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Elder Law: Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Series.  Many of our clients want to guard against losing large portions of or even their entire estate to the costs of long term nursing care.  They recognize that the

ever rising cost of nursing care coupled with increased life expectancies could result in significant expenditure of estate assets.  Clients cite the desire to preserve assets, protect a spouse and pass an inheritance to their children as overriding rationale for Medicaid Asset Protection Planning (MAPP).  As many know, the sooner you start planning, the greater the likelihood you will be able to protect significant assets.

During the planning process, we will typically suggest using one of the irrevocable trusts in our Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Series.  The trusts can be written to be flexible but, unlike outright gifts, the gifts made to the irrevocable trust will be protected from the creditors, spending habits and divorce of the future beneficiaries.  Please read this information on the use of the Medicaid Irrevocable Trust by a fellow elder law attorney in Virginia.  The Pennsylvania Medicaid laws will apply in much the same way, but I thought it would be good for you to see that other attorneys in other states are employing similar strategies.

Please feel free to contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esq. any time at 610-933-8069 or dkaune@utbf.com to discuss your particular Medicaid Asset Protection, Nursing Home or Elder law case to determine the appropriate planning for you and your family.
Wills * Trusts * Elder Law * Probate * Asset Protection * Power of Attorney * Estate Planning
Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C. has offices located in Malvern, Phoenixville, West Chester Offices also serving surrounding areas such as King of Prussia, Media, Kennett Square, Typical Counties Served:  Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County, Philadelphia County Pennsylvania (PA).

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We have many clients searching for information about Medicaid, Medical Assistance and payment for Nursing Home Care. The rising cost of Long Term Nursing Care and longer life expectancies have spurred the desire to protect assets and learn more about the PA Mediciad System. I found the following site for the Pennsylvania Medicaid Policy Center during my recent reading on these various Elder Law topics. Check the site out if you would like a review of some of the pertinent issues facing individuals who need nursing home care, are considering protecting assets or have family members in similar situations.

Please feel free to contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esq. any time at 610-933-8069 or dkaune@utbf.com to discuss your particular Medicaid Asset Protection, Nursing Home or Elder law case to determine the appropriate planning for you and your family.
Wills * Trusts * Elder Law * Probate * Asset Protection * Power of Attorney * Estate Planning
Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C. is a full service firm with Malvern, Phoenixville, West Chester Offices serving Collegeville, Royersford, King of Prussia, Spring City, Valley Forge, Downingtown, Chadds Ford, Norristown, Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County, Philadelphia County Pennsylvania (PA).

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Wills * Trusts * Elder Law * Probate * Asset Protection * Power of Attorney * Estate Planning                                   Douglas Kaune, Esquire Attends 11th Annual Pennsylvania (PA) Elder Law and Estate Planning Symposium.  It is great to get an update regarding the law changes, new cases and politics that shape Elder Law, Estate Planning, Trust Planning and Probate.  Here is a link to this Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) course and the interesting topics covered.  I will be providing much of the interesting information in upcoming Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees Estate and Elder Law Blog postings.  

Stay tuned for updated information on the following topics and more: 1. How to make sure joint accounts actually pass to the person you intend.  2.  How to insure the tax clause in your last will actually confers tax lability on the correct beneficiary or your estate.  3.  How to make use of annuities to protect assets in Medicaid and Nursing Home Planning.  4.  How to take advantage of the Medicaid Gifting exceptions to allow assets to pass to certain loved ones and family members.  5.   How to properly plan your estate in a second marriage or where there are children from different relationships.   6.  Is a Special Needs Trust right for you or for a member of family, if so how can we make sure it properly protects assets and government benefits?

Please feel free to contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esq. any time at 610-933-8069 or dkaune@utbf.com to discuss your particular Estate Planning, Probate, Trust, Asset Protection or Elder law case to determine the appropriate steps for you and your family. Unruh, Truner, Burke & Frees, P.C. is a full service law firm with offices in Phoenixville, West Chester and Malvern and providing legal representation in the Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County and Philadelphia County. Among the many towns served are Phoenixvile, Malvern, West Chester, Royersford, Collegeville and King of Prussia.

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There is an important exception to the typical Medicaid transfer rules (Deficit Reduction Act (“DRA”), 42 U.S.C. 1396p) which allows parents to transfer assets to trust for a disabled child and still qualify for Medicaid immediately. Read here to learn more about this exception and the Medicaid rules generally. This is an often missed Medicaid asset protection strategy used by experienced Elder Law Attorneys in Pennsylvania (PA) and other states. This planning can protect hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets and serve to insure that the disabled child can lead a safe and secure life while still qualifying for necessary public and private benefits.
Please feel free to contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esq. any time at 610-933-8069 or dkaune@utbf.com to discuss your particular Medicaid Asset Protection, Nursing Home or Elder law case to determine the appropriate planning for you and your family.
Wills * Trusts * Elder Law * Probate * Asset Protection * Power of Attorney * Estate Planning
Malvern, Phoenixville, West Chester Offices serving Collegeville, Royersford, King of Prussia, Berwyn, Wayne, Newtown Square, Media, Paoli, Frazier, Chester Springs, Spring City, Valley Forge, Kennett Square, Exton, Lionville, Downingtown, Chadds Ford, Norristown, Devon, Radnor, Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County, Philadelphia County Pennsylvania (PA).

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Annuities have long had a role in Medicaid and nursing home asset protection planning in PA and in other states. There are planning opportunities that allow a husband and wife to shelter a portion of the family assets so that the community spouse (non-nursing home spouse) can remain at home and have greater financial freedom. The case referenced below is a favorable opinion for the Medicaid applicant and should increase the likelihood that certain annuities will be successful Medicaid nursing home planning tools for married couples.
In Weatherbee v. Richman, 595 F. Supp. 2d 607 (W.D. Pa. 2009), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania reversed the denial of Medicaid benefits to a nursing home resident (“institutionalized spouse”), holding that the income from an irrevocable, non-transferable, non-assignable, single premium, immediate annuity payable to the spouse of the nursing home resident (“community spouse”) was protected under federal law, specifically the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (“MCCA”). MCCA provides that the community spouse’s income is completely protected and does not affect the Medicaid eligibility of the institutionalized spouse.
Please call Douglas L. Kaune, PA Lawyer 610-933-8069 for additional information about this case and to discuss Medicaid and nursing home planning opportunities it presents for you.
Wills * Trusts * Probate * Elder Law * Estates * Estate Planning * Asset Protection Planning
Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Law Offices Chester, Montgomery, Delaware, Philadelphia, Berks and Bucks County PA

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I have recently encountered several estates where the shear number of accounts really caused problems for the heirs as they struggled to locate the accounts, discovered escheated accounts, paid an accountant to figure out the tax consequences and more.

And, through the years I have also seen many clients suffer lifetime negative consequences of having just too many bank accounts and investment accounts ranging from extra fees paid to lost accounts to greater tax complexity than needed.

The New York Times also recently addressed this issue and if you want to read more about the problems of too many bank and investment accounts including:
lost accounts
higher management and account fees
unintended estate consequences
unexpected inheritance tax allocations and more
increased likelihood of estate disputes between heirs

Just click here to read David M. Frees and The New York Times on Why You Can Have Too Many Accounts For Your Own Good.

David M. Frees III
Call 610-933-8069 for an appointment to solve the problem of too many accounts in your estate plan.
Make sure that your will or trust works with all of your accounts.

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If I named my child as a POD (pay on death) or FBO (for benefit of) beneficiary of a bank or stock account and that child is now in financial trouble, can I lose the accounts?

The short answer is “No.”

POD designations on an account do not make that account the property of your child now and his or her bankruptcy or a lawsuit will not subject your accounts to claims by his or her creditors.

However, there are three more things that you need to know about POD (pay on death) and FBO (for benefit of) designations and accounts to be sure that your accounts are safe and that your child will also be protected.

Click here for more essential information on POD and FBO accounts for your children and how to protect your accounts for yourself and for your heirs.

David M. Frees III, Esquire

Have questions about your estate planning and how your POD or beneficiary designations work with your estate planning documents?

Need to update your will, power of attorney, medical powers, or living wills and to coordinate them with your bank and stock accounts.

Mention this blog post to receive a free consultation with David Frees or one of the trust and estate attorneys. Call Donna or Denise for more information at 610-933-8069 or email dfrees@utbf.com

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By: David M. Frees III, Esquire Will, Trust and Estate Planning for the End of The Year.

Want to make sure that you avoid the most common estate planning mistakes at the end of the year and that you are reviewing and doing what you need to complete to make sure that your new year starts off just right?

Want to know how much you can gift without filing a gift tax return?

Need to know when those gift checks have to be cashed before you’ve got a problem?

Then click here for a short video and a checklist that you can print out and follow.

It could save you and your heirs thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

END OF YEAR GIFTING, Estate Planning and Asset Protection CHECKLIST, and VIDEO by David Frees

David M. Frees III
Asset Protection and Estate Planning

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Interested in more information about Social Security and Medicare benefits? The maze of social security benefits, survivor benefits, Social Security Disability benefits, and prescription drug benefits has become ever more complicated in recent years. So, at the request of many of our clients we will be bringing you a multi part series on government benefits with links and resources on:

Qualifying for Social Security Benefits
Information on Drug Benefits
Estimating Social Security Disability Benefits
Estimating Retirement Benefits
Estimating Survivor’s Social Security Benefits
Requesting a Social Security Statement
Applying for Retirement, surviving Spouse and Disability Benefits and more

In this first installment we help to answer the question: What Social Security
Benefits Can I Qualify for?

For more information click: What Social Security Benefits Do I qualify For?
This information is provided through BEST (Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool)

Getting information on the government’s various prescription drug plans can be daunting. Here is a place to get started.

Can I get Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Costs?

For more information on surviving spouse’ and survivor Social Security benefits, Social Security benefits estimators, disability benefits and more please register for the RSS feed (to the right) to get notice when articles are published here, or book mark the site and check in regularly.

David M. Frees III
Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees
Law Offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester
David Frees is highly rated by Lawyers and clients on AVVO

Call 610-933-8069 for wills, trusts, estate planning, asset protection planning, and elder law
assistance from David Frees or one of the lawyers in his department.

Mention this article to receive a free consultation, and free reports on topics of your choice.

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