Among the many challenges for families is making sure there will always be enough money to provide lifetime care for their special needs children. The costs are daunting: therapies, housing, medical care, and education, to name just a few. One way to plan for this challenge is to set up a special needs trust. Families of
With careful Medicaid planning, you may be able to preserve some of your estate for your children or other heirs while meeting Medicaid's low asset limit. The problem with transferring assets is that you have given them away. You no longer control them, and even a trusted child or other relative may lose them. A safer
Many people confuse “Medicaid” with “Medicare”. Medicaid, also referred to as Medical Assistance, is a state-operated program in compliance with federal guidelines. It was created in 1965 at the same time as Medicare in Pennsylvania. The Medicaid program is operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services through a series of field offices called County Assistance Offices. Medicaid and Medicare are separate programs. These programs were enacted by the federal government.
No, provided you qualify for Medicaid benefits when your funds are gone. That won’t happen if you give away your home or money without proper guidance from an elder law attorney. Medicaid benefits will also be denied and your spouse and children put at risk if an application is not properly documented.
Many people who apply for Medicaid benefits to pay for nursing home care ask this question. For many, the home constitutes much or most of their life savings. Often, it’s the only asset that a person has to pass on to his or her children. Under Medicaid regulations, the home is an excluded resource unless
Older Americans with a life insurance policy that they no longer need have the option to sell the policy to investors. These transactions, called "life settlements," can bring in needed cash, but are they a good idea? If your children are grown and your mortgage paid off, you may decide that there is no longer
We’ve all heard that it’s better to give than to receive, but if you think you might someday want to apply for Medicaid long-term care benefits, you need to be careful because giving away money or property can interfere with your eligibility. Under federal Medicaid law, if you transfer certain assets within five years before
No one wants to face the fact that our loved ones will not be with us forever. Facing our own mortality is frightening as well. Although none of us wants to contemplate a time when we or a loved one might become disabled or die, it is important to be prepared. There are many steps
Movies, television, and books like to present wills in dramatic ways--handwritten notes, videos, deathbed utterances--but what actually makes a will & testament valid? The main difference between a will & testament is the "will" focuses on real property while the "testament" is meant for personal properties like household goods, monies or vehicles. The law varies
If you have been appointed the trustee of a trust, it is a strong vote of confidence in your judgment and trustworthiness. It is also a major responsibility. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a "trustee," holds legal title to
