Do you need an attorney for even "simple" Medicaid planning? This depends on your situation, but in most cases, the prudent answer would be "yes." The social worker at your mother's nursing home assigned to assist in preparing a Medicaid application for your mother knows a lot about the program, but maybe not the particular
Buying long-term care insurance is one way to protect against the high cost of long-term care. However, this type of insurance may not be for everyone, so consider all your options. Long-term care – care in a nursing home or at home -- may be paid for in four main ways: Out-of-pocket. If you have
Many employers offer critical illness insurance as part of their benefit package. What is this insurance and is it worth purchasing? Before paying for a plan, you should read the fine print and consider alternatives. While a regular health insurance plan usually offers comprehensive coverage for all types of illnesses, many plans have high deductibles
Pets are members of the family, so it is important to consider how to provide for them in your estate plan just as you would the human family members. While we may think of pets as part of our family, the law considers them to be property. This means that you cannot leave anything in
As Medicare premiums rise, a Medicare Advantage plan can seem like an attractive option. But if you are considering switching from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, you need to know what to look for. Medicare Advantage plans are run by private insurers, unlike Original Medicare, which the federal government operates, although the medical
In some circumstances, immediate annuities can be ideal Medicaid planning tools for spouses of nursing home residents. Careful planning is needed to make sure an annuity will work for you or your spouse. An immediate annuity, in its simplest form, is a contract with an insurance company under which the consumer pays a certain amount
Just as we create estate plans for our eventual demise, we also need to plan ahead for the possibility that we will become sick and unable to make our own medical decisions. Medical science has created many miracles, among them the technology to keep patients alive longer, sometimes indefinitely. As a result of many well-publicized
Life estates can be an excellent tool for Medicaid planning, probate avoidance and tax efficiency, but there are potential problems to look out for. Knowing the implications and risks of a life estate is essential in determining whether it is appropriate for your situation. In a life estate, two or more people each have an ownership
The amount of Social Security benefits a surviving spouse receives depends, in part, on when their deceased spouse began claiming benefits. However, husbands usually don’t take survivor’s benefits into account when claiming benefits, according to a recent study, meaning that many widows will needlessly experience a significant drop in income. Because women typically live longer
The rules around required minimum distributions from retirement accounts are confusing, and it’s easy to slip up. Fortunately, if you do make a mistake, there are steps you can take to fix the error and possibly avoid a stiff penalty. If you have a tax-deferred retirement plan such as a traditional IRA or 401(k), you
