It is hard to know what documents to trash and when. Before you know it, your spare room, office, basement, or garage is overflowing with boxes of papers that all seem important. Trying to weed through the mess and figure out what to toss? Keep reading. What Should I Keep? There are some documents
Medicare and health insurance don’t pay for long-term nursing home care. Medicaid does, without any time limits or dollar caps. But For nursing home residents, impoverishment is the price of admission into the Medicaid program. While most spend themselves broke, a savvy few manage to qualify for Medicaid without forfeiting their estate. One way to
Nursing home evictions, or involuntary discharges or transfers, disrupt the lives of residents, leading to homelessness, separation from familial support systems, and loss of care. As federal law covers all federally funded nursing home residents, nursing home evictions are legal only in particular instances, such as: The nursing home can no longer provide for
Do you have a friend or loved one who receives Social Security and is unable to manage her payments? If so, you can request that the Social Security Administration (SSA), the government agency that disburses Social Security, name you as the representative payee for that person. Being a representative payee gives you the power and
On July 8, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance that allows a deceased person’s estate to elect “portability” of their unused gift and estate tax exemption for up to five years after their death. So, if your spouse passed away less than five years ago, you may be able to file an estate
What is a GRAT? Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) are a mechanism by which wealthier individuals and couples can transfer appreciating assets to their heirs and minimize gift or estate taxes. High-net-worth individuals and couples can use GRATs to freeze the value of their estates and transfer any increase in the value of their assets
Getting socked with drastic stock market losses is bad enough. But Executors face the added problem of having to answer to disgruntled beneficiaries. The current market meltdown illustrates an important point many Executors fail to recognize. An Executor is the person named in a Last Will & Testament who is responsible for distributing a decedent’s
If you want to pass money to future generations without having it subject to gift and estate taxes, then a dynasty trust may be right for you. A dynasty trust allows trust assets to be used for the benefit of multiple generations while keeping the assets out of the grantor’s and the beneficiaries’ taxable estates.
Sam, Mary’s son and agent under her power of attorney, didn’t bother to seek legal advice after Mary entered a nursing home. “She only has $60,000. There’s nothing we can do”, he told his sisters. Five months later, with her funds exhausted, Mary sought Medicaid to pay for her care. To Sam’s shock and dismay
If you need a lot of cash on hand upon retirement, Social Security offers a lump-sum payment option that’s worth six months of benefits. However, it comes at a cost. It is important to understand the details before agreeing to the payment. If you have waited beyond your full retirement age (66 for those born
