by Stanley M. Vasiliadis, Esquire Nursing homes cost $120,000 a year. Medicare and health insurance don’t pay for this. Financial products alone are usually not enough. For all but the very wealthy, planning to qualify for Medicaid, which does pay for long-term nursing home care, is an essential part of prudent retirement and estate planning.
by Stanley M. Vasiliadis, Esquire What’s in a name? That depends on the name. Apparently, all that’s needed to acquire the title “Lawyer of Distinction” is submission of an application together with a registration fee. Who would have guessed that Zippy, a chicken, could qualify? Think I’m kidding? Check it out at https://mockingbird.marketing/lawyers-distinction-cease-desist-threat/ A proliferation
If your Medicare drug plan denies coverage for a drug you need, you don't have to simply accept it. There are several steps you can take to fight the decision. The insurers offering Medicare drug plans choose the medicines -- both brand-name and generic -- that they will include in a plan's "formulary," the roster
A Pennsylvania appeals court rules that an agent under a power of attorney did not have authority to create a Medicaid trust and transfer her mother's property to the trust because the power of attorney allowed her to transfer property only to a trust that was created before the power of attorney was signed. In Re:
An international coalition of brain researchers is suggesting a new way of looking at Alzheimer's. Instead of defining the disease through symptoms like memory problems or fuzzy thinking, the scientists want to focus on biological changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's. These include the plaques and tangles that build up in the brains of
A new federal law is designed to address the growing problem of elder abuse. The law supports efforts to better understand, prevent, and combat both financial and physical elder abuse. The prevalence of elder abuse is hard to calculate because it is underreported, but according to the National Council on Aging, approximately 1 in 10 Americans
Medicaid law imposes a penalty period if you transferred assets within five years of applying, but what if the transfers had nothing to do with Medicaid? It is difficult to do, but if you can prove you made the transfers for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, you can avoid a penalty. You
Annuities can be valuable retirement and longevity planning tools, but they are complex financial products that can be misused. There are two kinds of annuities: deferred and immediate. Variable annuities are a common form of deffered annuities that have gotten a bad reputation in recent years because they are often sold to people, especially seniors,
While the execution of wills requires formalities like witnesses and a notary, the reality is that most property passes to heirs through other, less formal means. Many bank and investments accounts, as well as real estate, have joint owners who take ownership automatically at the death of the primary owner. Other banks and investment companies
Q: My son was disabled prior to age 18 and is now 39. He lives with us at home and draws Social Security benefits on his dad's work record. I will be 62 in June and have applied for early retirement. Will our son be able to draw from my work record as well?
