Sue called concerning her brother, John, who is 65 and disabled.  “He has cerebral palsy”, she told me,  “and he is wheelchair bound.  He lives in senior housing and needs aides to assist him.  Someone told me he is eligible for Medicaid because he has nothing other than his Social Security income of $1900 a […]

Last week I was telling you about Rick.  His Dad transferred his home to Rick, who currently is disabled but was not at the time of the transfer.   I explained to Rick that the transfer, contrary to what he believed, is subject to a Medicaid transfer penalty of 51.5 months if Dad applies for Medicaid […]

The last 2 weeks we were discussing the transfer of a home to a child who has been living with the parent in that home.  But, what about transferring the home to a disabled child?  Isn’t that an exception to the Medicaid transfer rules? The answer is yes, but like all things Medicaid related, it […]

Last week we were discussing Susan’s mistake of confusing Medicaid’s exempt asset rules vs. the transfer of assets rules.  Mom transferred her home to Susan 4 years ago and now needs Medicaid.  If she applies now there will be a Medicaid penalty, a period of ineligibility.  There are, however, exceptions to this rule. I asked […]

Much has been written recently about the pros and cons of taking Social Security early at age 62 vs. waiting till full retirement age (which gradually increases till it reaches age 67 for those born in 1959 and later).  One article I read recently explains why it could be a huge mistake to take Social […]

The amount of change in the last 15 years is incredible and the pace of change has quickened.  Nothing stays the same forever, and forever is not as long as it used to be.  We are starting to see this in the senior market, beginning with how the term “old” is viewed by seniors themselves […]