“Harry’s Law” – Hollywood and Elder Law Collide
Over the years, not surprisingly, there have been many televisions series that focus on the legal profession. The stories are interesting, entertaining and often emotional. LA Law was a popular show back when I was in law school. Currently, Kathy Bates stars in Harry’s Law, which focuses on Harriet “Harry”:
A Medicaid Millionaire
Much has been written about how much long term care is costing this country and specifically how much tax payer dollars are spent on government benefit programs, with those numbers continuing to rise. All true. But, government waste, ineptitude and an inability to eliminate fraud certainly play a role. An
Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts
Perhaps it’s a phrase you’ve heard before but aren’t aware of the history behind it. (More on that in a minute.) A recent New Jersey court case brought the statement to mind and left me shaking my head because it just reinforces why clients so need my services. Allow me
Are You Making Gifts You Aren’t Even Aware of? (Part 2)
We were discussing Eddie’s problem last week. His Dad needs nursing home care and, at a cost of $11,000 per month, Eddie was concerned that there would not be anything left for Mom if he didn’t look to qualify for Medicaid quickly. However, the family was totally in the dark
Are You Making Gifts You aren’t Even Aware of? (Part 1)
So often, when I explain to someone how the Medicaid lookback and transfer penalty work, the response I get back is, “Don’t worry. My parents haven’t made any gifts. We don’t have anything to worry about.” But, the term “gift” is such a subjective one. It can mean different things
How We Pulled Charlie from a Black Hole of Long Term Care
A few months back I wrote about a situation that is not all that uncommon, a nursing home resident with long term care insurance benefits but no other assets. If the insurance payment goes directly to the resident it counts as income, resulting in too much income to qualify for
“But the Lady Said Medicaid is Gonna Take My House!!”
It’s an issue we deal with often, especially in our married couple crisis planning cases.  We explain to clients how Medicaid works and engineer a plan to get the sick spouse Medicaid without putting the healthy spouse in the poor house. The healthy spouse will keep the home.  This is
Are There Really Any Easy Medicaid Applications?
    Ben calls us with some basic questions about his mom’s long term care needs as she is very close to needing nursing home care. The subject turns inevitably to Medicaid as I explain the complexities of the program and how people get tripped up by it with often disastrous
How a Tax Refund Can End Up Costing You Big
Janet and Murray have been married for 50 years. Murray is in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and Janet finally was forced to place him in a nursing home. Murray recently received Medicaid approval and Janet got to keep the house and $100,000 in assets.  She filed a joint income
Will I Be Responsible for My Parents’ Nursing Care?
That’s a question of real concern for many and one we are hearing more about as the population ages, increasing the number of Americans needing long term care, and federal and state budget deficits continue to grow. Can nursing homes pursue children for unpaid nursing home bills? Can the State deny