Medicaid Application Finish Line Shortened
In the past several years, especially since COVID, the Medicaid application process has become more lengthy and time consuming. More documents are now required in order to achieve Medicaid approval than ever before. The 16 page application is the easy part but I always tell people that you must have your ducks
Increase in Medicaid Divisor
As I have written about frequently in this blog, when applying for Medicaid an applicant must establish by documentary evidence that he or she did not transfer assets in the 5 year period directly before the requested start date for benefits. Any transfers made for which product or service of equal value
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 3
In last week’s blog post I talked about a call from an attorney who needed help. He was handling a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of a father who had died of injuries suffered in a car accident. I was able to get the son appointed administrator ad prosequendum
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 2
In last week’s post I referred to a recent case in our office in which an administrator ad prosequendum was needed with respect to an estate whose only potential asset was a legal claim for damages resulting from a wrongful death. Not knowing how much might be recovered and there being
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 1
We recently received a call from a personal injury attorney in need of help. The attorney had pursued a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of their father who died in motor vehicle accident. Their father had no assets at the time of his death and in fact was a Medicaid
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 3
In my last two posts I have been talking about the challenge of redistributing an inheritance after death. Many people assume that they are free to accept the sum bequeathed to them or not and that is absolutely true. But as I explained last week, there are tax ramifications, specifically gift
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 2
In my post last week, I talked about a scenario where family members wish to change the distributions they are to receive after a loved one’s death. Because the death sets in place the wishes of the decedent (person who died) either by the will or the intestacy laws if there
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 1
Often when we have an estate administration matter, the will being probated is an old one. In some cases the person never actually executed a will although he or she may have communicated to family members his/her wishes with regard to the distribution of assets. In other cases the family members agree
Happily Married or Something Else? Part 3
In this third post of 3, I continue the discussion about second marriages and Medicaid and more specifically how to handle a fraudulent marriage. Last week I explained that if we make every effort to get the documentation from an ex-spouse for the Medicaid application process, regulations provide that the application
Happily Married or Something Else? Part 2
In last week’s post I went back to the topic of Medicaid and more specifically how the need for long term care might affect both spouses. The assets of both spouses are counted for eligibility purposes even if only one spouse is applying for benefits. I always remind people that a second