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Spend-down. Look-back. Penalty Period. Uncompensated Transfer. These are just some of the terms Medicaid uses to determine eligibility for long-term care coverage. Medicaid is a combined federal and state program that pays for long-term care at home (community Medicaid) or in a nursing facility (institutional Medicaid). Asset, income and gift…
Each one of us experience countless injustices in the course of everyday living. Like other experiences, it is not the experience itself so much that counts, but how you process it. The Mayo Clinic addresses the health benefits of “forgiveness” which they define as “an intentional decision to let go…
Estate planning is not written in stone. Instead, estate plans should be revised and reconsidered when various major life events occur. Marriage may or may not involve a prenuptial agreement. Regardless, it may call for adding your new spouse’s name as beneficiary on insurance policies, on a will or trust,…
In his best-selling book, “Successful Aging”, Daniel J. Levitin, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University (your writer’s alma mater), shows how the brain is formed and how it changes, in surprisingly positive ways, as we age. The author notes that Freud said that the two most important…
In order to contest a will, the objectant must have “standing”, meaning they would legally be entitled to a share or a greater share of the estate if the will was declared invalid. “Standing” alone, however, is insufficient. There must also be grounds for contesting as provided below. 1. Undue…
So many people who come in to see us do not understand the estate plan they have or do not know what is in their current plan. Some of the reasons for this are (1) time has inevitably blurred their memories, (2) the plan may be written in legalese and…
According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA) polypharmacy is the use of multiple drugs to treat diseases and other health conditions. Polypharmacy is common in older adults, many of whom have two or more chronic conditions, and about a third of whom take five or more prescription drugs. Often,…
Elder law estate planning provides for (1) your care in the event you become disabled as you age, and who will be in charge of that care, and (2) the passing of your assets on death to whom you want, when you want, the way you want, with the least…
At Ettinger Law Firm, we are fond of saying “trusts create order out of chaos” — for three major reasons: First, as noted in previous columns, an ever-increasing number of Americans suffer a period of legal disability later in life. Without your own private plan for disability, consisting of a…
The recent announcement by 98 year old Jimmy Carter, our long-lived president, that he was opting for hospice care at home instead of additional medical intervention, is in keeping with the trend towards dying with dignity. Hospice care arises when an illness is either no longer responding to medical treatment,…