albany estate planning attorney

When a married person applies for Medicaid, the government looks at the collected, or, pooled, resources of the two to determine if one of the two spouses is eligible for Medicaid. If the combined income of the two spouses is above the income threshold set by law, the balance must be paid to the nursing home of the dependent spouse. But what income provisions are allowed for the spouse who remains in the community? What do the get to keep? Is the community spouse allowed to tap into the income of the dependent spouse if his/her income is not enough?

The legal, financial benefits that allow for the community spouse to keep a certain amount of income has the terrible name of spousal impoverishment standards. This contains an amount of money, known as the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (commonly known as or referred to as the MMMNA). The figure from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 is $1,991.25 per month. Starting on January 1, 2016 the maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance is set at $2,980.50 per month. This is the maximum the community spouse may keep before being required to contribute to the medical needs of the dependent spouse (NOT minimum, so not to be confused with the MMMNA).

WHAT IF THIS IS NOT ENOUGH?

PROTECT ASSETS FROM CREDITORS

The Domestic Asset Protection Trust is becoming more and more popular lately in various jurisdictions. Alaska created the first such law, effective April 2, 1997, with Delaware’s law going into effect on July 9, 1997. Since that time, 13 additional states adopted some form of an asset protection trust scheme. At least one of them, Hawaii, openly states in the very language of the law itself, that it seeks to create favorable laws to attract foreign capital and entice wealthy individuals across the United States and world to deposit a portion of their net worth in Hawaii for asset and trust protection and management. It is designed to increase the assets within Hawaii’s financial sector, increase tax revenues and position itself as a leading jurisdiction in financial management. There is little uniformity across the jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions, such as Delaware, carve out an exception for child support and separate maintenance of a separated or ex-spouse, while others, such as Nevada, has no exception for child support or separate maintenance creditors.

NEW YORK LONG ESTABLISHED PROTECTIONS AGAINST CREDITORS

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PLANNING FOR MARRIED MEDICAID APPLICANT’S COMMUNITY SPOUSE – COMMUNITY SPOUSE INCOME

DISCRETIONARY TRUSTS