The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case disputing how much states can recoup from Medicaid recipients’ settlements in personal injury cases. The decision has the potential to affect anyone who receives government assistance with their medical care following a disabling injury that results in a lawsuit.
Passing Assets to Grandchildren Through a Generation-Skipping Trust
Passing assets to your grandchildren can be a great way to ensure their future is provided for, and a generation-skipping trust can help you accomplish this goal while reducing estate taxes and also providing for your children.
A generation-skipping trust allows you to “skip” over the generation directly...
Dual Eligibility: How Qualifying for Both Medicare and Medicaid Can Help With Costs
Qualifying for Medicare hardly means free health care — there are still premiums and deductibles. However, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (called “dual eligibility”) receive help paying their out-of-pocket costs.
Medicare is a federal program available to anyone 65 or older. It consists of four major...
Non-Borrowing Spouses of Reverse Mortgage Holders Receive Expanded Protections
The federal government has expanded access to protections for spouses of reverse mortgage holders who are not named in the loan document, allowing more such spouses the ability to stay in their home if the borrowing spouse dies or moves to a care facility.
A reverse mortgage allows homeowners...
Medicaid’s Home Care Waivers Can Help You Avoid a Nursing Home, But the Line May Be Long
Medicaid long-term care benefits traditionally pay mainly for nursing home care, but the federal government can grant “waivers” to states allowing them to expand Medicaid to include home and community-based services. The downside is that receiving care in a nursing home is an entitlement, while getting care at home is not.
Thousands of Elderly and Disabled SSI Recipients Accused of Owning Property That Isn’t Theirs
In December 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) had a nasty surprise for Laura Marshall (not her real name), a 74-year-old woman just scraping by in senior citizen housing in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood: The agency demanded that she repay more than $10,000 in benefits, claiming that she owned two properties...
Younger Adults Now More Likely to Have a Will, According to Survey
A new survey has found that motivated in part by the coronavirus pandemic, younger adults are now more likely to have a will than middle-aged adults. Nevertheless, the overall percentage of Americans with a will has dropped over the past several years.
Caring.com’s 2021...
Court Case Illustrates the Danger of Using an Online Power of Attorney Form
A recent court case involving a power of attorney demonstrates the problem with using online estate planning forms instead of hiring an attorney who can make sure your documents are tailored to your needs.
Mercedes Goosley owned a home in Pennsylvania. In 2013, she named one of her...
How You Can End Up in Medicare’s Donut Hole, and How You Get Out
Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans can have a coverage gap—called the “donut hole”–which limits how much Medicare will pay for your drugs until you pay a certain amount out of pocket. Although the gap has gotten much smaller since Medicare Part D was introduced in 2006, there still may be a difference...
