I received a sad, and I am afraid, all to common call yesterday from a gentleman who's father was in a nursing home and had spent all of his available funds, and was now being evicted from the nursing home.  Upon further inquiry, I learned that this father previously had a nest egg of $200,000 […]

I received a sad, and I am afraid, all to common call yesterday from a gentleman who's father was in a nursing home and had spent all of his available funds, and was now being evicted from the nursing home.  Upon further inquiry, I learned that this father previously had a nest egg of $200,000 […]

An article in the most recent AARP magazine gives the impression that the only option that many seniors have for qualifying for Medicaid and protecting some assets is to get a divorce.  While divorce is certainly one planning option, it is only one of many, and almost always the last resort.  After a couple has […]

Controversy has erupted in a California retirement community over a marijuana gardening club.  I never thought I would see the day. 

A recent article points out the efforts that Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has made against funeral homes selling pre-need plans. Mr. Hosemann is to be applauded.  Far too often, these plans are under-funded and the funds or service provider are nowhere to be found when the time for final arrangements are finally needed.  […]

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (BNO NEWS) — A Fayette, Mississippi woman was arrested and charged on one count of felonious Medicaid Fraud, prosecutors announced on Thursday. Kristina Stampley, 28, turned herself into investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Unit of the Attorney General’s Office. The indictment alleges that, while working as a case manager at Southwest Mississippi Mental […]

A proposal is now before the Mississippi legislature to tax sodas in order to combat obesity in the fattest state in the nation, and as a way to provide additional funding for Medicaid. As I sit here sipping my caramel latte, I wonder exactly how this will work.  Will regular Coke be taxed, but Diet […]

While meeting with a client yesterday I heard a story that I thought was instructive and worth repeating.  My client's two aunts were both in the same nursing home.  One of her aunts was destitute, and her room was paid for by Medicaid.  The other had managed to save a couple of hundred thousand dollars […]

The estate tax expired on January 1, 2010. It remains to be seen whether Congress will reinstate it before it returns in 2011, but the fact that there is currently no estate tax can have unintended consequences for spouses. Standard language found in many estate plans may leave spouses with nothing. It is important to […]

The following is reprinted from the NAELA eBulletin: At first it was just a curious observation. Now it’s an undeniable conclusion, first published two years ago in a medical journal and now in a new book coming out Tuesday: “Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat.”   Oscar is the cat. David […]