A recent case demonstrates the potential for reformation of a Trust where a drafting error otherwise made the trust assets available for purposes of qualifying for Medicaid.  The New York surrogate’s court finds clear proof of mistake in the drafting of an irrevocable inter vivos trust and allows reformation to reflect the grantor’s intent that […]

In a previous article, we examined the various educational savings vehicles available to clients, including 529 plans, UGMA/UTMAs, Coverdell Education IRAs and life insurance. Using life insurance as an education savings vehicle prompted several questions about other uses for life insurance. Therefore, this as a follow up, this article examines some of these other common […]

Medicare is the federal government’s principal health care insurance program for people 65 years of age and over. In addition, the program covers people of any age who are permanently disabled or who have end-stage renal disease (people with kidney ailments that require dialysis or a kidney transplant). The Medicare program insures 39 million Americans […]

One of the major rules of Medicaid eligibility is the penalty for transferring assets. Congress does not want you to move into a nursing home on Monday, give all your money to your children (or whomever) on Tuesday, and qualify for Medicaid on Wednesday. So it has imposed a penalty on people who transfer assets […]

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" apparently last updated his estate plan in prior to giving birth to his now five year old son, James Brown, Jr.  The will failed to provide for the child or the child’s mother, Brown’s long-term companion, CNN reports.   A dispute over Brown’s estate is almost a given under these […]

Qualification Basics In order to be eligible for Medicaid benefits a nursing home resident may have no more than $4,000 in "countable" assets. The spouse of a nursing home resident — called the ‘community spouse’ — is limited to assets up to $99,540 (in 2006) in "countable" assets.  This figure changes each year to reflect […]

Nursing home residents do not have to sell their homes in order to qualify for Medicaid, as long as the nursing home resident intends to return home. Additionally, the house may be kept if the Medicaid applicant’s spouse or another dependent relative lives there.  However, after a Medicaid recipient dies, the state must attempt to […]

Congress has established a period of ineligibility for Medicaid for those who transfer assets. This period of ineligibility is determined by dividing the amount transferred by what Medicaid determines to be the average private pay cost of a nursing home in your state. However, state Medicaid officials will look only at transfers made within the […]

A Tennessee appeals court rules that the state may not recover Medicaid payments from the estate of a community spouse who received assets from an institutionalized spouse who predeceased him, leaving no estate.In Re: The Estate of James Clifford Smith (Tenn. Ct. App.)

For the first time since its creation in 1965, Medicaid spending actually declined in 2006, a recent USA Today article recently reported.  The drop in spending on the health care program for the poor is due in large part to aggressive program changes implemented by states, including the recently enacted Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.