If you transfer assets within five years of applying for Medicaid, you will likely be subject to a period of ineligibility. There is an exception, however, if enforcing the penalty period would cause the applicant an “undue hardship.” This exception is difficult to prove and rarely granted, but it may be possible in certain circumstances. […]
Winter brings holidays, chilly weather, and basketball season. In Connecticut, collegiate women’s basketball is a source of pride and joy for thousands of residents. Countless fans across the nation are familiar with the name Pat Summitt. She is known as one of the best coaches in collegiate women’s basketball, having led the University of Tennessee […]
Annuities can be valuable retirement and longevity planning tools, but they are complex financial products that can be misused. There are two kinds of annuities: variable and immediate. Variable annuities have gotten a bad reputation in recent years because they are often sold to people, especially seniors, for whom they are inappropriate. Immediate annuities, on […]
Over the last two decades, changes in the estate tax laws have caused a great shift in the focus of estate planning. At one time, the primary issue was avoiding a 55% estate tax rate on a relatively modest level of assets. For example, in 1995 the federal estate tax exemption was only $600,000. Back […]
Do you want to use your IRA to help a charity, but also benefit your heirs? Instead of leaving your IRA directly to your children, you can leave it to a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) while still benefiting your children. With rules about inherited IRAs potentially in flux, this may be an attractive estate planning […]
In December 2014, the federal government enacted a new law called “The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act” (“ABLE”). The general premise of ABLE is to permit certain disabled individuals to set up a special bank account that would be disregarded as an asset for most federal public benefits, such as Medicaid. This would allow […]