Estate Planning for Parents of Children with Special Needs: Special Needs Trusts Estate planning is important for all families. It is especially important for those responsible for the care of someone with special needs. The cost of caring for someone with a severe disability can add up to millions of dollars over a person’s lifetime. […]
Medicare Coverage: Observation vs. Inpatient Status On September 23, a federal district court in Connecticut dismissed the case of Bagnall v. Sebelius. A group of Medicare beneficiaries, the Plaintiffs, filed this lawsuit to protest the use of “observation status” during their hospital stays. Patients on observation status are designated as outpatients, even though they may stay on […]
Where Do I Live for Income Tax and Estate Tax Purposes? Domicile vs. Residence Many Connecticut residents live elsewhere for a significant part of the year. For example, you may stay in Cape Cod for the summer, or you may go down to Florida for the winter. For folks who do not stay in the […]
Pre-Paid Funeral and Burial Contracts for Medicaid Recipients You may have heard that you will have to “spend down” virtually all of your income and assets to qualify for Medicaid. However, there are some exempt assets that Medicaid applicants can keep and still qualify for benefits. One way that Medicaid applicants can keep some of […]
What to Consider When Firearms Are Part of Your Probate Estate If you are a gun owner in Connecticut, you have probably been thinking about how the state’s new gun laws will impact you. As you take steps to ensure you are complying with the new laws, take some time to consider how you are […]
Recent Case Raises Concerns about Certain Transfers of Assets by a Medicaid Applicant to a Community Spouse: Many Medicaid applicants who need care in a nursing home have spouses who are able to continue living at home (“Community Spouses”). There are guidelines that allow a Community Spouse to keep a certain amount of income and […]
Ancillary Probate: What It Is and How to Avoid It Probate is the process by which a court grants a person authority to deal with property owned by a deceased individual (“decedent”). If this person was named in the decedent’s will, he or she is called the executor or the personal representative of the decedent’s estate. […]
Planning for Pets: Why a Will Won’t Ensure Your Furry and Feathered Loved Ones Are Taken Care Of According to a recent survey by the American Pet Products Association, 68% of U.S. households include at least one pet. Those of us with pets often think of them as members of the family. However, pets usually […]
The End of the Medicare “Improvement Standard”For decades, home-health care agencies and nursing homes have terminated Medicare coverage if patients did not show improvement. This policy was referred to as the Medicare “Improvement Standard.” Nothing in the Medicare regulations stated that improvement was required for continuing coverage. However, the Improvement Standard was regularly applied when […]
Identifying and Avoiding Caregiver BurnoutMany of our clients are caring for or being cared for by a loved one. More than 65 million Americans care for family members who need assistance due to chronic conditions, disabilities, disease, or the frailties of old age. These millions of family caregivers may include spouses, parents, or children of […]