When applying for Medicaid benefits to help pay for long-term care, the applicant must list the value of all of their assets that are “countable” under the eligibility rules of the program, as administered in this state by the Connecticut Department of Social Services (“DSS”). Some assets are fully exempt and we will describe those […]
When people think about estate planning, and specifically about who they would like to receive their assets when they are gone, they tend to concentrate on the things that have a high monetary value, like bank accounts, investments, or real estate. But dividing up cash or other liquid assets is the easy part. What is […]
Sometimes people consider estate planning to be a fairly simple thing to do themselves without the need to consult an attorney. After all, estate planning documents are merely paper, right? Well, although estate planning documents are indeed merely paper with printed words, there is an important thought process behind what should or should not be […]
Elder Care Lawyers CTThe more socially active the elderly are, the less likely they are to become depressed. Depression, stress, and isolation can lead to health issues. This can happen easily to seniors living away from family. Whether seniors are living alone, or receiving home care, or living in some type of senior housing, a […]
The Good News and the Bad News Prior to January 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) required recipients of non-service connected benefits to make a mandatory annual filing in order to maintain benefits eligibility. By filing of its so-called Eligibility Verification Renewal forms, beneficiaries provided VA with updated information on the amount […]
“Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance – the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it; better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen.” -Thomas Carlyle The benefits of a positive attitude are talked about a lot, but today’s research shows evidence that […]
In our last post we provided a brief overview of Care Agreements. This week we consider a recent Louisiana court decision that illustrates a big problem that arises when relatives are paid for providing care services to a loved one and that arrangement is poorly documented. See Widley David v. State of Louisiana Dept. of […]
As individuals get older, they often need more and more help with their personal and financial needs. It becomes harder to do a whole host of things ranging from paying bills and balancing a checkbook to keeping track of medications, transportation to medical appointments, and bathing. While that help may be delivered by a home […]
This week we will look at an example of a celebrity who appears to have made a number of wise decisions in her lifetime estate planning. In contrast to the complicated, acrimonious and all too publicly scrutinized process of settling the Estate of James Brown that we looked at last week, the estate planning of […]
As a two part series, we will look at how the estate settlement process for two different celebrities can illustrate starkly contrasting results achieved from their respective estate plans. First we will look at the settlement of the Estate of James Brown, the late entertainer whose post-mortem family affairs have proven to be just as […]