Can You Avoid a 5 Year Penalty for Uncompensated Transfers?
Medicaid imposes a transfer penalty that can last for up to 5 years for all uncompensated transfers made prior to the application for nursing home Medicaid. This provision makes crisis planning for nursing home not efficient. Yet many people are reluctant to transfer their assets ahead of time and impoverish themselves, because, of...
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Can Court Reform a Will When the Attorney Made a Drafting Mistake?
In a recent New York case, a Will provided for disposition of 2/3 of the property (leaving property to decedent’s siblings, nieces and nephews) and was silent about the disposition of the remaining 1/3. In re Isasi-Diaz, NYLJ, Mar. 28, 2014, p. 35 (Sur. Ct., N.Y.Co.) (Mella, S.) The attorney-draftsman provided an affidavit...
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What are Gifts and how much can you gift and receive without paying taxes?
What is a gift: In general, a gift is the value of the property transferred in excess of the value of any consideration received therefore. What is the current gift tax rate: The current federal gift tax rate (similar to the current federal top estate rate) is 40%. However, this rate is only...
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Power of Attorney Printed From the Internet Was Found Invalid
Plaintiff tried to bring a personal injury lawsuit against a College on behalf of his daughter, acting under authority of a Power of Attorney. The Power of Attorney was found and printed from the internet, and was not prepared by an attorney. The defendant argued that the plaintiff lacked authority to bring the...
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Are relatives required to pay for nursing home care?
A nursing home is prohibited from requiring a third party to guarantee payment from his own funds to the facility as a condition of admission or continued stay of another party. Any attempt by the nursing home to do so is a blatant violation of the law, and may be reported to the...
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What is Long Term Care Insurance and New York State Partnership for Long Term Care
Many seniors are not aware that Medicare does not pay for custodial long term care. An individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, which requires assistance with feeding, bathing, and taking oral medications will not be covered by Medicare not by a Medigap insurance. The only way of paying for custodial long term...
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Can relatives supplement Medicaid covered nursing home care by paying for private nurses and private rooms?
Even though this concept appears reasonable (after all, most nursing homes are short on staff and rooms are semi-private at best), Medicaid does not permit it. Medicaid is a payor of last resort: if there are any available sources of payment then these sources must be used first. If a resident,...
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There is a lot of government help available for low income seniors.
This article is an invaluable resource. It lists all the various government programs that are available to senior citizens, with links to criteria and additional information. There is a lot of help available to seniors. The list of available programs includes, but is not limited to: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Property tax relief, legal help, housing vouchers...
There is a lot of government help available for low income seniors. Continue reading…
Accident Liens – can Medicaid recover from personal injury or malpractice award?
It may come as an unwelcome shock to many personal injury plaintiffs, but Medicaid is entitled to recover medical expenses paid on behalf of an individual, from the proceeds of a personal injury or a malpractice action. The entire award is subject to Medicaid recovery: there is no distinction between pain and suffering...
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What is a Continuing Care Retirement Community?
These are alternative housing options for seniors, in which multiple levels of care, including independent living, assisted living and long term nursing home care are contained within one community. The number of these communities is growing rapidly in New York State.An initial entrance fee is required. These entrance fees can range from $100,000...
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