Category: Government Benefits

There are plenty of free services available to seniors who want to remain living at home. Read this Guide from Harvard Medical School to find out if any of these resources can be helpful to you or your loved ones.  

If you spend some time in New York and some time in Florida, you may wish to consult your accountant about determining your domicile (as, depending on the answer, you will owe very different taxes). You may also think about consulting with two different local attorneys regarding your estate planning, as both New...

Recently someone asked me a question: if an co-op apt. is owned jointly by spouses with right of survivorship, can Medicaid enforce a lien against the estate or the decedent's interest in the co-op when the joint owner who was a Medicaid recipient dies? There is a prohibition against placing a lien on the...

Even though some seniors may be entitled to home care through their Medicare benefits, it may be impossible for them to receive this needed care. And that is why most people plan for Medicaid - not because they are trying to cheat the system, but because they have no other real choice.  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/many-seniors-qualify-home-based-care-medicare-arent-receiving/

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...

Your parents may have had a long and relatively happy marriage. They may intend to live together until their death. Nonetheless, the financial reality of today’s government rules may force them to consider divorce.  And there is no need for psychological counseling at this point. Divorce, with future cohabitation, would be done simply to...

There are many government programs: SSI, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. Most of these programs have thresholds for recipient’s income and assets. What happens when recipients receive an unexpected windfall – inheritance, personal injury award, etc? Can one retain both the money and the benefits? Can one decline the award? The answer depends on the...

There are many acronyms in government benefits. This article explains the difference between most common Social Security benefits. Social Security benefits are based on the individual’s earnings, averaged over the worker’s life. Eligibility: To be eligible, an individual must have a minimum of 40 quarters of reported earned income. To receive full...