By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee The gravamen of this article is how to assess gifts made by an individual who must now apply Medicaid due to a nursing home admission. The usual scenario is that the applicant has transferred or gifted a significant sum of money to help a family,… Read More »
By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee I’ve written previously about the legal basis for a nursing home to seek payment for services from residents of a skilled nursing facility or other responsible parties. There are countless cases involving nursing homes petitioning for an Article 81 Guardian that would have… Read More »
By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee INTRODUCTION The issue of liability for the cost of care at Nursing Homes on its surface does not seem to be very complicated but various factual circumstances that occur in these cases can add to the complications. The case usually starts with a call… Read More »
By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE ACT) On December 19,2014 President Obama signed into law the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE ACT) with significant bipartisan support. The intent of this Act is to solve the problems individuals face in finding and holding… Read More »
Various surveys indicate that more than 40 percent of Americans over age 55 ― and half of Americans with children ― don’t have a will. Following are five common reasons people give for their delays, and why they are poor excuses for not organizing an estate: I’m not wealthy enough to need a will. An… Read More »
Revocable living trusts, also known as inter-vivos trusts, are prepared for individuals and couples with sufficient property to alleviate the burdens and expenses of the probate process, and who wish that information about their assets and testamentary wishes be kept private. Like all legal documents, there are certain elements that a revocable living trust must… Read More »
What are the current Medicaid eligibility requirements? Medicaid currently covers all those whose modified adjusted gross income is up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ― this will increase to 138 percent in 2014 for states like New York that have opted into the Medicaid expansion program. For our elder law clients, there… Read More »
Javier Castro’s last will and testament, drafted at his deathbed on his brother’s Samsung Galaxy tablet, was recently found valid by an Ohio court. The electronic will was signed and witnessed with a stylus, and this was sufficient to meet the requirements under Ohio law, which states only that a will be a written document… Read More »
A recent study shows that in 2011, 5.1 percent of American children between the ages of 5 and 15 were identified as disabled. That amounts to more than 2.3 million children with special needs. The study also shows that only 20.7 percent of working-age adults with disabilities had a full-time job that year, compared to… Read More »
The unlimited marital deduction allows a person to transfer any amount of funds to a spouse free from tax. However, if your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, your estate cannot use this marital deduction without a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT). QDOTs were designed to stop noncitizen surviving spouses from leaving the country with a… Read More »