We all know the story. Mom and dad had their trust drawn up years ago. So much of the law related to estates has changed. So much of the law related to taxes has changed. And, so much of the family’s situation has changed. But, like most, mom and dad never sat down with their estate-planning attorney to do periodic reviews to ensure their estate planning documents reflected all of these changes. Indeed, the average individual or couple might see their estate-planning attorney once every ten years . . . if that. Read more …
When it’s time for someone to move into a nursing home, and he or she will be applying for long-term care Medicaid benefits, there are many personal and financial issues to be addressed by the person who is preparing the application (usually a family member). Read more …
Many of my clients recently received Medicaid Fraud Investigation letter from Human Resources Administration, Bureau of Fraud Investigation. If you do not qualify for the Medicaid Benefit and you may have made false statements about the your income, your marital status, your living arrangements, or in other words your actions were not in accordance with legal requirements of Medicaid Benefits, you will receive a Fraud investigation letter telling you that you are under investigation for Medicaid Fraud and that you need to appear for an Interview with an Investigator. Read more …
Question 1: How much do nursing homes cost?
The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“OIG”) recently issued its updated Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in Federal Health Care Programs (“Special Advisory Bulletin”), which describes the scope and effect of the legal prohibition on payments by federal health care programs for services and items furnished by or at the direction of an excluded individual. Read more …
If someone is trying to protect assets and still qualify for long-term care benefits from the government, their strategy could be to gift away their assets to children or other family members. After the transfer, they apply for their benefits, or in the case of Medicaid, wait five years before applying. Read more …
It is all confusing. Which entity to choose? LLC or Corporation? Which tax status? Sub-S? LLC with an 8832? How do you document percent ownership among partners? Who has decision-making power, voting rights? Who gets what in dissolution? What about taxes? It is critical to have a business lawyer advise you specifically on each topic, after taking into account your exact legal and tax position. Read more …
- What is a Living Trust and how can I benefit from it?
A Living Trust is for anyone who wants to maximize their net estate left to heirs, speed asset distribution after death, maintain privacy and avoid redrafting of a Will every time their intentions change. Anyone can benefit substantially by having an estate plan incorporating the use of a Revocable Living Trust. Read more …
Baby boomers: Get ready for a double whammy.
For years now, there’s been a lot of talk about boomers getting tremendous windfalls as their parents pass on. Many boomers, in fact, have been lagging behind in their savings, betting on—hoping for—big bequests, especially since many of them suffered big losses in 2008. Read more …
Every day we hear about new doctors being arrested for Medicaid and Medicare Fraud. It’s sad and shameful to hear, especially when some of those doctors are practicing in our so-called “Russian” community. Some of the doctors arrested later become my clients. Instead of waiting for another physician to lose his license because of the way he runs his practice, I decided to write this article as a “Road Map” on how to avoid Medicaid and Medicare Fraud and abuse. Read more …