From the monthly archives:

March 2008

An asset protection plan is vital to a secure retirement

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 31, 2008

Retirement for many people is defined as the time when they are able to live off of the income from their assets combined with Social Security and perhaps a pension. But anything from a car accident to a stay in long-term care can quickly deplete retirement assets and jeopardize the fruits of a lifetime’s work. [...]

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What is a Will?

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 26, 2008

The simple will is an important estate planning document to understand. One easy way to understand how a will works is to think of it as a set of instructions to a probate judge for distribution of a deceased person’s property. These instructions replace the default rules established by state law. Without a will, a [...]

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Elderly Often Financial Victims

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 22, 2008

In my practice I have all too often I found evidence that my elderly clients have been victims of financial abuse in one way or another. This story shows just how common the phenomenon is:
Motivated by the high interest rates and the fear that Jeannetta, at least, might outlive their savings, the Mounceys drained [...]

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Problems with Small Insurance Policies

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 21, 2008

Yesterday, I learned of a case where a small insurance policy caused an extended period of ineligibility for Long Term Care Medicaid. This means it will be a long time before the nursing home bill gets paid, if ever.

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Estate Recovery

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 10, 2008

You have perhaps heard that Michigan passed a form of estate recovery in September of 2007, becoming the last state in the union to do so. Estate recovery is a program through which states attempt to recoup the costs of Medicaid long-term care benefits paid out from the estate of the Medicaid recipient. Although Michigan [...]

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Free Durable Power of Attorney: Further Thoughts

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 10, 2008

Mr. David Goldman has raised some interesting points regarding the free durable power of attorney posted here and free durable power of attorneys generally. There are many problems with such documents and I have mentioned them in the previous post. Above all, you should certainly understand that any decision you make to use such documents [...]

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Medicaid Application for Long Term Care Assistance

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 7, 2008

The process is of applying for Medicaid long term care assistance can be somewhat difficult. The documentation requirements can be voluminous and the process will typically take at least 45 days. I have seen several recent cases take as long 4 months to be approved.

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Rapid Changes in Medicaid Law Require Constant Vigilance

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 7, 2008

An astounding thing happened during the fall of 2007. Michigan changed its Medicaid policy with respect to annuities and implemented those changes with retroactive effect.
The new policy requires annuities to have several features in order to avoid being considered a divestment. Among the requirements is a rule that the state of Michigan must be named [...]

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The Basics of Medicaid Qualification

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 6, 2008

It is important to understand the basic rules of qualifying for Medicaid Long Term Care Assistance in order to cope with the financial realities of a relative’s long-term care. The rules below apply in Michigan and have been updated for 2008.
First, you should understand that the rules are different for single people and those who [...]

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Medicaid Applications Scrutinized More Than Ever

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 6, 2008

Under previous Medicaid policy, applicants for long term care were given the benefit of a doubt most of the time. In some cases, a demonstrated intent to complete asset conversion, which is the process of converting non-exempt assets into exempt or excluded assets and is the heart of Medicaid planning, would be enough to pass [...]

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