From the monthly archives:

July 2008

FAQ: What assets are exempt from Medicaid qualification?

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 31, 2008

QUESTION: I have heard that you are allowed to keep some things and qualify for long-term care Medicaid. What are you allowed to keep?
ANSWER: It is true that some property may be exempt for purposes of Medicaid qualification. And indeed, converting non-exempt assets to exempt assets is one valuable method of spend down. The following [...]

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FAQ: Do I have to sell my home?

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 30, 2008

QUESTION: I am concerned about my parents. My dad just entered the nursing home. His care costs more $6,000.00 per month and my mother is almost out of savings. Does she have to sell the house (which is worth about $250,000.00) to pay for my dad’s care? And what about estate recovery? What is that?
ANSWER: [...]

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New changes to Medicaid eligibility rules

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 27, 2008

The Michigan Department of Human Services has enacted several changes to the Medicaid eligibility rules recently that impact qualification for long-term care Medicaid.
Perhaps the most important change relates to divested assets (gifts) and the calculation of penalty periods. Generally speaking, the gifting of assets results in a period of ineligibility for Medicaid long-term care. Under [...]

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Senior years transformed by Internet

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 23, 2008

Who says that blogging and nursing homes don’t go together?
There is a pair of stories in the news this week that contrasts different seniors’ comfort levels with the internet. The first is highlighted over at the Greatest American Lawyer, where Enrico Schaeffer posts on the death of the world’s oldest blogger:
“An Australian woman often described [...]

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Current Scam Affecting Michigan Citizens

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 23, 2008

I recently received a letter offering a “Certified Copy” of the deed to my home. The offer explains that the Federal Citizen Information Center recommends that every home owner have a certified deed and that the National Deed Service could provide a deed for just $59.95. There actually is an article at the Federal [...]

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Canine Companionship Available to Seniors

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 20, 2008

I recently had a conversation with an elderly woman who lamented that her living circumstances did not allow her to have a pet. Isolation and loneliness can be a very real problem for many seniors who are often without family nearby or even pets for companionship.
One partial solution to this problem is offered by groups [...]

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Litigating the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 15, 2008

Recent litigation over the estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. provides an illustration of problems that can develop in the administration of a trust or estate and an opportunity to discuss ways to avoid disputes in estate and trust administration. In the case of the King family, Dexter King is president of the Estate of [...]

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Caregiver Stress, Compensation, and Medicaid Qualification

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 12, 2008

Any adult caregiver who has control over a parent’s assets (such as by power of attorney, as a trustee, or through joint bank accounts) can be in a very dangerous position for several reasons.
First, adult caregivers who receive compensation are vulnerable to charges of undue influence, constructive trust and other damaging allegations. How do these [...]

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Who Will Make Your Decisions?

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 5, 2008

Perhaps the most important lesson an estate planning attorney can convey to a client is that your end-of-life decisions will be made for you-and possibly expose your estate to significant and unnecessary expense-unless you create legally enforceable estate plan documents. Without a clear expression of your wishes, some of your most important decisions may [...]

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