Posts tagged as:

medicaid planning

Gift taxes, estate taxes, Medicaid planning, and more

by Jerrold Bartholomew April 2, 2009

Many people have heard of the annual exclusion for gift tax, but there are several points on this issue that are easily confused. In order for an estate plan to be effective, various concepts must be taken into account. First, for most people gift tax will never be a concern. While it is true that [...]

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New Medicaid Numbers for 2009

by Jerrold Bartholomew February 1, 2009

The Department of Human Services for the State of Michigan has announced new numbers for 2009. Every year the numbers concerning Medicaid eligibility for long-term care are adjusted to reflect increases in the cost of living.
The new community spouse resource allowance is a minimum of $21,912.00 and a maximum of $109,560.00. This number is important [...]

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FAQ: What does it mean for an annuity to be “Medicaid friendly”?

by Jerrold Bartholomew January 29, 2009

It is very common to hear annuities described as “Medicaid friendly.” Most people hearing the words “Medicaid friendly” would assume that assets placed in such an annuity will be protected from the cost of long term care and indeed, they may even be told so by an insurance professional or financial advisor. But under Michigan [...]

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FAQ: Why did Michigan enact estate recovery?

by Jerrold Bartholomew September 2, 2008

Estate recovery has been permitted under the Federal law since 1965. In 1993, the Federal law was changed to require states to have some form of estate recovery. Since that time, many different kinds of estate recovery programs have been enacted in different states. Michigan became the last state in the union to enact estate [...]

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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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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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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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