The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has updated the way it determines eligibility for VA health care benefits, making it easier for many veterans to get access to the benefits. The VA will no longer use the veteran’s net worth as a factor to determine eligibility and copayments.
Higher premiums mean that fewer consumers are buying long-term care coverage, and those who are buying are purchasing less protection, says Forbes magazine columnist Howard Gleckman.
This case from Massachusetts details that the section 8 housing agent informed plaintiff Ms. DeCambre that she was no longer eligible for Section 8 because the trust had disbursed more than $60,000 during the year for her car, phone, Internet, veterinary care for her pets and travel expenses. A hearing officer upheld the BHA’s decision. Find out why.
There are two ways to better ensure this doesn’t happen to you. The first is to name a health care proxy – a person (or more than one person) who will make medical decisions for you when you can’t. The second strategy, one for patients who are already seriously ill, is an alternative to the advance directive that has emerged in recent years and has been implemented or is being developed in some 40 states: the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). Read to find out more.
If you’re like most people, you have the best of intentions with regard to how you want your estate distributed when you die or your affairs handled should you become incapacitated. Unfortunately, without proper planning, your best intentions may not be enough. Here are six of the most common estate planning mistakes people make.
The cost of long term care is more than just financial. Our aging loved ones face the challenge of change and the caregivers add more to their plate of responsibility. To lessen financial and emotional stress, Strohschein Law Group can help you maximize private assets, increase access to public benefits, and ultimately enhance quality of life for everyone involved. We can help, we do this everyday for our clients.
Is your family of the “Leave It to Beaver” variety — opposite-gender parents, the first marriage for each, one or more kids, all healthy and thriving? If so, your estate plan will probably be pretty straight forward. But if not, it’s not as simple and you have a lot of company. Strohschein Law Group is aware of family dynamics and variety. We work with sensitive family situations every day. We stay focused on our core values of being approachable, client focused, collaborative, compassionate, and experienced. Your important issues will be heard and we will protect what matters most.
A reverse mortgage allows a homeowner who is at least 62 years old to use the equity in his or her home to obtain a loan that does not have to be repaid until the homeowner moves, sells, or dies. But the homeowner is required to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance premiums on the property. Your assets can be protected to afford options like reverse mortgage when a proper estate plan is created to manage and allow smooth transition into long term care scenarios. Strohschein Law Group is here to help you protect what matters.
If you have it to give, you certainly can, but there may be consequences should you apply for Medicaid long-term care coverage within five years after each gift. If you think there is a chance you will need Medicaid coverage of long-term care in the foreseeable future, call Strohschein Law Group before starting a gifting plan.
With careful Medicaid planning, you may be able to preserve some of your estate for your children or other heirs while meeting the Medicaid asset limit. In Illinois, a nursing home resident covered by Medicaid may have no more than $2,000 in “countable” assets.