Elder law estate planning

Myths About Estate Planning

Published on: November 21, 2024 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The first myth to explore about estate planning is that you can do it yourself over the internet. This supposes that a trust is a generic legal document where you plug in names, addresses and amounts you want to give and then off you go! However, experienced estate planning lawyers will tell you the job is ninety percent social work and only ten percent legal.

Most of the time we spend with clients involves going over the social aspects of the estate plan. First, who should be in charge of your legal and financial decision-making in the event of death or disability? One person or more than one? Should they be required to act together or may they be permitted to act separately? How are the other family members going to feel about these choices? Who gets along with whom? What are my options and what do other people do and why? You need to be in a position to evaluate pros and cons and there’s no counselling on the internet.

Getting an estate plan from out-of-state is fraught with other pitfalls. Take the New York form of power of attorney, for example. In our experience, even trained lawyers often make major errors in drafting and executing the complex New York form of power of attorney. What chance does a lay person have to get it right?

Protecting Your Future

Published on: August 9, 2024 | by Ettinger Law Firm

“Protecting Your Future” has been Ettinger Law Firm’s slogan since we began in 1991. These words have deep meaning to us and our clients. Following are the eight ways an Ettinger Elder Law Estate Plan protects your future:

Makes sure your assets go to whom you want, when you want and the way you want. This can be all at once, at stated ages, managed by someone re responsible, leaving someone out and preventing them from challenging, protecting heirs from themselves, etc.

Takes a social approach to estate planning by fleshing out potential sources of conflict ahead of time and taking steps to prevent discord and preserve family harmony.

Qualifying for Medicaid to Pay for Long-Term Care

Published on: June 1, 2023 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Spend-down. Look-back. Penalty Period. Uncompensated Transfer. These are just some of the terms Medicaid uses to determine eligibility for long-term care coverage. Medicaid is a combined federal and state program that pays for long-term care at home (community Medicaid) or in a nursing facility (institutional Medicaid). Asset, income and gift rules vary for community Medicaid versus institutional Medicaid.

To qualify for community Medicaid, an individual cannot make more than about $1,700 per month and cannot own more than about $30,000 in assets. A married couple cannot make more than about $2,300 per month and cannot own more than about $40,000 in assets. Applicants can “spend down” excess income to the allowed amount by paying for medical expenses.

To qualify for institutional Medicaid, an individual can keep $50 per month (the excess goes to the nursing home) and cannot own more than about $30,000 in assets. For married couples, the spouse at home can keep about $3,700 per month and can own between about $75,000 and $130,000 in assets. If the spouse at home makes more than $3,700 per month, she may have to contribute some of the excess to the spouse’s cost of care. For married couples, the residence, up to value of about $1,000,000 and one car are exempt (not counted as assets). Everyone can have a burial trust worth up to $1,500 or any amount in an irrevocable pre-paid funeral trust.

Reasons to Revise Your Estate Plan

Published on: May 19, 2023 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning is not written in stone. Instead, estate plans should be revised and reconsidered when various major life events occur.

Marriage may or may not involve a prenuptial agreement. Regardless, it may call for adding your new spouse’s name as beneficiary on insurance policies, on a will or trust, power of attorney, health care proxy and deeds.

Serious illness requires that you give thought to appointing someone to handle your affairs and making sure they have the documents needed to discharge the responsibility. You may want to add a second person to share the load or as a back-up. It is also the time to consider asset protection strategies should long-term care be needed one day, either at home or in a facility. One of the biggest mistakes we see, as elder law attorneys, is that the family becomes so focused on the medical side of things that they fail to focus on the legal side until it is too late.

The Five Steps to an Elder Law Estate Plan

Published on: March 22, 2023 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Elder law estate planning provides for (1) your care in the event you become disabled as you age, and who will be in charge of that care, and (2) the passing of your assets on death to whom you want, when you want, the way you want, with the least amount of taxes and legal fees possible. These are the five steps to creating such a plan.

Step One: Understanding the Family Dynamics. Clients often overlook the inestimable value of getting to know the family dynamic. We are firm believers that the social goes first and the legal should serve the social. Too often it is the other way around. Once we understand who’s who and everyone’s interpersonal relations with each other, we are far better able to craft a plan that will work socially as well as legally. The failure to address the social aspects has led to many a plan tearing the family apart.

Step Two: Reviewing the Client’s Assets. IRA’s and other “qualified” assets (i.e. tax deferred) are treated quite differently, on death or disability, from “non-qualified” assets. The determination of the amount and value of all assets, who owns them, and whether they have named beneficiaries are of the utmost importance in planning correctly, including saving legal fees and taxes.

2023 Elder Law Estate Planning Changes

Published on: January 6, 2023 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Happy New Year to all!

There have been significant changes in the law in a number of areas as of January 1, 2023.

The gift tax exclusion, which many people still think is $15,000, is now $17,000, up from $16,000 in 2022. Each person may give up to $17,000 to as many people as they want to without incurring any Federal gift tax liability and without using any of their Federal estate tax exemption at death.

Deciding Whether Your Senior Loved One Needs an Elder Law Attorney

Published on: June 16, 2022 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Choosing to retain the services of an experienced elder law attorney is not a light decision, but instead is often the result of great consideration. Unfortunately, deciding whether or not to retain an elder lawyer can result in a great amount of uncertainty as well as anxiety for the elderly individual as well as that person’s loved ones. Various reasons exist why deciding whether or not you need an elder law attorney is a difficult situation.

# 1 – Retaining an Elder Law Attorney Makes You Confront Your Mortality

One of the most direct reasons why retaining an elder law attorney is difficult is that it makes the elderly individual confront the fact that he or she will not live forever. Coming to grips with our mortality is a frightening prospect. An elder law attorney can be retained for various reasons including estate planning, which comes with the grim perspective each of our lives will one day draw to an end. Not only is this difficult for the elderly individual, but you also cannot look past the difficult emotions that this brings up in loved ones as well.

Tips on Avoiding Uncertainty about Health Documents While Estate Planning

Published on: May 24, 2022 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Health documents used in an estate planning context are some of the most valuable documents that a person can have. These documents, however, often invite uncertainty because the documents are referred to by various names and one document can be confused for another. When it comes to the subject of estate planning, four primary types of healthcare planning documents exist.

# 1 – Healthcare Power of Attorney

Healthcare power of attorney documents are the most commonly utilized in the estate planning field. These documents are also referred to as healthcare surrogates or medical power of attorney. These documents often exist separately from durable power of attorney documents, which address legal and financial issues. Comparably, healthcare power of attorney documents appoints at least one individual who will function as a healthcare agent. These documents should also address an additional individual who will function as a backup.

Home Care and Hospice Services Still Uncertain about Federal Vaccine Requirements

Published on: November 11, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Frustration is growing for medical professionals including those who work at hospices as they wait for President Biden to reveal details about how federal regulations for COVID-19 will be enforced.

This frustration is in part driven by uncertainty about aspects like permissible exemptions, testing costs, and the number of worker counts that will be utilized. Until the regulation is published, the country will not be certain about the exact impact on home care organizations by COVID-19 regulations.

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization President and CEO have reported that there is widespread concern and that the country continues to collect input about COVID-19 to inform its discussions with the administration to make sure that the requirement is executed in the best possible manner.

Important SSI Changes that You Should Know

Published on: September 14, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The Social Security Administration recently revised its rules addressing how pandemic-related financial assistance can end up impacting a person’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income or monthly Social Security Income benefits. The Social Security Administration once counted various types of assistance as income and resources for social security income purposes, which led to individuals having their social security income benefits reduced or suspended. Sometimes, social security benefits were outright denied.

A Change to What the Agency Counts as Assistance

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Social Security Administration has decided to not count many types of pandemic-related assistance against either Supplemental Security Income eligibility or benefit amounts. Some types of assistance that are now excluded include economic impact payments, state stimulus payments, unemployment assistance, paycheck protection, and loans or grants to employers and self-employed workers.