Articles Posted in Elder law estate planning

Authorities across the country are warning of new scams targeting elderly Social Security over the phone, where individuals claiming to be government representatives try to collect sensitive information under the guise of a computer glitch causing issues with benefits. The Social Security Administration has made it very clear that under no circumstances will it call or send emails to beneficiaries asking for personal information, such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth or other private information, and advises people to not respond to such messages.

Other scams include callers asserting that beneficiaries need to pay a fee to unlock their Social Security number because of criminal activity and will also need to confirm their Social Security number. The Federal Trade Commission recently confirmed an increase in this type of scam and beneficiaries should be on the lookout for this type of illicit activity.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network recently announced it has had more complaints to its helpline in the past few months from consumers targeted by Social Security impostors than the older IRS scams that harassed thousands, if not millions, of Americans since 2013. According to the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, those IRS scams stole more than $73.6 million from almost 15,000 victims over the past five years.

As of January 1, 2019, approximately 1.2 million seniors across will lose their SilverSneakers coverage on Medicare Advantage plans that give them access to gyms and health centers without any additional membership costs. The controversial business decision will affects plan holders in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah who have Medicare Advantage plans with UnitedHealthcare.

An additional 1.3 million seniors across nine states with Medicare Advantage plans with Medicare supplemental (Medigap) insurance will also lose their access to the SilverSneakers program. States affected by this move include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah and Wisconsin. Although the benefits were optional with UnitedHealthcare, millions of seniors nonetheless took advantage of the option to visit gyms and fitness centers for exercise.

Beginning next year, UnitedHealthcare will instead offer seniors with Medicare Advantage supplemental policies will get 50 percent off memberships at thousands of gyms across the country, telephone access to wellness coaches and access to various online communities and health-related resources. Seniors with UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans can join Renew Active, the company’s health and fitness program which offers a network of over 7,000 locations members can visit for no additional cost and even qualify for evaluations from personal trainers and online brain-training programs.

Caring for a child with a disability creates challenges beyond our lifetime and often takes resources beyond what federal safety net programs can offer in order for our loved one to live the most comfortable and dignified life possible. While rules governing these federal programs place certain income restrictions on disabled persons to qualify, there are sanctioned trusts allowed specifically for special needs planning that allow for first party and third party benefits to supplement federal assistance.

In 2010, Congress passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allowing beneficiaries to have up to $100,000 in a 529 special needs trust and retain Social Security Insurance benefits. Beneficiaries can also retain Medicaid coverage so long as the trust does not exceed the amount for a 529 college savings plan. The ABLE Act allows these trusts to be created so long as the beneficiary’s disability is established prior to the age of 26-years old.

Disabled persons can also create and fund their own first party special needs trusts through a (d)(4)(C). Funds for first party special needs trusts often come from sources such as a personal injury settlement, workers’ compensation award, or an inheritance left directly to the beneficiary. An amount equal to the annual federal gift tax exclusion (currently $15,000) can be deposited annually in the account while still maintaining the beneficiary’s eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income

Figuring out the best time to claim Social Security benefits is an important part of retirement planning that can have long lasting impacts on the type of lifestyle individuals and their spouses can expect to enjoy in their Gold Years. Depending on when individuals decide to take their Social Security benefits, from the ages of 62 to 67, it can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars per month to thousands of dollars of the course of a lifetime.

While the conventional wisdom is to wait as long as possible to claim benefits, and hopefully reach maximum payouts, for many beneficiaries there comes a time known as the “break even point” when the amount of benefits claimed would be essentially the same regardless of the amount received per month. This happens because the program is designed to give individuals more or less the same payout over their projected lifetimes, known as “actuarial neutrality.”

Determining one’s break even point is a fairly straightforward process but should take into account certain other factors that may artificially inflate any projected payout, namely excluding cost of living adjustments. Including projected cost of living adjustments will only create artificially high numbers that may not end up being actual benefits received.

Most of us would not want to be anywhere else but in our homes as we grow old and enjoy our Golden Years. However, as we age the daily activities and chores we took for granted can become greater burdens or turn into situations where we may suffer serious injury in our own home. Fortunately, it does not have to be like this and there are a number of different modifications that can be made to improve the safety and comfort of the places we live.

While most of the homes in the country were not designed with the foresight of being accommodating to the physical and cognitive challenges many seniors live with and overcome every single day. Stairs, hallways, and other physical barriers can present unique challenges to older Americans but with a few universal modifications seniors can live safely and comfortably in their homes.

One revolutionary thing seniors can take advantage of right away is incorporating smart home products to help control things like the thermostat, turnings lights and televisions on and off, and locking windows and doors. Another great advantage of adopting smart technology throughout the home is being able to monitor what is going on and report to caretakers or relatives any issues with the house.

No one wishes to end up in a nursing home or require assisted living care but for many Americans, it is a reality that will come true and needs to be planned for. When we do enter a nursing home or have our loved ones placed there, we expect the facility will look after residents and provide the appropriate care to ensure elders live their Golden Years in comfort and dignity.

However, because nursing homes and other skilled care facilities are for-profit business that look to maximize their income and payments, particular from federal entitlement programs like Medicaid, they sometimes make decisions that are not in the resident’s best interest. One of the most drastic measures a nursing home can take is evicting a resident and will often employ a variety of measures to see the process through.

Often times, nursing homes will justify an eviction by saying the facility simply cannot meet the resident’s needs. Excuses for why a nursing home cannot take care of a resident include that individual having dementia, being combative, or is non-weight bearing and needs assistance for even the simplest tasks. Other times, nursing homes will reevaluate residents after the facility converts to another type of assisted living facility and focuses only on taking care of patients with different medical and lifestyle needs.

Qualified plans  such as IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and other deferred compensation are excellent ways to help reach your estate planning goals and ensure your wealth is not depleted by excessive taxes and assisted living costs. IRAs in particular help achieve both of these goals because they are not taxed and if utilized properly, will not count against you when applying for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care.

For estate planning purposes, qualified plans are considered those which individuals make contributions to while working and begin making at least the required minimum distribution (RMD) at 70-years old. IRAs and qualified plans help encourage people to save early and often for their retirements by offering these tax-free incentives and should be taken full advantage of to ensure we can live our our retirement in comfort.

If an individual is already living in a nursing home and applying for Medicaid, the principal amount of the IRA is protected when calculating one’s assets to determine whether or not he or she qualifies for Medicaid as long as that person is taking the RMD. For a Roth IRA, it is not necessary to take the RMD if distributions are being taken.

When planning our estate, most of us do so with the intent of making sure our family and close friends are taken care of after we pass away and for some of us, that can include our companion animals many consider to be as close as family. Fortunately, New York trust and estate laws allows taking care of our pets to be more than an afterthought and gives individuals the opportunity to proactively plan for the even that we may not be around to take care of the animals we love so much.

In New York, the legal mechanism that allows pet owners to posthumously care for their companion animals can be found in the Uniform Probate Code § 2-907. Honorary Trusts; Trusts for Pets. New York is one of over 20-states that allow these special kinds of trusts to allow for the care of pets and other domesticated animals. Depending on the type of animals to be cared for, these arrangements may be as simple as bequeathing animals in a will and leaving a small amount of money or as complex as placing an entire farm into a trust and allowing beneficiaries to name caretakers.

Honorary trusts can be created for a whole host of situations with the basic goal being to have money put away to ensure maintenance of some property. This can include keeping headstones at cemeteries in good condition, preserving artwork, and providing for food and medical care of pets. It is not necessary to have a beneficiary named but it is also important to note that these types of trust can only last for 21-years, which may complicate care for long-lived animals.

Having prescription drug coverage is extremely important to ensuring we get necessary, life-saving medications while also making sure we do not go bankrupt on impoverished it the process. However, using prescription drug insurance to buy medications does not always yield the best price for consumers and pharmacists know this but cannot always inform patients about the cost savings because they are contractually bound in one way or another to remain silent.

Congress recently passed a pair of bipartisan bills aimed at helping consumers get the best price on prescription drugs by prohibiting contractual obligations that require pharmacists to stay silent about how consumers may be able to save money. If signed into law, the the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S.2554) and the Know the Lowest Price Act (S. 2553) would remove barriers placed on pharmacists and allow them to volunteer information to help patients save money on vital prescriptions.

The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S.2554) would bar insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) from placing limits on a pharmacy’s ability to tell consumers when there is a difference between how much a patient would pay for a prescription with insurance compared to without it. The bill would apply to insurance plans offered through exchanges on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and by those offered by private companies.