[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] This week, the United States Senate is considering a 145-page Republican proposal called the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” that includes provisions to repeal “Obama Care.” The Senate Republican Policy Committee has published a section-by-section summary of the proposal. The proposal is full of […]
The financial pitfalls facing a married couple when one spouse requires nursing home care are wide, deep, and surprisingly hidden. The emotional pain of a married person’s admission of his or her spouse to a nursing home rivals the painful experience of a spouse’s death. Unfortunately, critical financial decisions rush toward the healthier spouse like […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] What comes to mind when you think of a prenuptial agreement? If you are like most people, you probably think about wealthy celebrities protecting their wealth from divorce. You may also think that a person would have to be a greedy, heartless jerk to ask […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] The Medicaid system is maturing and showing promise of improving nursing home alternatives compared to the few meaningful alternatives to nursing home care that existed when we began our elder law career almost quarter century ago. Back then, almost every dementia or stroke patient had […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] There is an old saying that, “the two certainties in life are death and taxes.” Those certainties used to inspire life insurance purchases to provide money for funeral expenses and “death taxes.” Today, increased estate tax exemption and the Indiana inheritance tax repeal have eliminated […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Pop quiz: Which of the following business transactions could involve criminal behavior? Your restaurant customer pays the tab in cash and leaves a cash tip on the table. The next door neighbor gives your child a $10 bill to shovel snow. You clean a friend’s […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Recipients of Social Security retirement income, Social Security disability income, veterans’ pensions, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and other social insurance and public assistance benefits will experience cost-of-living adjustments in January 2017. The benefits and applicable deductions, such as Medicare premiums, will rise together with […]
The retirement plan concept leads us to believe that we should contribute as much as possible to IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement plans, and avoid withdrawing more than the required minimum distributions. While this strategy will maximize retirement plan growth and the likelihood that it will provide income late in life, it also sets up […]
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] If a person has made a will, a power of attorney, an advance health care directive, or a trust, the person may think that those documents create a dependable estate plan. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that an estate plan includes every kind of […]
This article concludes a two-part series about how state and federal law can save a nursing home resident’s spouse from poverty and how an experienced elder law attorney can help the spouse increase the amount of assets protected from expensive long-term care. In our first article (Financial Protection When Your Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care […]
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