A fiduciary is a fancy legal term for the person who will take care of your property for you if you are unable to do it yourself, such as the executor of an estate, the trustee of a trust, or [...]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2020 federal guidelines for how much money the spouses of institutionalized Medicaid recipients may keep, as well as related Medicaid figures. In 2020, the spouse of a Medicaid recipient [...]
Revocable trusts are an effective way to avoid probate and provide for asset management in the event of incapacity. In addition, revocable trusts--sometimes called “living” trusts--are incredibly flexible and can achieve many other goals, including tax, long-term care, and asset-protection planning. [...]
Medicare does not offer much in the way of dental benefits. To get dental coverage, you need to purchase separate and often costly dental insurance or sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan that includes dental care. Advocates for Medicare [...]
President Trump has signed a spending bill that makes major changes to retirement plans. The new law is designed to provide more incentives to save for retirement, but it may require workers to rethink some of their planning. The Setting Every Community [...]
Making sure you have the right estate planning documents is one of the simplest ways to have a positive impact on your family's future. Proper planning ensures that your wishes will be followed and that your family will have less [...]
Married couples have a special way to jointly own property in some states that has advantages over regular joint ownership. If you are married and own property jointly, you should make sure you have the right form of ownership. Joint [...]
Nursing home residents do not automatically have to sell their homes in order to qualify for Medicaid, but that doesn't mean the house is completely protected. The state will likely put a lien on the house while the resident is [...]
Many people, especially seniors, see joint ownership as an easy way to avoid probate and plan for incapacity, but there are major drawbacks to joint accounts. When people own property as joint tenants each person has an equal ownership interest [...]
Federal law requires the state to attempt to recover the long-term care benefits from a Medicaid recipient's estate after the recipient's death. If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house, it may need to be sold to settle the claim. [...]
