How to Protect an IRA From Heirs’ Creditors

Posted by Dan Steven on Aug 6, 2014

When a person declares bankruptcy, an individual retirement account (IRA) is one of the assets that is beyond the reach of creditors, but what about an IRA that has been inherited?  Resolving a conflict between lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court recently (and unanimously) ruled that funds held in an inherited IRA are not exempt from creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding because they are not...

5 Questions To Ask Before Making Gifts for Tax Planning or Medicaid

Posted by Dan Steven on Jul 15, 2014

Many seniors consider transferring assets for estate and long-term care planning purposes, or just to help out children and grandchildren. Gifts and transfers to a trust often make a lot of sense. They can save money in taxes and long-term care expenditures, and they can help out family members in need and serve as expressions of love and caring. But some gifts can cause problems, for both the...

How To Make Your Funeral Wishes Known

Posted by Dan Steven on Jun 16, 2014

How can you make sure your funeral and burial wishes will be carried out after you die? It is important to let your family know your desires and to put them in writing.  Just don’t do it in your will. To help your family or close friends follow your wishes after you are gone, you can write out detailed funeral preferences as well as the requested disposition of your remains. In addition to...

Dangers of Creating A Will Without Legal Assistance

Posted by Dan Steven on May 15, 2014

People sometimes try to save money by not consulting with a qualified attorney when executing their will, instead using a pre-printed form or online program.  A recent court case offers yet another example of the hazards of doing this. Deciding the long-running case, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that money acquired by a woman after she used a form to execute a will should be distributed...

Effort to Fix Medicare’s ‘Observation Status’ Loophole Gathers Steam

Posted by Dan Steven on Feb 24, 2014

Support is building for legislation to correct a technicality in Medicare law that is preventing thousands of hospital patients from being covered for a subsequent nursing home stay. Medicare pays all or part of the costs for up to 100 days of a nursing home stay, but only if the patient was first admitted to a hospital as an inpatient for at least three days. To avoid financial penalties from...

Medicaid Expansion Signups Hindered by Fear of Estate Recovery

Posted by Dan Steven on Feb 6, 2014

A fear that the government will seize their house after they die is causing some people to not sign up for expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A long-standing provision in Medicaid law allows states to recoup Medicaid costs by putting a claim on the home or other assets of older deceased Medicaid recipients. In 1993, Congress passed a law requiring that states try to recover...