Miscellaneous News & Articles
Can You Visit Nursing Home Residents After They are Vaccinated?
COVID vaccines are starting to roll out to nursing homes across the country, signaling the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Once your loved one has had both doses of the vaccine, you may be able to visit, but precautions are still necessary. The federal government entered into a partnership with CVS and Walgreens […]READ POST »
Credit Shelter Trusts Aren’t Just for the Super Wealthy
Credit shelter trusts are a way to take full advantage of state and federal estate tax exemptions. Although such trusts may appear needless unless you are a multi-millionaire, there are still reasons for those of more modest means to do this kind of planning, and one of the main ones is state taxes. The first […]READ POST »
Paying Taxes When Selling an Inherited Vacation House
While it may seem great to inherit a vacation house, in actuality it may not be practical to keep the property, especially for tax reasons. There are many factors to consider when inheriting property, including taxes, any mortgage, and other owners. But if you know you do not plan to keep the property, it is […]READ POST »
Special Tax Deduction for 2020 Allows Donations of $300 to Charity Without Itemizing
As we enter the giving season, there is an additional reason to be charitable. Congress enacted a special provision that allows more people to easily deduct up to $300 in donations to qualifying charities this year. Since the increase in the standard income tax deduction in 2018, only 11 percent of taxpayers itemize deductions, so […]READ POST »
Watch Out for These Potential Problems with Life Estates
Life estates can be an excellent tool for Medicaid planning, probate avoidance and tax efficiency, but there are potential problems to look out for. Knowing the implications and risks of a life estate is essential in determining whether it is appropriate for your situation. In a life estate, two or more people each have an […]READ POST »
End-of-Life Care Decision Making
Just as we create estate plans for our eventual demise, we also need to plan ahead for the possibility that we will become sick and unable to make our own medical decisions. Medical science has created many miracles, among them the technology to keep patients alive longer, sometimes indefinitely. As a result of many well-publicized […]READ POST »
Annuities and Medicaid Planning
In some circumstances, immediate annuities can be ideal Medicaid planning tools for spouses of nursing home residents. Careful planning is needed to make sure an annuity will work for you or your spouse. An immediate annuity, in its simplest form, is a contract with an insurance company under which the consumer pays a certain amount […]READ POST »
Receiving an Inheritance While on Medicaid
For most people, receiving an inheritance is something good, but for a nursing home resident on Medicaid, or those who rely on Medicaid as their primary form of insurance, an inheritance may not be such welcome news. Medicaid has strict income and resource limits, so an inheritance can make a Medicaid recipient ineligible for Medicaid. […]READ POST »
