The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Consider Supermarket Gift Cards as Medicaid Spend-Down Items

Big supermarkets have recently offered a new alternative to Medicaid spend-down planning when there is a spouse in the community.  The community spouse can now purchase gift cards to buy groceries, and to the tune of four figures! 

This makes sense since it's a necessary expense that the community spouse will definitely have for an indefinite length of time. 

If you're in New England, I found an offer from Shaw's Supermarkets which offers a 5% discount when you spend more than $5,000 on Shaw's gift cards. 

Bridging the Generational Gap with "Wii"

If you're a grandparent looking for ways to connect with the grandkids, it's time to check out Wii, the latest and greatest in video games which incorporates physical movement well beyond fiddling with a joystick.  "Wii" is a common word in just about every grandchild's vocabulary and it's a fantastic alternative physical therapy approach for seniors.

Check out an article on the subject here.

AARP Offers Online Help with Stimulus Payment

If you have had no reason to file an income tax return recently and you're still not clear on how to ensure that you get your payment from the economic stimulus plan, then it's AARP to the rescue!  They have an excellent online tool that prompts you to enter the necessary information on a worksheet, and then they plug the information into a 1040A form for you and voila!  You print out your 1040A, sign it and mail it in.  Kudos to AARP for coming up with this idea!  The government is saying that the checks will go out in either May or April.

Again...please spread the word because I am running into a frighteningly large number of fixed-income seniors who are not aware of this opportunity!

Check Out USA.gov

I usually browse online journals, newspapers and other publications for post topics.  But I recently discovered that our own US government offers an absolute wealth of helpful information at USA.gov.  The site has an extensive section devoted to "Senior Citizens' Resourses" which includes sub-topics like consumer protection, caregivers' resources, housing and retirement.  Defintiely worth a peek.

Spit, Please!

It looks like the medical community is tantalizingly close to developing tests for such things as cancer, heart disease and diabetes by having patients spit into a cup instead of drawing blood samples with needles.

The full article focuses on how wonderful this will be for seniors.  True enough, but hey...I have three young boys at home who would be ecstatic over the concept of "sanctioned spitting" instead of being poked with needles (regardless of how many stickers and lollipops they're offered afterwards!).

Big Problems for Medicare in 11 Years

It appears that the Medicare program will become unable to pay full benefits starting in 2019, and the same problem will arise for Social Security in 2041 (shortly after I can start drawing benefits...of course!), according to the trustees of those programs. 

Since the clock is (still) ticking, let's hope that reforming these programs enters the national dialogue soon.  Unfortunately, this particular issue is not on the radar for the presidential campaigns.

Full story is here.

Spare Tires and Alzheimer's Disease

Need another excuse to lose a few extra pounds, particularly around the midsection?  Researchers at Kaiser Permanente have determined that people with extra belly fat in their 40's end up with a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer's in their 70's than those who have managed to avoid the love handles.  This is in addition to the increased risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. 

The risk of Alzheimer's for large-bellied folks is 2.3 times higher.  Add "obese" to the "large- bellied" characterization, then the risk is 3.6 times higher.  Eek!  I'd better stick to my marathon running.

Full article is here.

CT Dems Seek to Double Hours of Care Per Nursing Home Resident

An important bill addressing the staffing levels at Connecticut nursing homes is working its way through the state legislature.  Nursing homes would have until May of 2009 to provide 4.2 hours of care per resident.  That more than doubles the current 1.9-hour requirement and slightly exceeds a federal recommendation of 4.1 hours.  The bill also calls for $9.5 million to be allocated to nursing homes to help them meet this new standard. 

So it appears that more positive legislation is resulting from Haven Healthcare's recent fallout.  Bravo!

Click here for the full Hartford Courant article.

Dying With Debt, But Without a Will

I recently received an e-mail questioning what would happen if someone died without a will but plent of debt.  Could the creditors go after the surviving children?

To greatly summarize what would happen under Connecticut law, if someone dies without a will then an estate would still be opened in the local probate court.  If the debt is large enough then the creditors might take the time and effort to initiate the probate process if the family does not step up and do it. 

The court would then appoint an “administrator” (this person would be called the “executor” if there was a will) and that person’s first job would be to ascertain the legitimate, outstanding debts of the decedent and pay them off with estate assets, if possible.  Once all of the legitimate creditors are made whole then the administrator would distribute any remaining funds to the next of kin.  “Next of kin” would be the surviving spouse, if none then the children, if none then siblings, and so on.  All of these steps would be taken under the supervision of the probate court.

So, in short, the creditors couldn’t directly go after the kids since the kids have no legal responsibility for the parents’ debts (unless they agreed to be responsible in writing, for some reason).  But the creditors could go after the estate which would reduce what the kids would have received from the estate otherwise.

Take Advantage of the Economic Stimulus Plan Payments

I have a LOT of elderly clients who will be eligible for at least a $600 windfall from the federal government in a couple of months, including those who do not earn enough income to file an income tax return, but they just don't realize it!  So I am spreading the word as far and wide as possible about this opportunity.  If you read this post and know someone on a fixed income then it would be greatly appreciated if you would pass the word on.  A $600 check is a rather big deal for most of these individuals.

The key form for US citizens who are not normally required to file a tax return is "1040A".  That form is designed specifically for those who are filing an income tax return solely to receive the stimulus payment.

On Saturday, March 29th, the IRS will open hundreds of locations for an event they have dubbed "Super Saturday" in an effort to reach people who fall into the above-mentioned category. 

Detailed information provided by the IRS about the big stimulus package is here.

All US locations for Super Saturday can be found here.

Click this for a list of Connecticut locations: Download super_saturday_03292008_ct_locations.xls

A big "thank you" to my training buddy, Jay M. Sattler, CPA, who is a partner at BlumShapiro in West Hartford, Connecticut.