The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Lawyer Joke!

Please enjoy your Friday lawyer joke...

Q:  What's the problem with lawyer jokes?

A:  Lawyers don't think they're funny and non-lawyers don't think they're jokes!

SSI Basics

Many of my clients get confused between SSI, SSDI, Social Security retirement benefits, etc.  And with good reason; the acronym "SS" makes the names of these benefits too similar (clients have the same problem distinguishing between "Medicaid" and "Medicare").

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is very different from regular Social Security Retirement benefits since you don't have to be a certain age to obtain it.  If you are determined to be disabled to the point that you cannot earn enough income to meet your basic needs, regardless of your age, then Social Security Administration (SSA) will send you a cash payment each month which is designed to help you pay for food and shelter.

Another big difference between SSI and regular SS retirement benefits is that SSI has asset limitations that must be met, which are $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.  Furthermore, your "countable" income will reduce your SSI benefit amount, which means that if you have more countable income than the benefit amount then you cannot get SSI.

SSA recently announced that the maximum monthly SSI benefit amount for 2010 will be $674 for an individual $1,011 for a married couple.  These are the same rates as 2009, so no cost-of-living-adjustment next year.

Some states, like Connecticut, add a "state supplement" amount to the federal benefit.  The Nutmeg State tacks on $168 for an individual and $275 for a couple.

SSI benefits keep coming until you are no longer disabled.  Your case can be reviewed occassionally, and if SSA believes that your condition may improve in the future then they will probably schedule periodic reviews.

You can get more detailed information at SSA's website.

A Surprise-Cost for Conservatorship Applications

If you're thinking about pursuing a conservatorship for a loved one in your local Connecticut Probate Court and you're trying to figure out how much the whole process is going to cost, don't forget to include a bill from your loved one's "court-appointed attorney".

Connecticut law says that whenever a conservatorship application is filed in regards to a presumably incapacitated person (known as the "respondent") then the Court has to appoint an attorney to represent that person to make sure that he/she has an advocate in the process.  That attorney is usually picked off of a list of attorneys with plenty of probate experience that the Court maintains.  This is assuming that the person doesn't have the mental capacity to go out and get his own attorney.

The attorney's job is to meet with his client, explain the conseratorship process, advise the client on how to proceed and then zealously advocate for whatever position the client ultimately takes.  In other words, it's just like any other attorney-client relationship...including the part about the attorney submitting a bill for legal services.

Most people are told up-front by the Court staff that there's a $150 application fee.  But the arrival of a bill from the Court-appointed attorney usually comes as a surprise.

Granted, it's probably not the biggest legal bill you'll ever receive.  For the time the attorney must spend in traveling to the client and having a consultation, drafting and submitting a report to the Court and then attending the hearing to appoint a conservator the bill may be in the $500 range, probably a little less.  That's what you can expect for a non-contested matter.  However, if the situation is more complicated because some family members are kicking off World War III over the conservatorship application, then the attorney will obviously have to spend more time on the file, which raises the legal fee.

In any case, you and the rest of the family will need to be prepared for the Court-appointed attorney's bill.  And the money to pay for that bill comes from the pocket of the presumably incapacitated person, unless he doesn't have the financial means to do so, in which case the attorney submits the bill to Probate Court Administration at a greatly-reduced hourly fee.

Who's Eligibile for a Reverse Mortgage?

Many of my clients who are on fixed incomes and hurting in this down-economy often wonder if a reverse mortage is a viable option for helping them make ends meet.

Here are a few things to remember about eligibility for a reverse mortgage:

1.  You must be at least 62 years old.  If you're a married couple or co-owners then both of you need to be at least 62.

2.  You must own equity in the home.  An outstanding balance on the first mortgage is not a deal-breaker.

3.  The house must be your primary residence. 

If you need a referral for a good reverse mortgage specialist in the Hartford County area, please contact me off-line.

"Aging in Place" Has its Downsides Too...

I thought I'd pass along this thought-provoking article from Kaiser Health News. 

Whenever I'm called upon by the Probate Courts to act as a conservator for an elderly person my natural instinct is to always do whatever is necessary to allow the person to live at home for as long as possible. 

But Howard Gleckman's article reminds us that it ain't quite that simple.  Living at home is no cakewalk in most cases, particularly when it comes to addressing social issues. 

Health Care Reform Bill Encourages Home Care

It's a little challenging to digest all the moving parts of the current proposals for health care reform.  But one aspect of the Senate Finance Committee's proposal kinda jumped out at me: the "Community First Choice Option". 

This option provides partial federal Medicaid reimbursement to states that establish community support programs for people with disabilities.  Such programs would only apply to people who require an institutional level of care, caps on the number of people under the program would not be allowed, nor would waiting lists for services. 

Please note that the proposal does not make programs for home health care mandatory and it provides funding only for the next five years.  Nonetheless, this certainly falls under the "step in the right direction" category!

Click here for more detailed information on the proposal from the National Coincil on Independent Living (NCIL).

Medicare A,B,C's. And D's.

Many of my clients get confused between the Medicare and Medicaid programs, partially because the names of the programs are so similar.  Another source of confusion is the fact that nursing home care is mostly covered by Medicaid (if you qualify), but Medicare also covers the first few months of nursing home care (under certain conditions).  But I suppose confusion with government benefit programs is not unprecedented.

Please note that you don't need to worry about Medicare yet unless you're (a) age 65 or older, (b) under 65 with certain disabilities, or (c) any age with end-stage renal disease.

Anyways, here's a little primer on the Medicare alphabet.  Please remember that the extent and length of coverage varies greatly depending on the circumstances.

Medicare Part A ("hospital insurance"):  Covers inpatient care in hospitals.  Also covers some skilled nursing care, hospice and home health care.

Medicare Part B ("medical insurance"):  Covers doctors' care, outpatient care as well as some preventative care.

Medicare Part C ("Medicare Advantage Plans"):  A health coverage option run by private insurance companies (like HMO's and PPO's).  These companies have been approved by and under contract with Medicare.

Medicare Part D ("prescription drug coverage"):  Prescription drug coverage run by private companies, approved by and under contract with Medicare. 

That's as simple an explanation of the Medicare parts that you're going to find.  But of course, there are lots of details.  Please click here for the Medicare website, which is very comprehensive.

Medicaid Expansion in the Health Care Debate

While the national debate surrounding the overhaul of the health care system has increasingly focused on whether or not to offer a "public option", there are many other important issues that have not received nearly as much of the public's attention.  One of those issues which is particularly important to my clients is the proposed expansion of the Medicaid system.

The current House bill would add 11 million people to the Medicaid program, triggering a $438 billion price tag over ten years with the federal government covering all of it until 2015, at which point federal funding would drop to 90% and the states would have to pick up the remaining 10%.  For some reason I'm having trouble finding what the current Senate bill says about Medicaid.

In any case, click here for an interesting report from Kaiser Health News, and here for Missouri's perspective on this.  Arizona doesn't sound thrilled about the Medicaid expansion here.

Comparing Nursing Homes on the Web

Once the decision is made that a loved one needs a nursing home, the selection of which particular nursing home is vitally important.  As you can imagine, the quality of care at nursing homes runs a rather wide spectrum.

A good starting point is actually the Federal government's Medicare website which has a nursing home comparison page.  The federal data there provides extensive information on Medicaid and Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities in your area.  They compare the quality of care for both rehab and long-term patients by including information on the percentage of patients whose walking has improved and patients with certain types of infections, such as bladder infections and bedsores. 

Please note that facilities with high percentages of bladder infections may indicate that they have trouble keeping their residents well-hydrated.  And unsually high percentages of bedsores hint at facilities not turning residents side-to-side in bed often enough and not keeping them clean.   

So, if you're looking for a nursing home for a loved one, or suspect you may need one in the foreseeable future then you may want to begin the search by taking a spin on the Medicare website.

Keepin' it (Relatively) Simple with "Small" Probate Estates in CT

As you take whatever steps that are necessary to avoid probate in Connecticut (which seems to be a passion for many of my clients) you should keep in mind that the probate process for "small" probate estates is pretty quick and straightforward.

"Small" is, of course, a relative term.  As far as the State legislature is concerned, your estate is small if your probate assets are under $40,000.  "Probate assets" are assets that are solely in the name of the decedent and do not have a designated beneficiary.  So, joint assets and things like life insurance policies, annuities, 401K's, IRA's, POD (payable-on-death accounts) etc. are not probate assets.

Please note that the threshold amount for "small" was $20,000, but that was increased to $40,000 in 2007.

Generally speaking, if it's a small estate you only need to file the following with your local probate court (although it may not be long before you won't have a "local" probate court): (1) an "affidavit in lieu of administration" or Form PC-212, (2) original death certificate, (3) the funeral bill and a receipt or outstanding balance amount, if any, and (4) a CT-706NT, which is an estate tax return listing everything that was in the decedent's name so that the Court can confirm that there is no tax.

If there is no will then the remaining funds will be distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy, which is to say it goes to the next-of-kin under CT law.

If there is a will and the distribution instructions are not consistent with the laws of intestacy then you can still keep it simple if all the heirs waive their right to contest the will.  The Court will then simply order distribution pursuant to the will's instructions. 

Of course, if the heirs aren't interested in signing waivers for some reason then the will has to be submitted to probate.  At that point the simple, expedited process is out the window and you're looking at a full-blown probate process. 

If you have some time on your hands and you're not intimidated by judicial forms and some paper-pushing then you can probably tackle a "small" probate process on your own without legal help.  Otherwise, it probably makes financial sense to simply hire an experienced probate attorney who can wrap up the process quickly.