The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

It's now tougher to deduct medical expenses for income tax purposes. Formerly, medical expenses that exceeded 7.5% of your adjusted gross income could be used as an income tax deduction. The new threshold, as of January 1st, is 10%.

According to a U.S. District Court, a promissory note that complies with federal law and received in exchange for other property is NOT a resource or a trust-like device and does NOT subject a Medicaid applicant to a transfer penalty.

In other words, if a Medicaid applicant transfers property in exchange for such a promissory note, then such a transfer would not be treated as a "disqualifying gift" under Medicaid law.

The case is Lemmons v. Lake, U.S. Dist. Ct., W.D. Okla., No. CIV-12-1075-C, March 21, 2013.