The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Firecracker 5K!

The law practice was a proud Silver Sponsor of the Firecracker 5K Road Race last weekend here in Glastonbury, CT.  It was the first time that all three of my boys ran in a road race together (first-ever race for the 8 year-old), so Daddy was proud!  Here's a post-race shot of us with the Keenan Law banner...

 

 

I also had the pleasure of directing the Kids' 1/4-mile Fun Run before the big 5K.  Geez, and I thought keeping track of developments in Medicaid eligibility rules was difficult!...

 

 

Carry Your Advanced Medical Directives on Your Smart Phone

This may be the best "document maintenance" tip I've ever come across:  Keep a copy of your health care instructions (a.k.a. advanced medical directives) on your smart phone and have your health care agent do the same.

 

The health care document (a standard item in the estate planning "package") is what I would call an "emergency document" meaning that there may be a sudden and immediate need to use the document at any given time.  However, it's hard to have your original health care instructions on-hand at all times.  That's why having a PDF of the document on your smart phone can come in handy!

 

I can't quote a particular study, but I can state with confidence that a steadily growing number of my clients (of ALL ages, by the way!) carry smartphones with them just about everywhere.  This means that they have the ability to carry a copy of their advanced medical directives with them everywhere they go.

 

Please note that it's always better to have an original health care document on-hand.  That's because many doctors and hospitals get nervous when relying on something other than an original document.  But it's certainly better to have a PDF of the document on your phone than nothing at all. 

 

Of course, explaining how to get your health care instructions document onto your smart phone is beyond the scope of this post.  Click here for iPhones, and here for Android.    

 

DISCLAIMER: This blog does not offer legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.  If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog.

 

 

 

What are Your Odds of a Future Nursing Home Placement?

 

Whenever I sit down with clients to plan ahead for Medicaid eligibility we spend a lot of time walking through the worst-case scenario of permanent nursing home placement, thereby triggering approximately $12,000 per month in nursing home fees (Connecticut is the 2nd most expensive state in the U.S. when it comes to nursing home care).  But it's also important to at least consider the possibility that the client will never actually need to be placed in a nursing home. 

 

There is no "crystal ball" to use and nothing can be guaranteed but there are factors to consider when trying to determine the odds that you will need permanent nursing home placement at some point in the future.

 

Is there a history of dementia and/or Alzheimer's Disease in family?  It seems like these are the types of conditions that most often trigger the need for long-term, permanent nursing home placement and they are very hereditary.  Other issues like diabetes, a heart condition, a bad hip etc. can usually be handled adequately at home.  

 

Do children, grandchildren and other family members live nearby or are they beyond driving distance from your home?  The larger the local support network (usually a family-based network) the less likely that you will need to be permanently institutionalized.  

 

How extensive are your liquid assets?  Even if you don't have long term care insurance in place, the more you have in investments, bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc., there is a greater possibility that you will be able to provide yourself with home health care and/or companionship to keep you in the community.

 

I always advocate for planning for the worst (in this context, permanent nursing home placement) and hoping for the best.  However, you need to realize that future nursing home placement is not a "given", and if the chances of requiring institutionalization are remote based on your own set of personal circumstances then you should factor that into your planning. 

 

DISCLAIMER: This blog does not offer legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.  If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog.

 

Click here for photo credits.

"Should I Gift My House to the Kids?"

Right off the bat, let me give you a warning that you will be disappointed by this post.  You probably Googled the above question and stumbled upon this post with the expectation that you will find a definitive "yes" or "no" answer.  Unfortunately, as simple as the above question sounds, the legal analysis used to come up with an answer to the question is lengthy enough that I would probably be committing legal malpractice by even suggesting that there is a universally applicable answer to the question about whether to gift the house to the kids. 

 

There.  Now that I got that out of the way, here's what you will learn from this post:  as self-serving as this may sound, in order to find a good answer to this question, you need to sit down with an experienced elder law attorney who can walk you through all of the pro's and con's of transferring ownership of the house to the kids (or someone else) in order to avoid the need to sell the house and spend the proceeds down on the nursing home at some point in the future. 

 

And here is a non-exhaustive list of all the issues to consider:

• Gift tax.
• Capital gains tax.
• The dreaded "5-year look-back" period for Medicaid.
• Will the kids turn evil someday (perhaps they already are evil?!) and try to evict you from the house?
• Will this transfer result in an unintended distribution of your estate upon your death?
• Will one of the kids get sued someday, resulting in a lien being slapped on the property?
• Will one of the kids get divorced someday, subjecting the house to a divorce settlement process?
• Are one of the kids getting asset-tested government benefits?
• Should you retain a "life use" (a.k.a. "life estate") in the property?  It could be helpful tax-wise, but it could be problematic for Medicaid eligibility.
• Will you lose a senior or veteran real estate tax credit that you currently enjoy?
• What are the odds that you (based on your health, family medical history, level of local family support) will need permanent nursing home placement in the future?

In short, whether to gift the house to the kids is a short and simple question.  But settling on the answer to that question is a complicated process with a lengthy list of issues to consider.  And since every family is different, there is no one-size-fits all answer to this question.  In other words, just because your neighbor three doors down the road gifted the house to his kids does not necessarily mean that you should too. 

 

DISCLAIMER: This blog does not offer legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.  If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog.

 

Click here for photography credit.