​With all of the tax documents continuing to arrive in the mail, we are all painfully aware that it is currently tax season.  If you are an Executor of an Estate or the Trustee of a Trust that is or has become irrevocable, you should know that Estates and Trusts have to file their income tax returns.  When you qualified as an Executor or took over as Trustee, you probably applied for a tax identification number for the Estate or Trust.  That number is how the IRS knows to be look for the reporting of income and the payment of taxes.

The PAID Act recently became law. The act paves the way for Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP) Responsible Reporting Entities (RREs) to receive valuable Medicare Part C and Part D plan information for the injured parties they submit through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Section 111 query process. Now that we are only ten short months away from implementation, many are asking: what are the practical implications of this change, and what should we do to prepare for December 2021?

What does the PAID Act do?

In February President Lyndon B. Johnson, among the millions of people in the country who'd had heart attacks, issued the first proclamation in 1964. Since then, February has been declared American Heart Month.
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This year, awareness is even more important due to the impact of the coronavirus on the public's heart health, including potential harmful effects on the heart and vascular system, according to recent research.

What if you want to set up a trust for Medicaid planning purposes but want to protect income from going to the nursing facility if you need long term care?
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Usually the purpose of an income-only trust in Medicaid planning is to protect the property in the trust either from having to be spent down to qualify for Medicaid in the first place or from the state’s estate recovery claim after the death of the Medicaid beneficiary. The trust can also be drafted so that the income is not distributed at all or distributed to people other than the grantor, such as the grantor’s children. While that would prevent the income from having to be paid to a nursing home, it would also mean that the grantor would not receive the income before moving into a nursing home. Do you want to forego the income while you’re healthy in order to protect it in case you need Medicaid coverage in the future, or do you want to receive it while you’re healthy with the chance of having to contribute it to your cost of care should you require Medicaid coverage in the future? 

​Is there anyone sad to say goodbye to 2020? For many of us, 2021 epitomizes the symbolic renewal of a new year, with an extra kick of life motivation.  In what ways will you channel this energy? 

Everyone should tend to their personal affairs in some manner. For some this may be a simple review of existing documents or an update of contact lists and account inventories. However, if you are reading this and you know you still have not taken care of those basic documents everyone must have – Now is the time!

Impact of COVID-19 Stimulus Check on Property Tax and Rent Rebates for Older Adults and Residents With Disabilities on Medicaid.

For most of us, the prospect of money appearing in our bank account is a welcome gift. However, if our loved one is on Medicaid could be cause for concern. How can this money be used? Will it result in our parent losing benefits? Should I you give the money to the nursing home? With the first stimulus, there were many questions regarding how this money could be used, but we now have a clearer picture. First, facilities have no right to this money. It is not considered income for public benefit purposes and will not be treated as a resource if it is spent within one year of receipt. So here are five ideas for how to use the stimulus check received by your loved one on Medicaid.