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? 

​Many people make New Year’s resolutions. If one of your resolutions was to make sure your affairs and finances are in order, then you are going to need to review your estate plan – or create one. How do you know if it needs to be changed or updated, or whether you even need one in the first place? Below are a few scenarios that you may want to consider.

Bob Michaels is extremely passionate about providing the best possible legal experience for his clients, and focuses his practice on elder law, estate planning, business, and real estate matters. Bob has been able to provide piece of mind and a solid foundation to many folks in the Puget Sound area over the years and wants to provide resources and relevant information whenever he can. For more information on how Bob can help your loved ones through these troubling times, contact Bob to schedule a FREE consultation.

Sian-Pierre Regis, 35, is used to living with roommates. For the past 10 years he has split the rent on his apartment with two to three friends. But in June, he’s getting a co-tenant of a different sort: his 78-year-old mother, Rebecca. A situation neither of them ever expected would happen.

Rebecca has been able to live off her slim retirement savings and part-time work, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, she found herself out of work, and at the end of May the lease on her subsidized housing expired making it impossible for her to pay her rent.

Mr. Regis is one of the growing number of millennials who are supporting their parents financially and, in some cases, giving them a place to live. 

Bob Michaels is extremely passionate about providing the best possible legal experience for his clients, and focuses his practice on elder law, estate planning, business, and real estate matters. Bob has been able to provide piece of mind and a solid foundation to many folks in the Puget Sound area over the years and wants to provide resources and relevant information whenever he can. For more information on how Bob can help your loved ones through these troubling times, contact Bob to schedule a FREE consultation.
 
Since the Covid-19 crisis began, nursing home residents have been separated from their families. Some families have gotten creative – visiting through windows, via Zoom, Facetime, and from parking lots. Although many have had no way to reach their loved one, and must rely on staff to give them updates.

Unfortunately, this isolation has increased depression and confusion in many residents, leading to heartbreaking scenes of seniors dying alone and families not finding out until after the fact, or families unable to enter their loved ones’ room during their final days.
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Nursing Home Recommendations

Even under normal circumstances, caregivers deal with guilt over their care for older loved ones. However, during the pandemic crisis, this guilt has become even more troubling with so many loved ones being hospitalized and isolated.

Elders who have been exposed to Covid-19 or are at a greater risk, are unable to see or spend time with loved ones, grandchildren, and friends. Elders who are trapped in other countries, quarantined areas, healthcare facilities, etc., are often unable to communicate with anyone. Not to mention communication has been being relegated to things like Facetime, Zoom or Skype, requiring internet connections, computers and cell phones.

Families Kept Apart by the Pandemic

At Tacoma Elder Care we are always looking for ways to educate and assist the aging population here in the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. Tacoma Elder Care was created by Bob Michaels, an elder care attorney in Tacoma who goes above and beyond the basic legal needs of his constituents. Bob holds regular Workshops and discussions with many local organizations (and individuals) focused on improving and providing assistance to the elder population. As times adapt and change to what we are now all calling, “the new normal,” Bob wants you to know he is available for free consultations regardless of your age or situation.

For now, and the foreseeable future, things have changed dramatically for those over 65. Considering older people are typically, ‘less healthy than others,’ COVID-19 has hit the elderly at a significantly higher rate than younger people. Those who are hospitalized are isolated, even if they’re not ill, and many are struggling to make meaningful contact with loved ones using technology they are unfamiliar with. Additionally, the pandemic is underscoring chronic problems in our healthcare, hospitals, and nursing home facilities.
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Which begs the question, what will it be like to be an older person in the future?