Dear Clients and Friends: A CAUTIONARY TALE CLIENT QUESTION: What happens if I put ½ of a house in a trust and after its sale, I never put the money back in the trust? MY RESPONSE: Please say it ain’t so! When the house (1/2 or whole) is sold in the …

Dear Clients and Friends: Here is a capital gain question regarding the sale of a second home in the trust: CLIENT QUESTION: Thank you for your posts. Agree with you about Florida. LONG ISLAND is the best! Now, we own a home in Florida we inherited in 1993. It was put …

Dear Clients and Friends, CLIENT QUESTION: Hi Lawrence: Question regarding the trust that your firm set up: Our house was put in an irrevocable trust (my son as trustee) for Medicaid benefits for my wife. It was set up as a joint trust as both myself and my wife were …

Dear Clients and Friends, I have answered today’s question several times in previous LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTERS. The fact that it keeps being asked shows there is some confusion out there so here we go again. This is for all of you who have a house in an irrevocable trust but may …

Dear Clients and Friends, I don’t remember how it happened (did I sign something?), but for the last couple of years, I have been paying full property taxes on my house and then receiving a check in the mail for my STAR reduction. They used to just charge me less upfront. It …

Dear Clients and Friends, From time to time I like to share relevant articles from the website of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA) which is an organization I’m proud to be associated with as a member and co-founder. Naming a Special Needs Trust as Beneficiary of Your IRA or Retirement …

Dear Clients and Friends, Here is another question concerning the sale of a home in a Medicaid irrevocable trust: CLIENT QUESTION: Is the money from the sale of the home that is in the family trust subject to a five-year look back? MY RESPONSE: I think you all understand by …

Dear Clients and Friends: I get so many questions about houses in trusts. Here is one more: CLIENT QUESTIONS: My questions are: We have our house in an irrevocable trust. When we sell our house, do we need a specialized attorney at the closing, and do you have one in your practice?  After we …

Dear Clients and Friends: The world of Special Needs Trusts (SNTs) can be very confusing, as this question certainly points out. CLIENT QUESTION: Greetings. In your description of an SNT (in your last LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTER), you state that it doesn’t require a Medicaid payback and I’m wondering why that …

Dear Clients and Friends: There are many issues that come up when you have a child with special needs. Here is one such question from one of my readers: CLIENT QUESTION: Hi, I would like to ask LAWRENCE what is the best way to financially plan for my adult with special …

Dear Clients and Friends: Here’s a very good and commonly asked question that needs to be answered simply and clearly… QUESTION: It is my understanding that when you create a Revocable Living Trust and transfer your home into the trust you do not lose the STAR award or any other …

Dear Clients and Friends: Having Long term Care insurance is a good idea until you can’t afford it. Read my client’s letter to me and my response. CLIENT QUESTION: Hello Lawrence, We enjoy your Listen To Lawrence email letters. We received a Genworth Long Term Care 69% Premium increase announcement. Keeping our …

Dear Clients and Friends: Did you know that not every transfer results in a Medicaid penalty? Read on… CLIENT QUESTION: I remember that several years back when I was first learning about Medicaid eligibility and nursing homes that it was said that if you had a pattern of giving that clearly …

Dear Clients and Friends: The 2022 Medicaid Income and Resource Allowances for both nursing home and home care have been released for New York State. If you want to receive Medicaid benefits, check the chart below to see how your resources might affect your eligibility and how much you would …

Dear Clients and Friends: Every year Medicaid releases new numbers representing the average cost of a nursing home by region which are used to calculate eligibility after assessing penalty periods for any gifts or transfers that were made. Here are the New York State numbers for 2022:   To provide …

Dear Clients and Friends, Have you ever heard of a “pooled trust?”  I get a lot of questions about them, like the one that follows. CLIENT QUESTION: I am reaching out on behalf of my grandfather. I am wondering if your services and firm focus on pool trusts or can provide …

Dear Clients and Friends, From time to time I like to share relevant articles from the website of the Special Needs Alliance which is an organization I’m proud to be associated with. This issue of The Voice® was written by Special Needs Alliance member Jane Skelton, Esq., who established the Maine Elder …

Dear Clients and Friends, Today’s question seems like another irrevocable trust question but it really isn’t. This question is really about coordinating your IRA beneficiary designation with any trust, although here it specifically relates to a special needs trust. Read on. CLIENT QUESTION: I have an irrevocable trust set up with …

Dear Clients and Friends, Inheriting assets from someone may affect your own carefully made plans, as is pointed out by this client’s question. CLIENT QUESTION: So I have just made an irrevocable Medicaid trust with you. Now someone has told me they want to put me on as a benefactor of …

Dear Clients and Friends: Many of you have questions that involve property that is being held in an Irrevocable Medicaid Trust. Here’s one that specifically asks about mortgaging a house in a trust. CLIENT QUESTION: I enjoy your Listen to Lawrence Letters and find them very helpful. My question is as …