Perhaps the most commonly asked questions that I have been receiving are about Medicaid: eligibility, look-back periods, penalties, etc. And this is for good reason — it’s confusing! Not only is the concept of Medicaid and how it works confusing but to add to it, everyone seems to have a …

CLIENT QUESTION: We had our trust drawn up by Davidow and would like to know how a pour over will works. MY RESPONSE: First I want to point out that a “pour over will” is not a will for “poor” people, something I have heard people express in the past. …

CLIENT QUESTION: I had Mr. Davidow do an irrevocable trust in 2015 and since then I’ve sold my home and put the purchase money in the trust. My question is, I have six grandkids and wanted to give them some money toward college and graduate school. Can I do this …

CLIENT QUESTION: Wonderful and informative emails, finally emails I read! Thank you for your Listen to Lawrence Letters. Maybe you can answer this or even a simplified version of my question. 1) If the surviving spouse has a revocable trust that is funded with four single-family homes which are a) …

My wife and I established a Medicaid Trust with you about 3 1/2 years ago. The only asset in the trust is our house. The only other major assets we own are our IRAs. We have each named the other as Primary Beneficiary and our children, per stirpes, are named …

ALERT Inherited IRAs and RMDs — IRS SAYS OOPS! I have talked to you many times in the past about the SECURE ACT, you know, the one where, with limited exceptions, when you inherit an IRA on or after January 1, 2020, you must take out all the money from …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTER Dear Clients and Friends, Thank you for continuing to submit such excellent questions! The answers definitely benefit many people which has been the purpose of this Listen to Lawrence Letter from the very beginning. Let’s keep it going but remember, I can’t do it without you so keep …

CLIENT QUESTION: What are the pros and cons of naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA or 401K? MY RESPONSE: Generally speaking, you always want to name an individual as beneficiary rather than a trust as beneficiary, that is unless there is a reason to put the retirement plan …

Dear Clients and Friends, ALERT NEW INTERPRETATION OF IRA DISTRIBUTION RULES…POSSIBLY! You may have heard that last year’s SECURE ACT, subject to certain eligible exceptions, changed the rules on how distributions must be made from INHERITED IRAs. I certainly wrote about this topic in past LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTERS. With this new …

Dear Clients and Friends, In my previous LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTER, I asserted that for all of you who placed your homes into an irrevocable trust, that your beneficiaries will receive a step-up in basis, wiping out your capital gains at death.  THIS ASSERTION REMAINS TRUE FOR ALL OF MY IRREVOCABLE MEDICAID …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTER Dear Clients and Friends, This is why The Listen to Lawrence Letter is so useful! You will see a very common question below that if not answered correctly, can evolve into the creation of misinformation causing serious and unnecessary concern. When the wrong information is passed around, it …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE LETTER CLIENT QUESTION: I am in the same situation. Davidow drew up an Irrevocable Trust for me 14 years ago. Almost everything I own is in the trust. My only income is my SS check which is $2282 per month. However, I also have some bonds under my …

CLIENT QUESTION: My wife and I established a Medicaid Trust with you about 3 1/2 years ago. The only asset in the trust is our house. The only other major assets we own are our IRAs. We have each named the other as Primary Beneficiary and our children, per stirpes, …

CLIENT QUESTION: Your firm created an irrevocable family trust for me 3 years ago to protect my assets from Medicaid.  Do I have to file a Form 1041? The trust is under my social security number and it did have taxable income from investments. I was told that I didn’t have …

Here’s an article from the SNA (Special Needs Alliance) which is a National Alliance of Disability Lawyers. I’m a founding member and from time to time I like to share their information with all of you. This one is very timely considering that it’s tax season right now. The primary …

CLIENT QUESTION: After spending time in the hospital, my wife was sent to a nursing home for therapy where she suffered a stroke. I don’t know if she will be able to return home. There may be a time that I have to evaluate her assets. Over 20 years ago …

Here’s an article from the SNA (Special Needs Alliance) which is a National Alliance of Disability Lawyers. I’m a founding member and from time to time I like to share their information with all of you. This one is very timely and offers some good advice. This post was authored …

CLIENT QUESTION: I have an irrevocable trust. My husband recently passed away. My house is the only asset in the trust. Can you give me any info on capital gains on my home when I pass? Thanks for all your wonderful emails. MY RESPONSE: This is an excellent question and one …

In one of my recent LISTEN TO LAWRENCE emails, I talked about the fact that a surviving spouse is entitled to their spouse’s car if they only had one car and the value is not more than $25,000. I mentioned that all you have to do is go down to the DMV for …

Dear Clients and Friends, NEWS ALERT! THANK YOU, COVID! GOOD COVID NEWS (SORTA): POSTPONEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY MEDICAID LOOK-BACK I have some new legal news that I wanted to get to you right away. Through my contacts at the New York State Bar Association, I have learned that the implementation of the …