LISTEN TO LAWRENCE As you all may or may not know, I am a founding member of the Special Needs Alliance, which is a National Alliance of Disability Lawyers. Their mission is to maintain a professional organization of attorneys skilled in the complex areas of public entitlements, estate, trust and tax planning, …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here are two questions from one of my readers: QUESTION ONE We have an Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust with your firm. First question is concerning interest income from a trust savings account, would Medicaid be able to take the interest (if applying …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: QUESTION Since we’re discussing joint accounts, a comment came up in a tax group to which I belong. It was said that if you make a joint account with say, your child, either a …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: QUESTION If the beneficiaries differ in your will versus what is listed on banking, savings and investment accounts, which takes final priority? MY RESPONSE The quick answer is the latter. The way I like …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: QUESTION If you have an irrevocable trust, can Medicaid claw back money from your estate after you die? MY RESPONSE The answer is no! Medicaid will absolutely have no claim to your trust assets after …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, One of the privileges of being an elder law attorney is that I get to hear the life stories of my clients.  A general theme of these stories is their war experience and I encourage them to tell me all they can (even when …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: CLIENT QUESTION Here is my question for Listen to Lawrence: We are in our late sixties. My husband has a term life insurance policy (a ten-year renewable) which he purchased recently so that — should …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, In my last email, I discussed the taxation of life insurance proceeds and that only those with taxable estates (over $5.85 million in New York) need be concerned. My message today is that less affluent people…working and middle class people…may not have a …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: CLIENT QUESTION Is my life insurance taxable? MY RESPONSE People often overlook their life insurance when they do their estate planning…..but this could be a big mistake. While life insurance proceeds are generally …

Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: QUESTION I was thinking of finally getting around to putting my house into an irrevocable trust to protect it from Medicaid. A friend of mine told me that if I do that, the bank could call in …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, I have several questions and answers today, plus other news. Here we go… QUESTION ONE: My mom passed away in a nursing home; she was on Medicaid. Can Medicaid go after her estate now that she is gone? MY RESPONSE: YES! Medicaid can seek reimbursement from …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, IMPORTANT NEWS We just received a communication from the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association announcing new and important news regarding Medicaid.  As you know, I have been communicating with you for quite some time about the new Community Medicaid …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here’s the answer to one of your estate tax questions: Question for Lawrence Hi Lawrence, I have an estate worth $7 million. I understand that I have no exposure to estate taxes. Is this true? My Response I wish I could say that this is …

Dear clients and friends, Here’s the answer to one of the most commonly asked questions: Question for Lawrence The only asset I own is my home. Is my home an exempt asset from Medicaid? Thanks, I love your emails. My Response Thanks. I started these LISTEN TO LAWRENCE emails when the pandemic began and I …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Continuing to answer your questions so keep them coming! Question for Lawrence: Dad lives with me. He has a long-term care policy which he uses to pay for a part-time aide in the house. This policy has a lifetime limit of $275,000.00 and a …

Dear clients and friends, Well, the day is finally here. We have been anticipating (and dreading) the first day of October for many months now. Today is the first day that we now have a 2 ½ year look back for Community Medicaid. This means that should you need aides to come into …

Dear clients and friends,   READER QUESTION:   If my mother’s regular checking and savings account are actually listed as a joint account with my nephew, does Medicaid still consider it only her money or half her money?    MY RESPONSE:   Jointly held bank accounts are understandingly confusing. After …

Dear clients and friends, READER QUESTION: My son is disabled and receiving SSI and Medicaid. He recently had some damage in his apartment and subsequently received a check from the insurance company covering the loss. Can he deposit this money in his account without losing his government benefits? ANSWER: The …

Dear clients and friends: Since I just recently wrote about the title theft scam, I thought I’d keep the theme going with the following article which was featured on a recent newsletter called, “The Alert for Members” on the Blue Cross/Blue Shield website. I wanted to pass it on because …

Dear clients and friends: READER QUESTION: I hear that homeowners are having their titles stolen and have lost their homes to this thievery. Title theft warning services are being sold on TV to supposedly protect you from this practice when Lifelock, etc. won’t. Would having a mortgage on your home make …