Category Archives: Nursing Home Attorney Brentwood

Your Home and The “Heggstad” Petition

Your home should be transferred to your revocable living trust for various reasons. One reason is to avoid probate of your home upon your death. Another reason is that as of January 1, 2017, if you die after having been on Medi-Cal, the state will not be able to pursue recovery against your home if […]

Medi-Cal Recovery Will Be Limited to Probate Estates after January 1, 2017

We have recently blogged about the new legislation Governor Brown signed, effective January 1, 2017, which changes the rules regarding recovery by the state for payments it has made to nursing homes for Medi-Cal recipients. Under the old law, the only way we could avoid recovery was to ensure that there was nothing in the […]

‘Tis the Season for Stress’ – Special Challenges

Once again the Holiday Season is upon us. ’Tis the season’ for mixed blessings. Along with the joys of the season come the stressors. This year you wonder how you will manage to get everything done. Your “to-do” list, as always, seems never ending with shopping, baking and decorating. This year, however, you know at […]

2017 Medi-Cal Recovery Against Surviving Spouse

Governor Brown has signed new legislation, effective January 1, 2017, which changes the rules regarding recovery by the state for payments it has made to nursing homes for Medi-Cal recipients.  Under the present law, the state can recover against the surviving spouse or domestic partner of a Medi-Cal recipient, from whatever was in the Medi-Cal […]

Elder Law Attorney Michael J. Young attends National Conference for Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorneys in New Orleans, LA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Walnut Creek, CA – Elder Law and Asset Protection Attorney Michael J. Young traveled to New Orleans, LA, from October 28-29, 2016 to meet with forty other leading elder law attorneys from across the nation. Through discussions, strategic visioning and personal goal setting, the attorneys explored professional practice development, employee development and […]

Consider A Joint Checking Account With Your Parents

Many older people insist on handling their own financial affairs without assistance, for as long as as possible. This is admirable, but what if something bad happens to the older person, like a medical event which lands the older person in the hospital, and ready access to cash is needed? And, what if the older […]

Does Grandma Have A Medical Consent Form For Her Grandchild?

During the summer, many grandchildren will stay with their grandparents for a period of time. If you are a grandparent who will be taking care of one of your grandchildren, be sure that you have a Medical Treatment Authorization Form for your grandchild. Most medical doctors will require such a legal document, which confirms that […]

The Personal Residence Exclusion

When we are doing long term care planning with our clients, we often discuss the fact that if you sell your home during your life, you may have to pay tax on the capital gain. Capital Gain is the difference between the “basis” in the property, basically what you paid for it, and its selling […]

Changes Are Coming For VA A&A Qualification

New changes are in the works which may make it more difficult to qualify for the VA Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit. This benefit, for older war time veterans or their surviving spouses, has been very helpful for some of our clients, to help them pay for their long term care costs. A single veteran […]

How Much Does The Surviving Spouse Receive In Social Security Benefits?

In a previous post, we discussed what you should do about Social Security benefits after someone dies. But with regard to married couples, how much will the surviving spouse receive? Generally speaking, the surviving spouse will receive 100% of the deceased spouse’s Social Security benefit, as long as that amount is greater than the surviving spouse’s […]