Category Archives: Qualification for VA Aid & Attendance

Medi-Cal Qualification and Joint Accounts

If you are applying for Medi-Cal, you will be required to disclose all of your assets in your application package. Medi-Cal wants to see evidence of all of your accounts, even joint accounts that you may have with someone else. Joint accounts will be considered by Medi-Cal, at least initially, to belong to you alone. […]

California Still Has A 30 Month Look Back for Gifting

California still has the 30 Month Look Back Penalty Period for Gifting. There is a federal law known as the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), which has a 60 month look back penalty period. However, California has not to date implemented that law. Medi-Cal eligibility workers are required to use the 30 month look back period. […]

Estate Plans For The Older Client Are Different

The plain vanilla estate plan, which most people have, is designed for the younger client. The main purposes of this estate plan are to avoid probate court and to provide for the distribution of assets to heirs upon death. It will also minimize estate taxes. Estate plans for the older client include all of the […]

An Interesting Insurance Based Strategy To Help Private Pay For Long Term Care

Our clients are concerned about how they will private pay for their long term care. Most long term care takes place first in our homes and then in assisted living facilities. We have Medi-Cal in California, but it only pays for a stay in a skilled nursing facility, if we qualify. As a result, our clients are […]

Consider Naming a Professional Fiduciary In Your Estate Planning Documents

When we prepare our estate planning documents, such as the Revocable Living Trust and Financial Durable Powers of Attorney, we typically name our spouses and then our children as our fiduciaries if we cannot act for ourselves. It would seem that the most common reason that would cause a fiduciary to act is the loss of mental capacity of […]

No Look Back Period for VA Aid & Attendance

There will NOT be a look-back gifting penalty period for the VA Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit. On February 27, 2014, Senate Bill 1982, known as The Veterans Pension Protection Act, did not get the required votes to pass. One of the purposes of this bill, which also contained other provisions, was to help curtail […]

7 Practical Considerations To Take Into Account When Choosing an Assisted Living Facility

Here are 7 Practical Considerations to take into account when you are choosing an assisted living facility, either for yourself or a loved one. We have developed this list  after having first hand experience with assisted living facilities that my father lived in, and after having interacted with our clients regarding these issues over many […]

IRAs and Medi-Cal Qualification

The Medi-Cal applicant can have any amount of IRAs that are in his name, and still qualify for Medi-Cal. For instance, the applicant could have $200,000 or more in his name in IRAs, and still be eligible for Medi-Cal. IRAs and work related pension funds are also exempt from Medi-Cal qualification. The only requirement is […]

Alzheimer’s Is A Family Illness!

Our office represents many families who have a loved one who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. We typically will receive a call from the spouse or child of the person suffering from dementia. The person calling may tell us that their spouse or parent has become forgetful, is not paying […]

Baby Boomers Predict The Future!

Baby Boomers Predict The Future! Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to predict the future for us Baby Boomers, and start planning for it! But we do know certain things about our future …  On average, 10,000 people are turning age 65 every day. It is predicted that at least 70% of people over […]