Although Texas did not “opt in” to accept federal dollars under the Affordable Care Act (the “Act”) which will provide health insurance even to those with pre-existing conditions, the present priority of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is to help the federal government...
As previously reported in the May issue of the Texas Elder Law E-Letter, a new Texas law will permit transfers to any 529 (college education fund) for the benefit of children and grandchildren as an exception to the transfer penalty rules (in addition to being...
Proposed legislation (the Veterans Pension Protection Act) has been revised to penalize military veterans (or their surviving spouse) if they should dispose of their resources (that could have been used for their maintenance) within three (3) years of applying for VA pension benefits (benefits most...
Under current law, a special needs trust containing the assets of a disabled individual under 65 years of age (the assets in the trust are excluded from being countable as a resource for “means-tested” programs such as Medicaid) must be created by a parent, grandparent,...
Although Texas does not recognize same-sex marriages, here are a few estate planning considerations for same-sex married couples (couples who were legally married in another state) who live in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act: Federal employees...
Under current law, military veterans who invest in a survivor benefit plan must leave their benefits (an annuity) directly to their beneficiary – even if the beneficiary is disabled. Veterans are not permitted to roll their survivor benefits into a special needs trust (a trust...
When it was announced earlier this year that there would be no federal estate tax for estates under $5.25 million (instead of $1 million due to the “fiscal cliff”), many Americans were relieved as there was the thought that this would be permanent as adjusted...
Governor Perry has just signed a law (to be effective as of September 1, 2013) that allows Medicaid applicants to sell their life insurance policies to life settlement companies and not jeopardize Medicaid benefits provided certain conditions are met. Medicaid is a jointly run state and...
Two weeks ago the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing on Senate Bill 748 which (like its predecessor - Senate Bill 3270) attacks planning for Veterans Aid & Attendance benefits (which are benefits often received by veterans who served during wartime or...
On May 15, 2013, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced changes to its Program Operations Manual System (POMS) to ensure that legitimate expenditures from special or supplemental needs trust are used for the sole benefit of a disabled beneficiary even if it may impart incidental...
In an apparent attempt to promote saving for higher education, a new rule (Section358.356) has been published in the Texas Administrative Code which now excludes tuition savings programs (such as a prepaid tuition program or higher education savings plan or a qualified tuition program that...
The Texas Senate has approved a bill on long-term and acute care Medicaid to expand managed care services, to provide services at capitulated costs and to re-design functional assessments to more accurately assess patient needs. Some have expressed fears that Medicaid managed care plans would reduce...
Based on an independent survey led by the RAND Corporation (financed by the federal government), it is projected that 9.1 million Americans age 71 or older will have dementia by year 2040. Presently about 15% of Americans 71 or older (3.8 million) have dementia. The survey...
It is common for nursing homes to have admission contracts which require nursing home residents to be bound by arbitration clauses - which many think is more advantageous to the nursing home than the risk of a lawsuit against the facility. Thus, even if the...
Often disability occurs suddenly at a time when people have limited cash resources to pay for care costs. So, even if the person might be eligible for public benefits, it often takes many months or longer for eligibility to be granted. Caregivers often do not...
This weeks installment is a guest blog from Wade Chessman of Chessman Wealth Strategies. The American taxpayer relief act of 2012 extended qualified charitable distribution (QCD) provisions for 2012 2013. A qualified charitable distribution is an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA owned by an individual who...
The American Taxpayer Relief Act permanently sets the estate tax exemption at $5 million for (adjusted due to inflation) an individual and $10 million for a couple which is the same amount that has been exempted for the past two years. However, Congress did change the...
Although irrevocable 529s (for college education) and UTMAs (accounts for minors) are not considered a resource for certain Texas Medicaid programs, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (which governs Medicaid eligibility in Texas) currently counts resources and income in prepaid tuition programs and higher...
The 2013 Protected Resource Amount dollar figures have recently been published. This is used to determine how much can be protected when one spouse is a nursing home and applies for Medicaid and the other spouse lives in the community. As many of you know, when...
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently issued a letter of clarification indicating that room and board paid to an independent living facility should not be considered as a deductible unreimbursed medical expense in most cases. One of the most important eligibility requirements in getting VA...
