According to the 2015 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index, long-term care insurance premiums increased approximately 8.6% in year 2014 as a result of higher claim costs and low interest rates. In year 2015, approximately $7.5 billion was paid in claims. The American Association for Long-Term...
Assisted Living Facility Pays $750,000 for Unlawful Confinement to Estate of "Kung Fu" Judge A New York assisted living facility which was alleged to have kept former Brooklyn judge John Phillips confined to its facility against his will for 8 months prior to his death and...
President Obama has attacked Individual Retirement Account (IRAs) as indicated by his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget released two weeks ago. Although probably most provisions will not likely be passed by congress, it paints a clear picture what the administration would like to do. Although there...
Under current law, a donor may give $14,000 per year, per person, without having to report such gift to the IRS or be subject to gift taxes. Furthermore in Texas (which follows the federal law), a donor can give an amount in excess of $14,000...
Although the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act did not pass in the last federal legislative session, it has been introduced again to overcome the present legal presumption that all disabled persons lack sufficient mental capacity to handle their own assets. As a result of a law...
Most of us are familiar with POD or “Pay on Death” provisions in bank accounts, but many are not familiar with real estate passing at death without a will or trust. Among the crop of new legislation being considered by the 84th Texas Legislature is...
What happens to your email account after you die or become incapacitated by illness? Your Facebook? The photos you’ve uploaded to Flickr or a private Instagram account? Your online banking? We used to keep our valuables and items of personal significance in safe deposit boxes,...
The Veteran’s Administration has proposed new rules for eligibility for VA pensions and the Aid and Attendance benefit which are often used by wartime Veterans or their surviving spouses to help pay for the cost of care such as assisted living facilities and nursing homes....
It’s a new year and with it come a few changes to Medicare. The good news is that Medicare Part B premiums remain at $104.90 per month if your income is below $85,000, and if your income is above $85,000 your premiums for doctor visits...
On November 26, 2014, the Oregon Court of Appeals decided that the state agency’s attempt to expand estate recovery (where the state goes after the resources of a Medicaid recipient after such person’s death) was improper. Oregon had amended its rules so that the state...
