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...
