What Is the Estate Tax Marital Deduction In Northern California from Timothy Murphy You should devise a holistic tax efficiency strategy with the assistance of a licensed estate planning attorney. Learn more about estate tax marital deduction in this presentation. … [Read more...] about What Is the Estate Tax Marital Deduction
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Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer- Part 4 of 4
An important, but frequently overlooked, aspect in Medi-Cal long term care (LTC) benefit planning is Medi-Cal Estate Recovery. The Medi-Cal laws requre that the state pursue recovery from a Medi-Cal LTC beneficiary's estate following death for the benefits obtained during his or her lifetime. These benefits have often been accruing at thousands of dollars a month. In cases of extended periods of care, recovery claims can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. In situations involving a … [Read more...] about Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer- Part 4 of 4
Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 3 of 4
The second planning consideration for Medi-Cal Long Term Care Benefits (LTC) is called share of cost. Once Medi-Cal LTC eligibility is established (See Part II), attention turns to share of cost. It is the co-pay requirement of Medi-Cal LTC. Typically, a Medi-Cal LTC beneficiary must contribute their monthly income towards the cost of his or her care. This usually includes Social Security, pensions, investment and rental income, among others. Certain deductions are allowed, e.g., health … [Read more...] about Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 3 of 4
Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 2 of 4
In this blog, we will address how eligibility for Medi-Cal long term care (LTC) benefits is established. Eligibility is essentially an asset test. For eligibility purposes, assets fall within one of three categories: countable (non-exempt), not countable (exempt) and unavailable (countable, but not counted). To be eligible for Medi-Cal LTC, an individual applicant's countable assets must be below $2,000. If the applicant is married, in 2015, the spouse can have another $119,220 of countable … [Read more...] about Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 2 of 4
Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 1 of 4
Many persons are confused about the Medi-Cal Long Term Care benefits program. This is perfectly understandable. Medi-Cal is a complex public benefits program that is a joint venture of the federal, state and county governments. There are state and federal statutes, state and federal regulations, less formal rules and procedures and, add to that, the rules change from time to time and vary from county to county and sometimes among workers within a county. An additional concern in these … [Read more...] about Medi-Cal Long Term Care Primer – Part 1 of 4
What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?
You pay taxes that come from every direction throughout your life, so you may naturally assume that you can transfer assets to other people free of further taxation. This make sense to a lot of people, but whether we like it or not, there are asset transfer taxes in the United States. One of them is the generation-skipping transfer tax. The generation-skipping transfer tax is potentially applicable on large asset transfers to people who are not relatives who are at least 37.5 years younger … [Read more...] about What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?
Estate Planning FAQS: What Happens If I'm Single When I Die?
When people ask questions about estate planning, they sometimes harbor misunderstandings with regard to control. To a very large extent, you have control over the way that your resources will be distributed after your passing. The only way that you lose control is if you do nothing. Lack of Planning If you die without executing any estate planning documents at all, the condition of intestacy will be the result. This would be the case regardless of your marital status. Under these … [Read more...] about Estate Planning FAQS: What Happens If I'm Single When I Die?
How to Pay for Long Term Care (Part 2 of 2)
As we pointed out in the first part of this article, at a certain point in most people’s lives, they become concerned about paying for long term care. There are 5 basic ways to pay for long term care. We discussed private pay, long term care insurance and Medicare in part one. Now, we turn to Medi-Cal and Veterans Aid and Attendance. Medi-Cal Medi-Cal is a form of public assistance for families who meet specified income and asset requirements. Eigible Californians use Medi-Cal to pay … [Read more...] about How to Pay for Long Term Care (Part 2 of 2)
How to Pay for Long Term Care (Part 1 of 2)
At a certain point in most people’s lives, they become concerned about paying for long term care. There are 5 basic ways to pay for long term care: 1. Private Pay 2. Long Term Care Insurance 3. Medicare 4. Medi-Cal 5. Veterans Benefits Not all of these methods will be available to all persons. For example, veterans benefits are limited to only certain veterans. Long term care insurance may not be available for persons with certain pre-existing … [Read more...] about How to Pay for Long Term Care (Part 1 of 2)
How Does a Power of Attorney Terminate?
A legal document is something that you use to satisfy your own personal objectives. As a result, you generally control the outcome when you create a legal document such as a power of attorney. Anatomy of a Power of Attorney You are probably aware of the fact that a power of attorney is a legal device that is used to appoint someone to act on your behalf in a legally binding manner. In legal jargon, the person who creates the power of attorney is called the principal or grantor. The … [Read more...] about How Does a Power of Attorney Terminate?
