Life Becomes More Complicated, a column authored by Attorney Michael Hooker is a wealth of information. He covers everything from living wills to nursing home costs. We are happy to provide copies of his articles here.
--- Conz Street Chronicle February 2021
I have had clients call me saying “I was just at the bank with my deceased mother’s Will. I am the named Personal Representative. But they won’t give me the money in my mother’s account. They said I need to go to court.”. Exactly. A Will is essentially a nominating document. It has to be “allowed” by a judge.
Newspaper deed transfers often reflect elders deeding their real estate to their children for a dollar. They do this in order to avoid the costs, delay and hassle of probating their Will at their death.
Medicaid (also known as Masshealth) is an insurer of last resort. It is a needs-based program. It was not intended for the wealthy nor historically, for the middle class. There are a variety of Medicaid programs; too many to list here. They are generally income and/or asset based. Several programs, such as long term nursing home Medicaid, are also concerned with elders who have transferred assets within the prior five years.
Article from Gazette Financial Guide January 2020
The $15,000 figure is a number that many people are familiar with, and yet, it is one of the most commonly misconstrued concepts of estate planning and elder law. Time and time again I hear “my accountant said the IRS lets me transfer/gift $15,000 per year.” That is true, but I say, so what? What is the REASON for doing that?
