VA Benefits & Planning and How It Effects Future ALTCS Eligibility

Seniors and the Law is authored by the attorneys at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law and addresses legal issues that arise for the elderly and their families.  Questions can be sent to firm@jacksonwhitelaw.com.

Q:        About two years ago, a financial advisor helped my parents devise a plan by which my dad, a veteran, could qualify for VA Pension.  This plan involved funding an annuity and establishing a trust.  The VA Pension now provides my parents with additional monthly income of about $2,000, but they are still having difficulty paying for dad’s care.  I looked into the ALTCS benefit, but discovered that the type of VA planning in which my parents engaged might create problems.  What should I do?

            Without knowing the particulars of your parents’ situation, I can’t be certain how things transpired here, but I can give you my best guess.  I have met with numerous clients whose financial advisor helped them prepare for VA benefits.  All too often, I find that these VA plans come at the expense of eligibility issues for the ALTCS program. 

It sounds like your parents’ advisor might have funded an annuity product, and transferred that annuity to an irrevocable trust.  This type of strategy can facilitate eligibility for VA benefits because the VA does not have a look-back window, so transfers to a trust can help a VA applicant satisfy the VA resource requirement.  While this strategy works for VA, however, it does not work for ALTCS. 

ALTCS looks back five years for uncompensated transfers – including those to a trust – and imposes a penalty based on the amount of the transfer.  As such, if your parents’ planning involved a transfer to a trust, it could be that ALTCS will not grant approval until the penalty period lapses. 

This situation underscores the importance of working with somebody who understands all of the benefits to which an applicant might be entitled.  While your folks might be able to undo the damage in this case, they would have been much better off contemplating ALTCS rules at the outset.

             Richard White is an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law.  For more information on Elder Law at JacksonWhite, please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace individual legal advice.

Visit us at www.arizonaseniorlaw.com 

The New Sandwich Generation

Elder Care, Elder Law, Estate Planning

Have you ever felt squeezed by the responsibility of caring for your children while also helping your aging parents? If so, you are part of the new Sandwich Generation—a generation caught in the middle of caring for their own children as well as their aging parents. As the Baby Boomers get older, the numbers of those sandwiched in the middle is vast.

You’ve thought about what will happen to your children if you die or become incapacitated, but have you thought about what will happen to your parents? Will your siblings step up to help your parents get to their doctor’s appointments? Will your parents have to rely on their neighbors to make sure their bills are paid?

For those feeling the pinch, the most important thing to know is—DO NOT WAIT! It is never too early to properly plan for your parent’s physical and financial needs in case you are not available to help. This issue is seldom addressed in estate planning, with sad consequences for the one in four families—45 million Americans—feeling the pressure of caring for elderly parents.

Will your parents need long term care if you aren’t around to help? Currently, over two-thirds of people age 65 or over need long term care. This care may be provided at home, in adult day care, assisted living, or even in a nursing home. Social Security and Medicare won’t pay for long term care, and your health insurance won’t provide coverage either.

Parents are living longer, and as they age, their expenses sky rocket and deplete their resources. It should not come as a surprise to you that if your parents fail to plan properly, your help may be needed to pay for their long term care. If something happens to you, who is going to help financially?

What can you do right now to plan ahead? Start with the following:

FIND A QUALIFIED ATTORNEY:  Who can help you and your parents plan ahead. The attorneys at MHK can help you find ways to pay for your parents’ long term care and can help your parents get the right care they need and deserve.

MAKE A LIST:  Of responsible people you trust and who you want involved in the event of your passing. For example, make sure your loved ones know about those currently helping your parents and about your close family members and friends.

SELECT A TRUSTEE:  To control the funds you set aside to care for your parents, children or other loved ones.

LOOK INTO LIFE INSURANCE:  As an effective means of leaving funds to help pay to care for your loved ones.

To schedule a fee consultation with the attorneys at MHK, call 888-222-1328.

Contributed by MHK Phoenix Estate Planning Attorney and Senior Partner, Dan R. Morris.

Why Choose Morris, Hall & Kinghorn:
You have a number of options when it comes to estate planning, so why pick Morris, Hall & Kinghorn?  First off, estate planning and asset protection are a very complicated endeavor and you should only trust someone who focuses exclusively on those matters.  Also, MHK is a proud member of The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA) which provides us additional support, advanced training, tools and information that is not available to others – which means that we can better protect your assets and your loved ones.  We are one of only two firms in Arizona that belong to the AAEPA and are the only firm in New Mexico that has been granted membership.  If you have assets and loved ones that you want to protect, you are in good hands with MHK.  Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!

This blog should be used for informational purposes only.  It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.

See more at: http://morristrust.com/2014/08/new-sandwich-generation/#sthash.0ZWMA3Or.dpuf