There are 5 documents that every responsible adult needs.  We all know that life happens and unfolds in unpredictable ways and sometimes  events can place us in unfortunate circumstances.
In a nutshell, these documents speak for you when you cant.   These important legal papers let your family and friends know your decisions about critical issues such as: what you want done with your property, how you would like your children to be raised, end of life decisions,  and much more.

Here are the 5 Documents:

• Living Will
• Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare
  
• Financial Power of Attorney
• Will and/or Trust
• List of Assets

Living Will – A living will is a simple statement of what you would like done during the final days and hours of your life.  If you would like to be allowed to die without heroic medical efforts being made to keep you alive then a living will is an important part of your medical chart.

A living will is limited. It only controls your medical care when you have an incurable illness or injury that will lead to your death over the next few hours or days. If you are seriously injured but are not likely to die from your injuries then your doctor and your family will look to your power of attorney for healthcare for guidance.

Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare – A healthcare power of attorney is more powerful than a living will. The living will is a piece of paper containing a brief statement of your end-of-life wishes. A Power of Attorney allows you to choose a person who will stand in your place, to talk with your doctors, and decide what care you should receive. The person named to make decisions is called an “agent.” Getting copies of medical records has become particularly difficult in the last few years. The Power of Attorney for Health Care also allows your agent to access your records.

Financial Power of Attorney – This document allows you to appoint someone as your agent.  Your agent can go to the bank for you and can make financial decisions on your behalf. Your agent will also be able to talk with utility companies (phone, light, gas) and conduct other business for you.

List of Assets – To make things easier on your family it is important to have a written record of what assets you have and where they can be found. It does not do any good to have a millions dollars in the bank if your family does not know you have it or which bank it is in.

Will - A will is instructions to the probate court. It tells the judge who should receive your property, who should raise your young children, and who should act as your representative in court. A will must be filed in the court after a person dies. The court would then have control over how assets are handled.

Trust – Your trust controls your property when you are incapacitated and after you are gone.  It can help insure that your children or grandchildren stay in school, help them open a business, and help carry out any other special plans you have. It is designed to do all of this without the need to go to court. This will likely save time and money for you and your loved ones.

Here is how to contact me anytime.

My office phone is (773) 905-1193

My office is located at 9924 S. Walden Parkway, Chicago, Illinois 60643

You can contact me instantly by e-mail at: tom@mytrustlawyer.com

Medicaid is a program that provides health insurance coverage to low-income and disabled persons. Medicaid is paid for jointly by the Federal and State governments. It also pays for nursing home care for people who qualify. Medicaid has become the largest payer of the nursing home bills of middle class Americans.

In most states, including Illinois, Medicaid pays very few of the costs of in-home care. New York stands out as an exception. New York pays for home care to all Medicaid recipients. Home care can cost less than care in a nursing home. A few other states (Wisconsin, Oregon, Hawaii, and Massachusetts) are attempting to show that Medicaid can save money and provide good care to patients without requiring them to leave their homes. Some people receiving Medicaid benefits in Florida have sued the state government saying that their rights have been violated. These changes may, some day, have an effect on the Medicaid program in Illinois.

Each state runs the program for its citizens. Because of this, the rules are a little different in every state. The basic system is the same across country. Be sure to consult an elder attorney in your state before applying for benefits.

Asset Limit

In order to be eligible for Medicaid benefits a nursing home resident may have no more than $2,000 in “countable” assets.

When the person in a nursing home has a spouse living at home the spouse is called a “community spouse”.  The community spouse is allowed to keep the couple’s joint assets up to $109,560 in “countable” assets. This amount is adjusted for inflation each year.

There are some “non-countable” assets which do not count against the Medicaid limit:
*Personal items like clothing, certain pieces of jewelry, and furniture
*A motor vehicle, worth up to $4,500 (no limit to the value for a stay at home spouse).
*The applicant’s home (subject to certain limits).
*A prepaid funeral
*A life insurance policy with a face value of $1,500.
*Prepaid funeral plans and a small amount of life insurance

Penalty for Transfers

There is a penalty for transferring assets. Lawmakers want you to pay your nursing home bills and have Medicaid pick up the tab when you have very little left. In years past a person could enter a nursing home on today, give their money away the next day, and apply for Medicaid by the weekend. Congress put a penalty in place so people who transfer assets can not receive benefits for a period of time after the gift. The penalties have been made tougher with the new rules, called the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA).

The penalty period is calculated by dividing the amount given away by the cost of care.

As an example, the cost of care in Illinois is around $6,000 per month. If a transfer of $6,000 was made then the penalty would be 1 month during which Medicaid would not pay any nursing home bills ($6,000 ÷ $6,000 = 1). If $60,000 was transferred then the penalty would be 10 months ($60,000 ÷ $6,000 = 10). If $600,000 were transferred then the penalty period would be 100 months or 8 years and 4 months ($600,000 ÷ $6,000 = 100).

Some Transfers Do Not Earn A Penalty

Transfers to the applicant’s spouse (for the benefit of that spouse).
Transfers can be made to a blind or disabled child
Transfers can be made to a trust for the “sole benefit of” a disabled person under age 65.

There are special rules for the transfer of a home. The Medicaid applicant may transfer his or her home to certain people without a penalty:

*The applicant’s husband or wife
*A minor child of the applicant (under age 21)
*A blind or disabled child or the applicant
*To a trust for the “sole benefit of” a disabled person who is under 65 years old
*To the brother or sister of the applicant who has lived in the home for a year before the applicant went into a nursing home (if they already owned part of the home)
*To a child of the applicant who has lived in the home for two years before the applicant entered a nursing home and who took care of the applicant so that they could stay out of the nursing home longer.

Contact me.

My office phone is (773) 905-1193

My office is located at 9924 S. Walden Parkway, Chicago, Illinois 60643

You can contact me by e-mail at: tom@mytrustlawyer.com

If you have a child with special needs then you have special issues to consider. When your child reaches the age of 18 she will become elegible for state benefits. If you or other family members give valuable gifts to your child you may endanger their elegibility for those benefits.

It is important that any gifts of cash or property be left to a specially written trust and not directly to your special needs child.

The special needs trust will name a manager who can hold and distribute assets for your child and still allow them to receive government benefits.

This type of trust is called a special needs trust.  They are set up to provide for ”special” needs. Those needs which are over and above the expenses paid for by government programs or by charitable organizations.

The trustee of a special needs trust is given strict instructions on how the trust assets may be used. The trustee may pay only those expenses that will not be paid for by a governmental agency or by a charity.

Trust assets may be used to provide extras that make life more interesting and fun for your child. The trust can pay for the extra things you would privide for your child if you were still here.

Example: If a State agency will pay for medical care then the special needs trust can not pay for doctor visits. If there is no State program or charity that will pay for summer camp for your child then the trust can pay to send your child to camp.

The estate plans of family members should be adjusted.

Your planning should include letting all family members know about the special needs trust. It is very important to make sure that their estate plans do not make gifts directly to the special needs child. It is much better for them to make gifts to the special needs trust.

Contact me.

My office phone is (773) 905-1193

My office is located at 9924 S. Walden Parkway, Chicago, Illinois 60643

You can contact me by e-mail at: tom@mytrustlawyer.com