Read about our services in our new brochure. Click here to view it online or email us at Info@ElderLawAssociates.com to request copies. | |
 Please join us in congratulating partner Howard S. Krooks, J.D., CELA, CAP for being named a New York Super Lawyer - Metro Edition for the second consecutive year. Elder Law Associates PA is uniquely positioned to address all of our clients' New York elder law and estate planning needs as a result of Mr. Krooks' Of Counsel relationship with Amoruso & Amoruso LLP, located in Westchester County New York.  Attention professionals who serve seniors: Don't forget to register for our 2nd Annual Elder Law Forum, "The Tidal Wave is Coming: Preparing to Meet the Needs of Seniors and Aging Baby Boomers" on November 12, 2009. Space is limited and filling up fast!
The Forum will be held from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Stratford Court at Boca Pointe and feature a unique array of presenters from health care, care management, law and consumer advocacy who will address critical questions facing seniors living in Florida. We will focus on the burgeoning demographic of seniors and aging baby boomers and how existing government benefits programs will need to evolve in order to meet the tidal wave of increased care needs.
Click here for the invitation which includes the program details and speaker bios. Click here for the registration form.
We provide The Elder Law Update to our clients and our colleagues who make up a wide range of service providers for seniors and people with disabilities to facilitate the dissemination of helpful and accurate information. We thank you for letting us share our knowledge with you. We continue to welcome your comments and questions. You may send them to Info@ElderLawAssociates.com. |
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Insurance Industry Fighting to Remove Kennedy's LTC Plan From Health Reform
 A proposal to establish a new national long-term care insurance program that would offer basic help to the elderly and disabled is under attack by the insurance industry. Although the proposed program is still included in major health reform bills in both the House and Senate, it is unclear whether it will make it to the final legislation.
"It's got a long way to go to survive," says Brian W. Lindberg, Public Policy Advisor to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Proposed by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act would set up a voluntary, federal long-term care insurance program. Those who wish to participate would pay a premium of roughly $65 per month, far less than the typical cost of private long-term care insurance. After they had contributed for at least five years, participants would be eligible for benefits of either $50 or $100 per day, depending on degree of impairment. While the benefit would be modest compared to the average cost of nursing home care, it could be used instead to pay for a range of services that would help people stay in their homes. The CLASS Act was first introduced in 2007 by Sen. Kennedy, then-Sen. Barack Obama and current Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT).
The CLASS Act is part of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's health care reform bill. This measure will eventually be merged with legislation coming out of Baucus's Finance Committee that is being finalized and does not contain the CLASS Act. On the House side, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved an amendment by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) to add a bare-bones version of the CLASS Act to the House health reform legislation, HR 3200, which has not yet been passed by the full House.
As reported earlier by ElderLawAnswers, the Obama administration has thrown its support behind the CLASS Act, but that support may not be enough. As The Disability Policy Collaboration reports in its latest Action Alert, the insurance industry has recently launched what the Collaboration calls "a full-scale attack" on the CLASS plan. The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the major trade group representing life insurers (including the leading providers of long-term care insurance), has gone on the offensive against the CLASS Act, which could cut into the sales of its members' private long-term care products. ACLI argues that the CLASS Act's modest benefit will not adequately protect Americans who need nursing home care or 24-hour home health care services.
ACLI is missing the point, counters The Disability Policy Collaboration, which is a partnership of The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy. "By focusing on these extreme ends of long-term care, the industry is mischaracterizing the typical needs of most people with disabilities and older Americans," the Collaboration states in its Alert. "What they most need is some assistance with things like getting up the stairs or getting dressed so that they can stay at home and not enter nursing homes or obtain full-time care before they truly need it. The CLASS plan's cash benefit of about $27,000 per year can go a long way to meeting this need by paying for things like ramps and railings or a few hours a day of a home health worker."
ACLI is also concerned that the CLASS Act will give consumers a false sense of security and further discourage sales of long-term care insurance. (Many consumers already mistakenly believe that Medicare will cover their long-term care needs.) "Simply put, the federal government should not get into the business of providing long-term care insurance. It sets the stage for doing more harm than good to consumers," said ACLI President and CEO Frank Keating.
The Disability Policy Collaboration, is urging individuals to "take on the insurance industry" by calling or faxing their Senators and Representative.
To read the CLASS Act in the HELP committee's bill, click here and scroll down to Subtitle H, Sec. 190 (page 153).
News Update: Vice President Joe Biden has reiterated the administration's support for the CLASS Act. |
Program Provides Support Services to Family Caregivers
 Caring for a family member is hard work, and without support, caregivers can easily get burnt out or overwhelmed. However, there is help available for caregivers if they know where to look. The National Family Caregiver Support Program is a federal initiative that provides money to states to fund programs that support family caregivers. The goal is to help caregivers care for seniors at home for as long as possible.
The National Family Caregivers Support Program supports family caregivers of adults aged 60 or older or anyone with Alzheimer's disease. It also funds services to grandparents and relative caregivers, age 55 or older, of children 18 years of age or under or who care for a relative with a disability age 19 to 59.
Under the program, states must provide the following five types of services:
- Information about available services
- Assistance in accessing services
- Counseling, support groups, and training
- Respite care for the caregiver, which could be through companions, home health aides, adult day care, or in-facility care
- Supplemental services, such as medical supplies, home safety aides, legal assistance, and financial consultation
The exact services vary from state to state, but caregivers can receive anything from training seminars to case management to home-delivered meals. The services provided are supposed to make daily tasks and routines a little easier.
To find out more about what help is available in your state, contact your local agency on aging. |
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Book Review: A Parent's Guide to Wills & Trusts: For Grandparents, Too
 Don Silver. A Parent's Guide to Wills & Trusts: For Grandparents, Too. Adams-Hall Publishing. Los Angeles, CA. 2008. 248 pages.
$19.95 from Amazon (click on book to order)
Getting started on an estate plan can be overwhelming. A Parent's Guide to Wills & Trusts is an easy-to-understand overview of estate planning that helps explain all the factors to consider and decisions to make.
Written by an estate planning attorney, this is not a do-it-yourself book. Instead, the author, Don Silver, explains everything you need to know to be comfortable as you work with an attorney to plan your estate.
Using a question-and-answer format, Silver explains how to protect children and grandchildren, how to build flexibility into an estate plan, and how to determine what your children will need. He also discusses joint tenancy and beneficiary designations as well as special situations such as second marriages and special needs trusts. There are also chapters on health directives and taxes. The final chapter provides a summary of what you need to include in an estate plan and a checklist of essential documents.
Throughout the book, Silver provides practical advice and hints to make your estate plan work for you. Written simply and concisely, A Parent's Guide to Wills & Trusts provides helpful advice for planning your estate and asking your lawyer the right questions. |
What Is a Trust Protector and When Might You Need One?
 Trust protectors -- long popular in offshore trusts set up by high rollers -- are now gaining popularity in trusts established here in the U.S. by less affluent folks. A trust protector is someone who is appointed to watch over a trust that will be in effect for a long time and ensure that it is not adversely affected by any changes in the law or circumstances.
There are a number of reasons for appointing a trust protector. Having a protector allows a long-term trust to be more flexible and adapt to factual and legal changes. For example, beneficiaries may get divorced or die prematurely or the law may change. A protector can also be helpful if you believe there may be conflict among the beneficiaries and the trustee or if you don't fully trust the trustee to fulfill your wishes.
You can name a trust protector in your trust document, which will also dictate the trust protector's powers. Here are some powers that a trust protector may be given:
- Remove and replace a trustee
- Allow the trust to be amended due to changes in the law
- Resolve disputes between trustees (if there is more than one) or between beneficiaries and the trustee(s)
- Change distributions from the trust based on changes in the beneficiaries' lives
- Allow new beneficiaries to be added if there are additional descendents
- Veto investment decisions
Whatever powers the trust protector has, you should be as specific as possible in the trust document. The more specific you are, the more likely your wishes will be carried out. An attorney can help you ensure that the trust protector does not have too much power.
Technically, anyone can serve as a trust protector; however, it is a good idea to appoint an independent third party rather than a family member or a beneficiary. A lawyer or accountant may be a good choice. There are also companies that provide trust protector services. |
| 529 Plans Can Pay for Computers and Internet Next Two Years
 Tax-free college savings plans and prepaid tuition programs -- so-called 529 plans -- can be used to buy computer equipment and services for an eligible student during 2009 and 2010. The change was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), aka the Stimulus Bill, enacted earlier this year.
Named for Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, 529 plans enable taxpayers to reduce their taxable estates while earmarking funds for the higher education of a family member. Earnings from these accounts are tax-free, and grandparents often set them up to help grandchildren with college expenses.
Funds contributed to such accounts are invested to pay for an individual's college tuition, room and board, or other expenses. For 2009 and 2010, the ARRA change adds to this list expenses for computer technology and equipment or Internet access and related services to be used by the student while enrolled at an eligible educational institution. Software designed for sports, games or hobbies does not qualify, unless it is predominantly educational in nature.
Individuals can contribute up to $13,000 (in 2009) per year ($26,000 for a couple) to 529 accounts without incurring a gift tax. Or, up to $65,000 ($130,000 for a married couple) can be contributed in the first year of a five-year period, as long as there are no additional gifts to that same beneficiary over the five years. In other words, 529 accounts can be a quick way of getting a sizable amount of money out of a taxable estate.
For more on 529 accounts, click here.
For more from the IRS on the ARRA change, click here.
The IRS has added a new Tax Benefits for Education section to its Web site that includes a special section highlighting 529 plans and frequently asked questions. | |
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Elder Law Associates PA is a boutique elder law firm that practices exclusively in Medicaid and long term care planning including long term care insurance, Medicaid applications, home and community-based Medicaid waiver services, diversion program benefits, nursing home benefits, spousal refusal applications, and Medicaid fair hearings and appeals; nursing home and assisted living facility residents' rights litigation; asset preservation planning with a special focus on planning in light of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, including personal service agreements, the purchase of life estates, income producing real estate and spenddown planning; disability planning, including special needs trusts and guardianship; estate planning, including wills and trusts and advance directives; and probate, which encompasses estate and trust administration as well as litigation.
We assist clients in planning for the possibility of disability, incapacity, home health care, assisted living and/or nursing home placement. Our firm enables clients to avoid impoverishment caused by the escalating cost of long term care, to maintain their right to make health care decisions and to avoid unnecessary medical treatment.
We hope you have enjoyed The Elder Law Update. If you have questions about something you read, elder law matters or issues concerning persons with disabilities, we would be delighted to hear from you. We serve as an elder law resource to many professionals and organizations and want to become your elder law resource as well. You can reach us at Info@ElderLawAssociates.com.
Warm regards,
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Ellen S. Morris, Esq. & Howard S. Krooks, Esq., CELA, CAP
Elder Law Associates PA
phone: (561) 750-3850 / (800) 353-3752
fax: (561) 750-4069
This publication is intended for general information purposes only. It is not intended to constitute individual legal advice to any specific client. |
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