Watch Your Language: MMMNA

When a Medicaid applicant is married, the rules allow their spouse to retain a minimum amount of assets and income. We’ve already talked about the community spouse resource allowance (CSRA); the minimum income level is called the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA). [Read More]

Watch Your Language: Income

The Medicaid definition of “income” comes from federal law and reads as follows: Income is “[a]nything a person receives either in cash or in kind that can be used to meet the person’s basic needs of food, clothing, or shelter.” [Read More]

Watch Your Language: CSRA

Recently we’ve referred to the community spouse a super hero. For this super hero, the special abilities aren’t mutations or the result of a yellow sun – she can’t fly and he’s not super-strong. Instead, their powers are tied directly to their status as the healthy spouse – the spouse who doesn’t need nursing home care. [Read More]

The Planning Effect

John-Doe-in-Hospital-with-Stressed-Wife

Sitting bedside with her husband after his stroke, Jane is talking with the discharge planner for the local hospital. After discussing the level of care John will need, Jane and the planner have decided that the nursing home connected with the hospital is the only viable option for John’s needs. Now Jane needs to visit the nursing home and figure out how she will pay for John’s care. [Read More]

I Digress: Estate Planning Includes Creating Your Legacy

One of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning is the opportunity to create your legacy. Believe it or not, creating a legacy isn’t all about having Northwest Iowa libraries and hospitals named after you. Instead, there are some more cost-efficient, yet great ways that you can help your family remember your values and beliefs. [Read More]

101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die – 1-20 [Part One]

Everyone loves ‘hacks’. From party hacks to Halloween costume hacks to garage organization hacks, if you want to simplify a project or task you can do a quick Google search or pay a visit to the Lifehacker website to find ways to effectively shortcut a complicated job. Why should that be any different for estate planning? Well, a DIY will is probably going to create more problems than it solves, but you can still simplify the estate planning process. Check out this first post in our five-part series to learn how. [Read More]