QUOTE Effective long-term care planning can require gifting assets to a spouse or child. In Medicaid cases, assets must be transferred to the community spouse 90 days after approval. But it may be impossible to complete the required transfers if the power of attorney does not include the necessary language. That’s the importance of the gifting power. What is it? … Read More
In the News: Iowa’s Highest Court Rules Against Medicaid Applicant
Trusts can be a highly effective tool in nursing home planning. Certain types of trusts are effective even when a nursing home stay is imminent or even ongoing. But the list of viable trust options got smaller when the Iowa Supreme Court decided the Cox v. Iowa Department of Human Services case and ruled out pooled trusts in November 2018. … Read More
Confused about Trusts? Let’s Talk About Buckets Instead
Across the board, legal documents can be confusing. Just think about the paperwork needed to take out a mortgage – the legalese is overwhelming. And the same is true about trusts. Even the best document drafters can’t eliminate all the technical language in a trust document. Add to that all the different types of trusts – RLT, ILIT, IDGT, GRAT, … Read More
Watch Your Language: D.R.A.
In 2005, Congress passed legislation which, among many, many other things, changed the way a Medicaid applicant’s resources and past transfers are considered. This bill is called the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and was signed by the President on February 8, 2006.[Read More]
Watch Your Language: Penalty Divisor
If you’ve transferred assets within the lookback period, the state is going to assess an eligibility penalty period based on the value of all the transfers you made within that 60-month window. The penalty period can be calculated by dividing the value of that gift by the penalty divisor. [Read More]
Watch Your Language: Lookback Period
If you’ve heard anything about Medicaid, you’ve probably heard about the lookback period. In Iowa, the lookback period is the period of time starting with the day you apply for Medicaid and extending back through time for sixty months. We break that definition down after the jump. [Read More]
Devils, Details, and Deadlines: Calculating the Penalty Period
If you can’t prove you didn’t make a transfer to get on Medicaid, that transfer becomes a disallowed transfer. And that’s bad because a disallowed transfer means a penalty period will be imposed, delaying the time you are allowed to receive Medicaid coverage for the nursing home. The real question becomes: how do you calculate the penalty period? [Read More]
The length of the penalty period depends on the value of the assets transferred.
Watch Your Language: Penalty Period
A transfer occurs anytime you sell, trade, or give away money or property. Sometimes a transfer is for fair value, such as when you trade in your car or buy groceries. Sometimes, though, you make a transfer without expecting anything in return – like a birthday or Christmas gift. This is called a disallowed transfer, and it means you will not be eligible for Medicaid for a certain period of time called the penalty period. [Read More]
Watch Your Language: Transfer
Seems obvious, right? In daily life, a transfer happens when property changes hands. You can transfer money between bank accounts or transfer germs between school children. In grilling and smoking, “transfer” means removing food from the grill or smoker. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple in the Medicaid world. [Read More]
