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      A Medicaid Agency's Right as an Annuity Beneficiary

      A recent court case, Hutcherson v. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Administration ("AHCCCS"), brought a ruling down regarding the State's recovery rights as a beneficiary of a Medicaid Compliant Annuity.  Within the decision: "We hold that the 2006 amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(1)(F)(i) creates a right in the State to recover as a remainder beneficiary against a community spouse's annuity for an institutionalized spouse's medical costs.  We further hold that the St ...

      Trusts and Annuities

      Trusts come in many different forms and are used for many different purposes.  Generally, trusts are either revocable or irrevocable, grantor or non-grantor, inter vivos or testamentary, and simple or complex.  Trusts are used to manage assets, distribute income, provide for college educations, pay for funerals, pay estate tax liabilities, and qualify for government entitlement benefits - Medicaid, SSI, and Veterans pension. Annuities also come in many different forms and are u ...

      Important Elder Law Number Updates for 2012

      As previously mentioned in a prior blog post I made, the first cost-of-living adjustment since 2008 has recently been made.  This adjustment brought a 3.7% increase to many of the planning figures used in an elder law practice every day. Spousal Impoverishment Standards Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $22,728 Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $113,640 Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $2,841 Income Cap Limit: $2,094 Minimum Ho ...

      The End of the J.G. Wentworth Battle

      Many elder law practitioners that utilize Medicaid Compliant Annuities in their planning are familiar with J.G. Wentworth proclaiming their ability to purchase any annuity - regardless of the provisions. We all know that a Medicaid Compliant Annuity cannot be sold under any circumstances.  The insurance company will refuse to honor any requests regarding change in ownership, annuitant, payee, or beneficiary.  This is because a Medicaid Compliant Annuity is irrevocable and non-assign ...

      Predeceasing a Medicaid Compliant Annuity

      "If a single person buys a Medicaid Compliant Annuity to provide income during a disqualification period, and the state Medicaid agency is designated as the primary beneficiary, what if the individual predeceases the annuity?" This is an excellent question that I receive quite often in the Ask Dale forum.  Krause Financial Services has a vast amount of experience with individuals predeceasing their Medicaid Compliant Annuities, and has worked with many states' Medicaid agencies in m ...

      Using an Annuity with a Personal Services Contract

      Primarily in Florida, Personal Services Contracts ("PSK"), which are also referred to as Caregiver Agreements, are widely used as a spend-down tool for Medicaid and Veterans benefits planning. A PSK generally services four purposes: It reduces an applicant's countable resources to an acceptable level, which entitles the applicant to receive benefits; It outlines the duties and obligations of the parties; It establishes the compensation that will be paid to the caregiver; and ...

      Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts and Tax-Deferred Annuities

      An Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust ("IDGT") is an irrevocable trust created so that the assets of the trust are attributable to the grantor for federal income tax purposes, but not for gift, estate, or generation skipping transfer tax.  The "defect" is that the grantor reports all of the income, deductions, and credits associated to the trust property on his or her personal income tax return.  The IDGT does not file an income tax return - IRS Form 1041. Likewise, when the IDGT ...

      Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011 - UPDATED 12/05/2011

      The first cost-of-living adjustment since 2008 has recently been made, bringing a 3.7% increase in benefits. The cost-of-living adjustments are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers ("CPI-W").  A cost-of-living adjustment effective for December of the current year is equal to the percentage increase (if any) in the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the current year over the average for the third quarter of the last year in which a c ...

      Sale of Residence, IRC § 121, and Trust Ownership

      Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") § 121 provides that a taxpayer may exclude from taxable income up to $250,000 of the gain realized on the sale or exchange of a principal residence, provided that the taxpayer owned and used the home as a principal residence for periods aggregating at least two years during the five years before the sale date and did not take advantage of the home sale exclusion for other property within the two year period before the sale.  A qualified married couple, as wel ...

      Building Flexibility into an Irrevocable Trust

      Today, an irrevocable trust is an excellent planning tool for those clients wanting to qualify for Medicaid benefits in the future.  Medicaid is the government program that pays for the bulk of long-term care provided in a nursing home setting. The goal of the plan is to establish and fund the trust with assets that are countable (unprotected) for Medicaid purposes.  Once the trust is established, funded, and five years has passed after the date of the last transfer, all the assets ...