Elder Law News

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that it will add data on staff turnover rates and weekend staffing levels to its Care Compare website, giving consumers another tool when choosing a nursing home. 

Overwhelmed by the stress of long hours, low pay and exposure to the COVID-19 virus, nursing home workers are quitting in record numbers. The labor hemorrhage has turned what was already a chronic staffing problem into a full-blown crisis.

When several siblings are heirs to a parent’s estate, who pays the capital gains tax when the home is sold? Does each heir pay on his or her portion of the proceeds or are taxes paid from the estate before funds are distributed?

The amount you can gift without filing a tax return is increasing to $16,000 in 2022, the first increase since 2018. The federal estate tax exclusion is also climbing to more than $12 million per individual.

My mom needs Medicaid for a possible future stay in a nursing home. She has not given any of her children power of attorney, and she refuses to sign anything, including any Medicaid application papers. Is there any way to apply for her without her signature?

The Biden administration is moving forward with a Trump-era pilot program that would hand over the care of millions of Medicare beneficiaries to private, mostly for-profit, groups. 

Elder law and estate planning serve two different–but equally vital–functions. The main difference is that elder law is focused on preserving your assets during your lifetime, while estate planning concentrates on what happens to your assets after you die. 

Anyone who gifted assets within five years of applying for Medicaid may be subject to a penalty period, but that penalty can be reduced or eliminated if the assets are returned. 

Vaccines can become less effective over time. Even individuals fully vaccinated as children may need to update their immunizations. Medicare Parts B and D offer vaccination coverage.

While everyone should have a durable power of attorney that appoints someone to act for them if they become incapacitated, in some circumstances it is not enough. In these cases, a revocable trust can help.