Adamsky Law Offices Blog

Medicare Premiums, Deductibles and Copayments for 2009 · Basic Part B premium: $96.40/month (unchanged) · Part B deductible: $135 (unchanged) · Part A deductible: $1,068 (was $1,024) · Co-payment for hospital stay days 61-90: $267/day (was $256) · Co-payment for hospital stay days 91 and beyond: $534/day (was $512) · Skilled nursing facility co-payment, days 21-100: $133.50/day (was $128) Social Security Benefit Changes for 2009 · Cost of Living Increase: 5.8 percent · Estimated Average Monthly Social Security Benefit Payable in January 2009: $1,153 · Maximum Taxable Earnings: $106,800 · Maximum Social Security Benefit: $2,323/mo.

The United States Congress has voted to increase the FDIC insurance on bank accounts to $250,000 per account/per holder. (It was part of the recent big ecomonic stability bill). This increase is only temporary - until the end of 2009. (It may later be made permanent.) FDIC insurance is per depositor, so a married couple (or anyone else) with a joint account gets double the amount of protection. This increase in protection also works for accounts owned by a Trust and certain accounts that have beneficiaries such as "ITF" or "Totten Trust" accounts. (An ITF [in trust for] or Totten Trust account is not really held in Trust - it is an account with a lifetime owner and one or more named beneficiaries to take ownership upon the death of the lifetime owner.) For a good explanation of the FDIC trust rules, check out the blog of my colleague Jan Myskowski of Wiggin and Nourie in Manchester, New Hampshire: http://wiggin-nourie.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-fdic-rules-regard

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the community spouse resource allowances (CSRA) and the maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance for 2009. The new minimum CSRA is $21,912 and the new maximum is $109,560. The new maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance is $2,739. The minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance remains $1,750 until July 1, 2009. The new figures are effective January 1, 2009, and reflect an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 4.9 percent from September 2007 to September 2008.

We invite you to register and attend the first-ever National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys public Webcast. "Aging in America: How to Plan for it" is a one-hour videotaped news program broadcast "live" via the Internet. Streamed at NAELA.org on October 30 at 1:00 pm ET, the free Webcast will be moderated by AARP's Wil Stoner and include NAELA panelists Bernie Krooks and Ron Fatoullah. Registration is available at NAELA.org.

The annual gift tax exclusion will increase from $12,000 to $13,000 effective January 1, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) just announced. The gift tax exclusion is the amount the IRS allows a taxpayer to gift to another individual without reporting the gift. This is not a limit on giving, it is a tax filing threshold . You are always free to give more than the threshold , but then you must file a gift-tax return. The life-time exclusion amount of $1 million means that most people won't ever have to pay gift tax - only those making total lifetime gifts above that amount will owe any tax. The increase in the yearly exclusion amount means that more can be given away for estate tax planning purposes in any one year. For example, a married couple with four children will be able to give away up to $104,000 in 2009 with no gift tax implications. You don't have to give to just children though, you can give to anyone that you would want to benefit, including relatives and friend

Medicare's monthly Part-B premium will be unchanged at $96.40 next year for most of the 44 million beneficiaries in the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. This is the first time in eight years the rate won't rise. Medicare fees will stay the same partly because the program's reserves have increased, according to a statement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is only the sixth time since Medicare was created in 1965 that rates held steady for two consecutive years, said Rick Foster, Medicare chief actuary. When asked if this had anything to do with the U.S. presidential election in November, Foster said, "There is no political manipulation." Every rate recommendation made by the chief actuary to Medicare administrators has been accepted without change, Foster said. "Lawmakers should not use today's announcement as an excuse to rest," AARP, the advocacy group for people 50 and older, said in an e-mai

One part of Estate Planning that I cannot control is the beneficiary designations on your Life Insurance and Retirement Accounts (IRA, 401k, etc). No matter what I write in your Will or Trust, it cannot change who gets those retirement accounts. This is accomplished with a Beneficiary Designation form held by the account custodian. You should have filled one out when you opened the account, and you can do a new one any time to update it. The trouble is that you can mess things up if you don’t enter the right beneficiaries or if you don’t coordinate your beneficiary designations with your other estate planning documents (your Will or Trust). Worse, you can do what you know is right and the account custodian (the bank or financial company holding the account) can mess it up for you. One of the main problems that people encounter is poorly crafted beneficiary designation forms. You need to name a Primary Beneficiary for your accounts, and you also need to name a Contingent or Alterna

The International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease was recently held in Chicago. New studies and information were revealed about the disease. There are some new treatments that show promise in research and that may be available for use within the next few years. The conference also focused on the best treatment practices for those suffering from the disease. One issue that strikes a nerve is the way caregivers and family communicate with Alzheimer’s patients. There is a tendency to view those with even mild levels of dementia as child-like. You, as an elder, may have already experienced someone treating you “gently” as if you were an ignorant little child. New research shows that this is poor behavior and should not be tolerated. The study showed that Alzheimer’s patients who are talked to like children or worse yet, with “baby talk” do not respond well to treatment. They often resist treatment and may even fight with their caregivers. This may be a nor

A bipartisan bill that would peg the estate tax to the 2009 level under current law has been introduced in the Senate. The legislation, S3284, was introduced July 17, 2008, by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and George Voinovich (R-OH). It would create a lifetime estate tax exemption of $3.5 million, indexed for inflation, and impose a top tax rate of 45 percent. Two days earlier, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced an estate tax reform bill in the House. HB6499 would leave the current $2 million estate tax exemption in place, and up the lifetime gift exemption to the same $2 million. Under the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001, the estate tax will expire for the year 2010, followed in 2011 by an individual exemption of $1 million and a top tax rate of 55 percent, unless Congress acts in the interim.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has vetoed language in the state's 2009 Budget that would protect nursing home residents from discharge due to a change in MassHealth clinical criteria. Without this language in the budget, frail elderly residents are at risk of being inappropriately discharged or being denied admission to a nursing home. Currently MassHealth will reimburse the nursing home costs of residents who have a combination of care needs known as “Score 3.” If an individual cannot be safely cared for in the community then nursing home care is the appropriate choice for that individual. Inclusion of Score 3 protective language in the budget has prevented previous attempts to “raise the bar” for MassHealth nursing home care and deny coverage to frail and ill individuals who don’t meet higher levels of required assistance. Since 2004 the protective language has allowed elders to receive nursing home care when it is needed and has spared families from struggling to provide

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has announced to its members that the Board has decided to move its headquarters to Washington, DC from its current location in Arizona. NAELA has over 5000 attorney members from all over the country who are the leaders in Elder Law and Special Needs representation. The Academy was started by members in the Arizona area and had been headquartered there for its first 20 years. Now with its growth and ability to be a bigger influence on legislation and benefits for elders and the disabled a location in the nation's capitol is the best place for NAELA. NAELA will also hire a new staff that will be directly employed by the academy and not an association management firm as in the past. This change should provide direct and specific support for NAELA's goals and services to its members. NAELA President, Craig Reaves, sent an annoucement to all members on July 14, 2008. He promised that the transition would go well and that the change s

A new website has been launched that seeks to remove the bad feelings often generated when a loved-one’s possessions are divided among the heirs (or not divided.) When a parent or other loved-one dies, the estate settlement process is often stressful for everyone. Not only is the family suffering from the personal loss, but now they have to deal with the technical legal details of Probate or Trust administration. Usually it is pretty easy to divide and distribute liquid assets like cash and stocks. But, those pesky personal possessions sometimes cause the most trouble, even though they may be worth less than everything else. Family fights are sometimes strongest and most emotional when it comes to a chest of drawers, a tea set, or a quilt. One way families have worked things out in the past has been an “auction” among the children or other heirs. This can be difficult if everyone cannot get together. So, modern technology has come through again with www.edivvyup.com . This websi

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued a new bulletin clarifying policy on the application of transfer of asset provisions to pooled trusts established by individuals age 65 and older. According to CMS, transfers to these pooled trusts are subject to transfer penalties for Medicaid eligibility purposes. The Bulletin says that States may need to change their regulations to come into compliance with the new directive. A pooled trust is a trust established for a disabled individual under United States Code Section 1917(d)(4)(C) and they are often called (d)(4)(C) trusts. The bulletin issued on May 12, 2008, states that “funds placed in a pooled trust established for an individual age 65 or older may be subject to penalty as a transfer of assets for less than market value.” The bulletin says that these trusts may be established for a disabled individual of any age, but the transfer to the trust for a person age 65 and over is a disqualifying transfer for Medica

About 50% of Alzheimer’s patients receive antibiotics in their last two weeks of life. There is no evidence that these drugs provide any benefits such as longer life or better quality of life. There are side-effects and pain associated with receiving antibiotics, so advocates are questioning their use. A new study is reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine that says the answer needs to be determined so proper procedures can be developed for the future. About 70 percent of the 5 million Americans with dementia will end up in a nursing home at the end of their lives. Repeated infections and fevers are common at the end of life. The decision to use antibiotics or not needs to be made on a case-by-case basis with the family. And, this points to the importance of having an Advance Directive , which allows patients to spell out their wishes for end-of-life care. A longer article about this issue and the study is available online in the magazine Health Day at http://healthday.com

As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s. 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's in their lifetime. Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of death . The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year. $89 Billion of free family care-giving was provided to people living with Alzheimer’s last year. These are just a few of the facts in the new report, 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures from the Alzheimer's Association. The report is a comprehensive statistical abstract of U.S. data on Alzheimer’s disease that includes: · prevalence · mortality · the costs of Alzheimer care · family care-giving · a special report on lifetime risk New Report: Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures (43 pages - PDF)

The United States Senate appears to have shown its support for reducing estate taxes rather than eliminating them and for setting the exemption at $3.5 million. While working on the fiscal year 2009 federal budget resolution, Senators voted on a series of amendments to the non-binding resolution. Although no actual legislation was being voted on, the balloting gives a sense of the Senators’ take on the issue. Senators voted 99-1 for a proposal introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to set the estate tax rate at the 2009 level and index the exemption for inflation. In 2009, the per-person estate tax exemption will be $3.5 million and the tax rate will be 45 percent. An amendment introduced by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million and cut the rate to 35 percent lost on a 50-50 vote. Two similar amendments lost by wider margins. Significantly, an amendment to abolish the estate tax, once a major goal of the R

The IRS is mailing special information packages regarding the Economic Stimulus Act to the 20.5 million recipients of Social Security or VA benefits who did not file a tax return in 2006. The 10-page package contains everything you will need to file a 2007 tax form. It has an informational notice, tips for completing Form 1040A, a sample Form 1040A and an actual Form 1040A for your use. The package is specially designed for people who may qualify for an economic stimulus payment but who normally aren’t required to file a tax return. Under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, you may be eligible for a payment of $300 ($600 for couples) even if you do not normally file a tax return. There also is an additional payment of $300 for those with eligible children under 17. However, you must file an income tax return to receive the payment. People who don’t normally need to file can use Free File – Economic Stimulus Payment , which is available at IRS.gov. Several Free File software provi

Seniors can benefit from the new economic stimulus law enacted on February 13th, but it appears that you will need to file an income tax return to do so. Seniors, disabled veterans, and veterans' widows will receive $300 payments if they earned $3,000 in Social Security or veterans' disability benefits in 2007. In addition, workers who earned at least $3,000, but not enough to pay income taxes, will be eligible for payments of $300. For higher income individuals, the law provides rebate checks of up to $600 per individual. The stimulus payment begins to phase out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $75,000 and married couples who file a joint return with AGI over $150,000. In order to get a rebate, you will need to file an income tax return even if you do not have any tax liability. You will need to report your Social Security income on the tax return. This does not necessarily mean you will be taxed on your Social Security income, but you must report it

Driving, to Americans, especially those of us in the suburbs, is a symbol of our independence and a necessary part of life. We want and need to keep driving as long as we can, and getting old shouldn’t stop us. But, there may come a time when you shouldn’t drive anymore. Will you know if it’s time to stop driving? Will your loved-ones be able to tell you when they see it? How will you and your family deal with your inability to drive? These are all questions you should explore and answer now before you face this difficult situation. You must first know the signs of unsafe driving. They include: driving at inappropriate speeds (either too fast or too slow), trouble staying in your lane, problems making turns, getting lost frequently, a slower response rate, stopping for no reason, getting frequent tickets, and being easily distracted. One or two of these may not indicate a problem, if they happen infrequently, but many and frequent occurrences should make it clear that you, or y

My mail box is filled with tax reporting documents at this time of year. All of my banks, brokers and employers are sending the IRS information on what I earned last year. I’ll have to file a return and report them all, or be subject to criminal and civil sanctions. Is there any way out of this? Some people think so, and have come up with many novel arguments why they don’t have to pay the tax. But, I’m not going to try any of them, and you shouldn’t either. The IRS recently issued a detailed report on the major “Frivolous Tax Arguments” and why they don’t work. You can read the entire 70-page report on the IRS website if you like, but I have summarized a few key sections in this article. Argument 1.: The Tax System is “Voluntary” so you don’t have to file a return. The tax system is “voluntary” in that it is controlled in the first instance by the taxpayer. We get to “voluntarily” report our income, calculate the appropriate tax, and then pay it. The system does not do it fo

Medicaid beneficiaries who need at-home assistance (and want to stay out of a nursing home) could soon choose to receive a cash allowance to hire their own home care workers or even pay a family member to deliver their care. Currently Medicaid beneficiaries who need help with the "activities of daily living" like bathing and dressing, must work with a professional home-care agency. This often limits choices about how and when care is provided, since agencies don't always have the ability to send workers at any time of the day or week. Family members sometimes fill the gaps, but they do so for free, thus sacrificing their own time and often losing out on paychecks. Now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a new rule that would give beneficiaries a cash allowance to hire, direct, and train their own personal care workers. Paid services could include help with preparing meals, household chores and other related services for independent living.

New research says that taking cholesterol-lowering (statin) drugs, offers no protection against Alzheimer’s disease as opposed to earlier reports which indicated otherwise. The January 16, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology reports on a study that found no relationship between statin use and Alzheimer’s disease. 929 people with an average age of 75 who were studied for up to 12 years and agreed to a brain autopsy at death. 119 were taking statins at the beginning of the study. During the 12 years, 191 people developed Alzheimer’s disease with 16 of those being ones on the statins. “Some studies have suggested people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs are less likely to have Alzheimer’s disease, but our longitudinal findings found no relation between statin use and Alzheimer’s,” said study author Zoe Arvanitakis, MD, MS, Associate Professor of the Department of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center

One of your most important Life & Estate Planning tools is the Durable Power Of Attorney . This is a written authorization, granting your chosen “Agent” (also called your “Attorney in Fact”) the legal power to act for you (you are called the “Principal.”) It is similar to hiring an employee to do a job for you, however an “Attorney-in-Fact” is usually an unpaid relative or friend (although it could be a paid professional such as your lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor). A power of attorney is “durable” when it is written so that it remains in effect even if you are incapacitated and cannot act for yourself. With the Power of Attorney, your Agent can take care of all of your financial and legal affairs. He or she can pay your bills, put money in the bank, take it out, sell your real estate (if that’s the right thing to do) and sign documents (such as your income-tax return) in your name. You are putting significant trust in your chosen Agent, so you must ens

Contrary to the Federal Register notice of Dec. 28, 2007, the 10 Regional Offices of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are not being abolished after all. CMS had announced in the Federal Register that its Regional Offices were being abolished. The notice stated that "Part F of the Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority for [CMS] . . . is amended to reflect the abolishment of the 10 Regional Offices." In fact, the notice was intended to convey only that the Regional Office organizational codes are being abolished. CMS Chief Operating Officer Charlene Frizzera emphasized this in a clarifying e-mail sent to CMS staff Jan. 4, 2008. "The valuable services that the ROs provide to our beneficiaries and other stakeholders," Frizzera wrote, "continue to be provided from the same 10 ROs, but now these services are provided under the field reorganization we announced to staff in February of 2007. . . . None of the Regional