Adamsky Law Offices Blog

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...