In last week’s post I began to discuss Medicaid redeterminations and how they have become more difficult than they once were. There are several reasons for this.    10 years ago New Jersey made changes to its Medicaid program that required certain applicants to utilize a qualified income trust.  I’ve written about the QIT a number of times in this blog but to summarize, it becomes necessary to use one when an applicant’s income exceeds the strict income cap or limit on income.  In 2024 the income cap is $2829 per month. When that occurs, a Medicaid applicatio ..read more

When I explain how Medicaid works, I cover the income and asset limits in the case of a single applicant as well as a married one.  I also talk about the 5 year Medicaid look back and the Medicaid penalty.  People typically ask me about the qualified income trust and Medicaid estate recovery. Meeting all these requirements makes the Medicaid application process seem overwhelming to most – and I wouldn’t disagree.  Once we get clients approved there is a sigh of relief – literally and figuratively.  Mission accomplished.    My final task as part ..read more

As I have written about frequently in this blog, many of the Medicaid numbers are updated annually.  Most but not all are adjusted in lock step with Social Security’s cost of living adjustment (COLA).  One Medicaid number that doesn’t adjust with Social Security is the Medicaid penalty divisor.  That is the number by which any transfers for less than fair value are divided to calculate the penalty – or waiting period – for Medicaid benefits.  This time period begins when a Medicaid application is filed and the applicant has proven that he/she has met all the ..read more

The last 2 weeks I have written about the increasing number of estate administration matters in our office in which there was no will and it is not clear who the heirs are.  These are cases where the decedent had no spouse or children.  We may know of the heirs on one side of the family, for example, on the paternal side but nothing about the maternal side.  In other cases we don’t know any of the heirs on either side. We must determine all the rightful heirs – and not just some of those heirs – to be sure that the estate assets are distributed correctly. Hiring a ..read more

There have been a number of stories in the media about an epidemic of loneliness among the elderly. This is in part because families are smaller and more spread out.  From an estate administration perspective, this means that many of these same people are dying alone and without apparent or at least known heirs. When someone dies without a will, state intestacy laws establish the line of heirs who are entitled to receive estate assets and in what order.  Spouses, children and other direct descendants take first.  When there are no such heirs, more remote family me ..read more

In my last 2 weeks’ blog posts I have been discussing the issues related to leaving your assets to beneficiaries who are not U.S. citizens.  This week I want to cover a couple of recent scenarios in our office.  One involved a decedent who was a U.S. citizen, died without a will and left a husband and minor son in Africa and a daughter in the U.S.  To further complicate the matter, the husband also had children not of his relationship with his wife. Under New Jersey intestacy laws, because the husband had other children, he is to receive only a part of the estate ..read more

In my post last week, I answered the question whether leaving assets to a non-U.S. citizen triggers any additional tax when compared to a U.S. beneficiary.  With the exception of a spouse, it generally makes no difference from an estate or inheritance tax standpoint.  There are, however, other practical considerations to take into account. For example, before an executor or administrator distributes the estate to the heirs, he or she should prepare an accounting showing what was taken into the estate, what was paid in estate debts and taxes and what each heir’s share of the ..read more

In some respects, naming a non-U.S. citizen as a beneficiary of your estate is no different than naming a U.S. citizen (with the exception of a spouse).  For example, while the amount that can be passed free of federal estate tax (there currently is no New Jersey estate tax) is currently $13.61 million, this applies only to the estates of U.S. citizens.  The amount that can be passed tax free by a non-U.S. citizen is $60,000. It is the citizenship of the decedent and not that the beneficiary that matters. The spouse is the exception because there is no marital deduction ava ..read more

In this 4th post of 4, I continue to discuss the topic of a catastrophic illness or injury hitting a younger family.  We discussed the issues of long term care which may be needed for extended periods of time or for life.  Advances in medical science can save lives but a lot of care is often needed.  But, as I stated last week, many of these patients may ultimately not survive.  So what happens if someone in their 30’s, 40’s or 50’s dies without a will? As I have written about in past blog posts, without a will the intestacy laws determine who inherits ..read more

In this 3rd post, I continue to discuss the topics of sudden catastrophic illness or injury at a younger age than one might ordinarily expect – such as someone in their 30’s, 40’s or 50’s.  Advances in medical science have saved many people who 20, 30, or 40 years ago probably would have died, however, the road to recovery is a slow one and many of these patients need long term care, unable to live on their own. Younger patients typically were working full or part time supporting families with minor children who are unable to make their own decisions and support themselves because of ..read more