25 03, 2020

Medicare is Expanding Telehealth Services During Coronavirus Pandemic

2020-03-25T10:38:03-04:00March 25th, 2020|

As part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government is broadly expanding coverage of Medicare telehealth services to beneficiaries and relaxing HIPAA enforcement. This will give doctors the ability to provide more services to patients remotely. Medicare [...]

16 03, 2020

Estate Planning When You Live in Two States

2020-03-16T11:19:38-04:00March 16th, 2020|

Some lucky retirees split their time between two different states. Legally, you do not need separate estate planning documents for each state, but it may make sense from a practical perspective. The Constitution of the United States requires that states [...]

9 03, 2020

Medicare and Medicaid Will Cover Coronavirus Testing

2020-03-15T11:50:07-04:00March 9th, 2020|

With coronavirus dominating news coverage and creating alarm, it is important to know that Medicare and Medicaid will cover tests for the virus. The department of Health and Human Services has designated the test for the new strain of coronavirus [...]

8 03, 2020

Medicaid’s Asset Rules

2020-10-02T10:02:12-04:00March 8th, 2020|

In order to be eligible for Medicaid benefits a nursing home resident may have no more than $2,000 in "countable" assets (the figure may be somewhat higher in some states). Note that Medicaid is a state-run program, so the rules [...]

6 03, 2020

Make Sure Your Life Insurance Is Not Taxed at Your Death

2020-03-15T11:55:15-04:00March 6th, 2020|

Although your life insurance policy may pass to your heirs income tax-free, it can affect your estate tax. If you are the owner of the insurance policy, it will become a part of your taxable estate when you die. You [...]

3 03, 2020

How Does Medicaid Treat Income?

2020-03-03T09:58:07-05:00March 3rd, 2020|

The basic Medicaid rule for nursing home residents is that they must pay all of their income, minus certain deductions, to the nursing home. The deductions include a $60-a-month personal needs allowance (this amount may be somewhat higher or lower [...]

28 02, 2020

How to Include Cryptocurrency in an Estate Plan

2020-03-30T04:29:49-04:00February 28th, 2020|

The growing popularity of cryptocurrency means it is increasingly something that must be considered when planning an estate. If you own cryptocurrency, providing instructions in your will is a must. Cryptocurrency is virtual money that exists only in digital form. [...]

24 02, 2020

When Inheriting Real Estate, Consider Your Options

2022-09-03T07:00:24-04:00February 24th, 2020|

Inheriting real estate from your parents is either a blessing or a burden -- or a little bit of both. Figuring out what to do with the property can be overwhelming, so it is good to carefully think through all [...]