More On The Medicaid Jungle: Planning For A Disabled Spouse

What happens if your spouse needs care? You not only need to consider his/her costs, but also the income you'll need to live on. The law governing this situation is the Spousal Impoverishment provision of the Medicare Catastrophic Act of 1988. And it's just as complicated as it sounds!

Basically, the couple's assets are divided in half. The spouse at home is the "community spouse," and the one in care the "institutionalized spouse." A few states allow the community spouse to keep the maximum of (up to) $109,650. However, most state just divide the assets in two. The institutionalized spouse can keep $2,000, and the amount the community spouse can keep is the Community Spousal Resource Allowance (CSRA).

The community spouse is allowed a minimum income, called the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA), currently set by the federal government at $1,750 per month. So, if a female community spouse has $500 in Social Security income and her disabled husband has Social Security of $1,250, all his income would be diverted to his Community Spouse to get her income to the MMMNA of $1,750.

However, if the community spouse earns $2,000 a month between her Social Security and pension, the other spouse's $1,250 would go to the nursing home as a co-pay. Confused yet???

Planning alternatives do exist. But you won't find them without the assistance of an Elder Law attorney.

Your friends may tell you, "Just Give Away $13,000 Per Year to Each Child." Unless they're Elder Law experts, however, don't listen!

In Medicaid's eyes, even small gifts can be combined to establish a long period of ineligibility. And that's before the state even looks at your assets!

Medicaid considers a gift to be a transfer. And if these transfers were made during the previous five years, the state would expect the family to return the money to pay for care.

You may think you've dealt with frustrating bureaucracies before. But - trust me - until you deal with Medicaid, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

You don't have to deal with Medicaid alone, though. That's why we're here.

At the Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates, we practice Elder Law - and only Elder Law. We've been practicing it for 33 years. And we've walked thousands of South Florida families through the Elder Law Journey...not only with Medicaid, but also with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, asset preservation, long-term care planning, and the VA.


We deal with Medicaid every day.

And we're just a phone call away.

Our efforts to help folks cope with Alzheimer's & Dementia

To gain access to our FREE Alzheimer's caregivers' Support Online Resource center, visit: www.southfloridamemorylawyer.com

Betty Ford

Former First Lady Betty Ford recently celebrated her 93rd birthday.  Most of us associate her with the alcohol and substance abuse recovery treatment center she created. But she was and is much more.

Her public battle with breast cancer encouraged hundreds of thousands of women to have a mammography, saving countless lives. And her in-depth study of addiction issues pointed her to women with AIDS, whose unique problems led to substance abuse; and to her testifying before Congress in favor of health care coverage.  

As a young woman, Mrs. Ford made regular visits to hospitals for disabled children and first witnessed the potential for rehabilitation.  

We thank her for her groundbreaking efforts and wish the former First Lady continued health and happiness.

To learn more about this and other topics, as well as the Elder Care services that we provide under
"The Elder Law Umbrella", call The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld and Associates at 954.726.6602 or visit http://www.florida-elderlaw.com/

And additional links that offer other useful information FREE, brought to you by The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld and Associates:

www.medicaidcrisislawyers.com/reiterfeld

www.learnvabenefits.com/reiterfeld

www.estateandlonglifeplan.com/reiterfeld

Sincerely, 

Alice Reiter Feld

Larry King Special: A Must See for Folks Contending with a Loved One with Alzheimer's

As many of you know, our firm specializes in supporting caregivers to Alzheimer's patients, whether a loved one, friend or professional caregiver. We have made a significant moral, emotional and financial investment in acquiring the BEST possible resources, assembled them in a convenient, online resource center and offer them to you completely FREE of charge at: www.southfloridamemorylawyer.com

 PLEASE MAKE A NOTE TO VIEW THIS EPISODE OF LARRY KING: His Special “Unthinkable: the Alzheimer’s Epidemic” airs May 1, 8pm ET   It’s being called the disease of the 21^st century as an estimated 5.4 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It is the sixth-leading cause of death across all ages in the United States, but many Americans still do not know much about this illness. The one-hour special will look into Alzheimer’s disease, who gets it and why, the race to find effective treatments and a possible cure.

Please be sure and come back to us with your comments after the show!

Denial, Denial, Denial

One of the saddest things I see in my office is families who are in denial about a family member with a memory disorder.  Sometimes the denial is in the form of ignorance, sometimes fear.   But it’s heartbreaking to watch. 

Denial is such a powerful emotion that it is often difficult to break through.  The problem with denial is that reality always wins and being prepared for the reality beats having it crash down.

Baby Boomers are the best when it comes to denial.   I guess if you’ve been called “baby“ your whole life, it’s hard to imagine that you will ever be a victim of Alzheimer’s disease.  But 10 million of us will! 

Our firm has made a significant investment in acquiring the highest quality information designed to guide caregivers and family members through the Alzheimer’s progression. Our dedicated Alzheimer’s resource center is available FREE, and can be accessed at: www.southfloridamemorylawyer.com

Help us educate the senior community-at-large. Feel free to send this message along to all your friends and family…

To learn more about the Elder Care services that we provide under the Elder Law Umbrella, call The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld and Associates at 954.726.6602 or visit www.florida-elderlaw.com

And additional links that offer other useful information FREE, brought to you by The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld and Associates:

www.medicaidcrisislawyers.com/reiterfeld

www.learnvabenefits.com/reiterfeld

www.estateandlonglifeplan.com/reiterfeld