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Rules for MassHealth nursing home eligibility are designed to help cover the costs of long-term care. The rules are notorious for being complicated, which can lead to misunderstandings about whether you qualify and for how much coverage. Countable Assets There is a limit on “countable” assets—that is, the assets that count against your MassHealth eligibility.Read more

Protect assets from bankruptcy, lawsuits or divorce. Estate planning is a way to protect your assets and preserve as much as possible for your end of life care and your beneficiaries. Estate planning can help to avoid paying a hefty estate tax if possible, provide for the care and custody of any minor child youRead more

If you’re 65 or over and female, you have a 52% chance of needing a nursing home stay in your future, whether briefly or perhaps for the rest of your life. Men have a 33% chance. Depending on your physical condition and financial situation, you may be able to qualify for MassHealth and Medicaid. MassachusettsRead more

Estate planning is a way to save taxes, prevent family disputes, take care of your dependents, and ensure that you will be cared for if you become incapacitated. Even if you don’t think of yourself as someone wealthy enough to qualify as having an estate, any property you have when you die will be subjectRead more

As you may know, estates in Massachusetts may be subject to an estate tax. The tax rate varies, starting at 0.8% and topping out at 16% for estates worth more than $1 million—even if the value is just a dollar or so over $1 million. In contrast, the federal government only taxes the amount overRead more

MassHealth is Massachusetts’ Medicaid offering, designed to help low-income residents get the medical care that they need. At some point in your life, you might find that you or a loved one needs the care of a full-time nursing facility. This can be a lengthy and arduous process, given the amount of forms and informationRead more

Conservators aren’t just for Britney Spears—they’re court-appointed when an individual is mentally or physically incapacitated, or when a minor needs assistance managing their property. Conservators oversee finances while guardians oversee their ward’s personal care. In fact, in Massachusetts, guardians are not allowed to manage their ward’s finances at all. (Other states allow the roles toRead more

It’s tempting to write your own will, especially if your estate is fairly straightforward. After all, it saves money and time. But what saves money now could end up turning out to be a very costly, time-consuming ordeal for beneficiaries.  Understand these common  problems and do your research before deciding a DIY will (do-it-yourself) isRead more

With the abundance of legal software and internet resources, more and more people are turning to writing their own wills. This can be a minefield and is often not foolproof, but if you have a fairly straightforward estate and your bequests aren’t complicated, writing your own will is an option. But how do you getRead more

Trusts aren’t just for the wealthy The majority of the population may never have considered it, but a trust is a great option for a lot more people than the top 1%. You might be able to get by with a simple will but having a smaller estate shouldn’t rule trusts out completely. Here areRead more

It can be tough when you face the moment where you become responsible for your parents—but it may  happen. It’s smart to plan for that before illness renders your parents incapable of handling their own finances. Aging parents may find it hard to believe they are no longer fully capable of running their own lives,Read more

The fact of your looming mortality isn’t exactly light-hearted dinner conversation, but as the saying goes, death and taxes are the only two certainties in life. Do your loved ones know how you want your funeral handled—or if you want one at all? If you care what happens to your body and how you’re remembered,Read more

The average cost of a nursing home ranges from $50,000 per year up to $92,000 per year (for a private room), which is simply out of reach for many older Americans. In Massachusetts the number can exceed $150,000 annually.  That can deplete your resources quickly, and no one wants to see their life’s savings disappearRead more

The best New Year’s resolution for 2020 may be to protect your family and loved ones by reviewing your estate plan. Being prepared for the unexpected can help everyone during a time of stress and emotion. The below checklist can get you started. Baker Law Group can help ensure your plan meets your wishes —Read more

Use your Estate to gift money, property or personal loans When your estate tax liability is too high for your personal preferences or needs, you may want to consider gifting your assets. With some strategic planning and advice from an estate planning lawyer, gifting assets to others may reduce your tax liability and keep youRead more

Taking on the role of estate personal representative or executor is an important and often emotionally fraught task: you’ll be responsible for managing the deceased’s entire estate. Mishandling the estate administration can result in liability to the estate or its beneficiaries. This article helps you to know what you’re likely to encounter before you acceptRead more

When you’re looking into applying for MassHealth (Medicaid), you should consider seeking an attorney for professional assistance. MassHealth has strict asset limits and making even minor mistakes can lead to long disqualification periods. Sometimes, all you’ll need is help gathering documents and filling out the forms, but for some, this will require wealth transfers. WhenRead more

A handwritten will may (1) have it’s validity challenged, (2) increase the cost to an estate, and (3) result in the distribution of assets in a manner that was not intended. Consider if saving on legal fees would be worth the drawbacks of having a handwritten will. In Massachusetts, if you are over 18 andRead more

Longer lives don’t always mean healthy lives; according to the Alzheimer’s Association, about half of people who live past age 85 will suffer from some form of dementia. Watching a loved one lose their language, reasoning abilities and memories is tragic, which makes it important for them to have an estate plan. When you’re caringRead more

No one wants to think about the end of life, but everyone should put their end-of-life wishes into writing. Making an estate plan isn’t just for the wealthy and it is not limited to a last will and testament. It can prevent unpleasant family disputes, take care of your dependents, and can ensure that you’llRead more

When a loved one passes away, it’s difficult enough without having to sort out emotionally fraught estate issues. Plus, there are laws that govern the transfer of property which can make everything more complicated while you just need to grieve. It’s best to plan ahead so that you and your loved ones never have toRead more

As you work with your attorney to plan your estate, one tool you may consider implementing is a testamentary trust. This type of trust is created in your last will and testament, with terms specified in the will. Unlike living trusts, testamentary trusts only start to act after your death. This means you’re able toRead more

Without a will, state law will determine what happens to your property that goes through the probate courts. This process is referred to as “intestate succession.” Your property will NOT pass to the state; instead, the law directs it to pass to your next of kin as illustrated in the chart below. In Massachusetts, consultRead more

Part of life is a role reversal that hits as our parents reach old age. For many people, at some point they become incapable of truly caring for themselves or maintaining their own home, at which point that role reversal hits, and the children become the caretakers. By this time, the children have often reachedRead more

Living trusts are a critical part of many people’s estate plans. Like wills, they are a method of transferring assets to your beneficiaries after your passing. However, they have many benefits that wills do not, which is why estate planners often urge clients to set up living trusts rather than relying solely on their lastRead more

One question we commonly receive from clients is whether or not estate planning is really necessary in their situation if they do not have any children. This is a well-meaning question, but it shows a general misunderstanding of what exactly estate planning is and why it’s important. Estate planning is more than just leaving behindRead more

Occasionally, we hear from clients or from others who have some objections to the idea of Medicaid planning in the context of paying for nursing home care. MassHealth is the Medicaid Program in Massachusetts. These objections are understandable to a degree—Medicaid planning does sometimes involve strategically eliminating assets so you can qualify for Medicaid andRead more

Medicaid is the single-largest source for funding nursing home care that exists in the United States. In Massachusetts, the Medicaid program is called MassHealth. With as prevalent as it is, one would think the general population would be more knowledgeable about it, including who qualifies and exactly what it covers. However, there are a lotRead more

One of the questions we commonly receive from estate planning clients is what would happen to their assets if they passed away without a will. Most simply put, the state’s intestacy laws would dictate how your assets are passed out to surviving relatives. The laws of intestate succession vary depending on whether you were marriedRead more

While you might need to “spend down” some of your assets to qualify for Medicaid or MassHealth in Massachusetts. To pay for your nursing home care, you typically will not have to sell your house as part of this process. However, there is still a chance the state will attempt to file a claim againstRead more