Latest / The Legal Exchange / Leaving assets unequally to your beneficiaries

Transcript

Leaving assets unequally to your beneficiaries · The Legal Exchange

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky from the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: law firm of Cushing and Dolan and Susan Powers of
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the Armstrong Advisory Group. Each week, Todd and Susan will
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: discuss many topics, including estate planning, how to avoid probate,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and protecting your money from a nursing home. If you
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: need assistance in any of these areas, or have a
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: question about another issue that may affect your future, call
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: to make an appointment. That's eight sixty six eight four
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: eight five six ninety nine. Operators are standing by. Now
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Tod Lutsky and Susan Powers.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Welcome into Legal Exchange with Todd Lotsky. I'm Susan Powers,
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: of financial Advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group and I'm
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with the law firm
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: of Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation. Welcome Todd.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: How are you?
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: I am never better on you?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I'm great? Thank you? What do you have for us this?
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: Welcome to the new year.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I know it.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: It's good though, it's good. Starting off a couple of
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: things got a case out of Wisconsin on a Wisconsin
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: appellid court case basically drafting, the intentions behind how you
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: draft really matter. And in this case they treated five
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: people equally, three kids and two grandkids and it was
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: pretty clear. But the kids didn't see it that way,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: so they were upset and they sued the lawyer. We'll
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: see how that plays out. But again, drafting so important, folks,
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: be clear with your intentions. Next we hit over to Kansas.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: We have an appellate court case there. Does the will
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: or the trust apply? And in this case does it
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: really matter? It was with a nineteen eighty five will,
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: then they died joint everything passed jointly. Then when the
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: person died later they wanted to they had done a
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: trust in between. It's just it's like the trust might
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: not even I mean, the will might not even matter.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure why they were fighting over the will
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: over the nineteen eighty five will when a trust was done.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: So stay tuned. You're going to learn how when you
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: change your plan, make sure you change all the documents
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: in your plan and not just some of your documents.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: But folks, that's all about both of these articles or
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: these cases are about plan about planning? What about when
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: you don't plan? And that's what this new guide is
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: about this month. It happens still, after all these years,
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: far too often that people don't do planning and are
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: faced with nursing home care and they think they have
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: to just write the check. Well, this guide is long
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: term care planning for the procrastinator. What have you not done?
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: And if you're faced with nursing home care? What can
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: you do from understanding the look back period? What gifts
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: can be made last minute? How annuities work for single people,
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: for married couples they can be done. What about pool trusts?
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Those were in and out and in and out and
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: they're back in, so we can learn about how to
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: do those. How does a house and a rental property
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: get treated? Folks? All of these things are in the
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: guide and it matters. Don't just write the check. If
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: you're faced with going into the nursing home, call and
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: get the guide eight six six eight four eight five
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com again
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: or Legal Exchange Show dot Com. Okay, let's head over
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: to Wisconsin. So in this case we have him, a
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: retired attorney, and his wife Flow. They created a revocable
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: trust in nineteen ninety eight. His partner, attorney Torren, actually
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: drafted the trust.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Good at least he didn't do his own documents right.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: The trust language simply said, upon the death of these
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: the trust breaks down into two buckets, a family trust
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: and a survivor trust. Okay, yeah, that's our ab marital
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: share remainder share that we talk about. So far, so good,
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: upon the death of the survivor, meaning we took care
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: of the spouse equally to five shares, benefiting three kids
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: and two grandkids. Hiram actually reviewed the trust before he
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: signed it and had a few changes. Tourney attorney Torren
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: spent over an hour with both of them reviewing the
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: trust right before they signed it, explaining it. Hiram died
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: in two thousand and six. Flow died in twenty nineteen.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: This is howite a while after and this is how long.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: These things take to kick around. Richard the Son ended
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: up blaming the trust. Richard the Son was the trustee,
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: and he started offering proposals on how to distribute the
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: assets to the five kids. I assume based on the
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: terms of the trust, so the kids and the grandkids,
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: I assume, well, Barbara and Barbara and j T his siblings,
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: they didn't like that. They weren't happy, so they filed
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: claims against Richard that he was doing wrong things wherever
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: those were. Well, the probate court said, no, the parents'
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: intentions were very clear, equally to five heirs.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Well, Barbara and JT. Weren't happy with that results, so
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: rather than appeal, they filed a malpractice claim against the
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: attorney Torn for drafting the trust negligently to thwart their intentions.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Attorney Torn, of course, filed a motion for some rejudgment
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: right away, saying, sure, there is no issue of material
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: fact here. The circuit court granted Attorney Torren's motion and
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: said the intent was crystal clear. The attorney did not
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: frustrate the testamentary purpose. Everybody was supposed to be treated equally.
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: They appealed, Wow, the appellate court quickly affirmed, saying there
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: was no evidence presented that anyone's intent was frustrated.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine an attorney takes that case and says,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: oh yeah, let's try it again. I mean, unless your
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: kids are going to college or something and you want
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: to bill.
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just beyond me on that one.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because your client's an attorney, I understand what they're
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: signing and what they're doing.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: I mean he spent an hour with them explaining it.
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: He's an attorney. I mean it was pretty clear. So
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: obviously the kids wanted to didn't want the grandkids to get,
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: you know, percent, and so they end up with sixty percent.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: They wanted all of it and.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: A completely broken family after that. I'm sure.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: Wow, yeah, and you get nothing now, Oh you still
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: get your stuff, but now you've you got nothing more
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: and you have lost your family. Yeah.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Wow, it's crazy. People think, oh, all my kids get along,
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: but everything changes when that bag of money hits the table.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: Unbelievable. But anyways, let's get some tips and lessons and
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: you know what can we learn from this. Obviously drafting
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: is important. So here was great marital share remainder share.
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: The trust was prepared properly. The shares were designed, you know,
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: for the surviving spouse to be trustee and to enjoy
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: the income and principle from the trust. No problem, That's
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: how it always is. And they were needed to maintain
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: their standard of living. And these trusts will shelter the
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: assets from being taxed federally and state the state tax
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: as needed. Probably had the formulas built in helped shelter
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: the taxes again, allowing more to go to the family.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: Good stuff, I would think. Also all the assets avoided
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: probate also good stuff for the family.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: No one wants to go there.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: So, folks, that's the way you draft it, and it works,
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: and when kids want it not to work, it works
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: upon death. Seemed they were really clear they wanted the
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: assets to go equally to five people. They chose to
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: treat the kids and the grandkids equally on their own.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: Now tip hopefully the grandkids share was held in trust
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: till they're thirty, to be used for their health, education,
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: maintenance and support. I didn't get that from the trust.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: I don't know what the trust said, but I'm going
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: to assume that the grandkids share at least was held
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: in trust.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: And it could have been kids of a deceased child,
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: could have been kids of the one that wasn't fighting
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: at all.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: I get the impression that it was three kids and
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: no diseased kids, and these are just two extra kids.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: They just wanted to treat them equally. And again, this
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: is one approach, right, This is an approach to ensure
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: that grandkids get at least something, especially if the trust
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: said the kids share is to be paid out, because
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: if the kids share is paid out, those kids could
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: get divorced and then there'd be nothing for the grand.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: News half the inheritance.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Right, so this was a way for them perhaps
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: to say I want to make sure the grandkids get something.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: People oftentimes end up liking their grandkids better than their kids.
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: That's right, So you can't fault them. I don't see
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: anything wrong with thiss trust, you know, other than maybe
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: what I would have done is I probably would have
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: divorced proofed all the assets, and that way the kids
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: are taken care of, the grandkids are taken care of
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: without having to disinherit a kid. Right, because it's all
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: in there to come out for kids and grandkids. And
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: my last comment is on the malpractice claim. Again, I
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: get yelled at for spending so much time with my clients.
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: You need an hour and a half for a meeting
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: just to get started, and then you need another hour
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: and a half to explain it to them later. You
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: gotta spend time greeting with clients, and you need to
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: have a flat fee so that you can provide questions
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: and answers all throughout the process. Folks, that's how it works.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: Get your planning done. But for those of you who
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: haven't planned and might be faced with a nursing home
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: please get the guide long Term Care Planning for Procrastinators,
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: Learn what to do Last Minute eight six six eight
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange show
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: dot com.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We've got much
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: more to come when we return to the Legal Exchange
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: with Todd Lutsky.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan. Here's
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan our elder law and estate
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes, savings,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: and retirement even when a health crisis comes out of nowhere.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: They've just released a new guide called long Term Care
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may still be
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: available and what steps you should take before writing that
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: first check to a nursing home. If you've been putting
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: this off, or a loved one needs care right now,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: time matters. Call Cushing and Dolin today at eight six
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: six eight four eight five six ninet nine to get
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: your free guide that's eight six six eight four eight
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: five six ninety nine, or you can request it online
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: by visiting Legal Exchange Show dot com. That's Legal exchange
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Show dot com. The proceeding was paid for in The
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolin. Pushing
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: and Dolin in or Armstrong Advisory may contact you're offering
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: legal or investment services. Cushing in, Doolin in Armstrong Advisory
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: do not endorse each other and are not affiliated.
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: Social Security and Medicare are oftentimes lumped together, but may
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: be handled separately, and depending on your strategy, they could
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: shape your entire retirement plan.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: HI.
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong Advisory Group. Choosing
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: when to start social Security has many effects, including determining
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: the amount of guaranteed income you receive each month. Medicare
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: decisions go beyond coverage as they can impact premiums, out
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: of pocket costs, and access to providers throughout retirement. Our
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: new guide it is called how to Apply for Social
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: Security and Medicare. It will help you learn how these
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: decisions may fit together and how to take the right
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: steps at the right time to build a secure retirement plan.
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: Call us at eight hundred three nine three for zero
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: zero one to get your copy of How to Apply
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: for Social Security and Medicare. That's eight hundred three nine
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: three for zero zero one, where you can request it
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: online from our website Armstrong Advisory dot com.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Armstrong guide a specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: your own financial, tax into state planning advisors before making
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong make contact you to offer investment
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: advisory services. If you've been dreaming about a getaway that
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: feels far away but easy to get to, it's time
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: to think about the US Virgin Islands America's Caribbean. This
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: is a place where you can fall naturally in rhythm
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: with the heartbeat of the islands. Enjoy crystal clear water
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: and pound or soft beaches, world class dining, sailing and
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: unforgettable sunsets. And here's the best part. Travel from New
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: England is easy. The US Virgin Islands are part of
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the U S United States, which means no passport required
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: and no money to exchange. Just pack your bags and go.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking, or simply relaxing by
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: the water, and your evenings enjoying local cuisine, live music
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: and warm island breezes. Explore Saint Thomas, Saint John and
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with its own vibe,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: its own flavor, and its own way of helping you
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean escape today and
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: visit USVII dot com discover why the US Virgin Islands
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: are America's Caribbean paradise. For more information and to book
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: your trip, head to visit USVII dot com. That's visit
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: USVII dot com. You're listening to the Legal Exchange with
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Todd Lutsky, an expert in elder life planning and taxation.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: Need help with your estate plan? Call Todd right now
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: and make an appointment. Eight six six eight four eight
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: five six ninety nine. That's eight sixty six eight four
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: eight five six ninety nine.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Susan Powers of financial advice with the Armstrong Advisor, and
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: I'm joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with the law
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: firm of Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Where we headed now, Todd.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: We're gonna head over to Kansas. We've got a situation
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: there where does a will or a trust apply? Which one?
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: And maybe why does it matter? Yeah? So nineteen eighty five,
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: Gloria and Fred executed a will giving all assets to
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: each other. Problem number one, then equally to five kids. Okay, fine,
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: I guess it's not really planning, but.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: It's just a simple will.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: So and I love you will Yeah. Fred died in
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: twenty fourteen. No probate was needed why because all the
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: assets were on jointly, so everything just went to the
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: survivor and nobody did anything.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: Beneficiaries probably her, so she gets everything.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: That's fine. September twenty fifteen, Gloria decides to execute a
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: revocable trust way better I like it, which gave three kids,
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: not five twenty percent each, and smaller amounts of gifts
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: to grandkids and then some to charity. So that's a
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: big change from.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: The everyone's feeling the grand kid loved today.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: They are they are, and so that gets done in
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: twenty fifteen. Gloria dies in April of twenty twenty one,
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: and so two kids, Greg and Janis, they email each
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: other about the estate. Janice decides to hire an attorney.
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: The attorney learns that Gloria did that Gloria died, and
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: so when he learned that Gloria died, he sent the
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: nineteen eighty five will to the other kids.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: So they hadn't done.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: There was nothing done when the first one died, remember.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: Was no no, So they probably didn't use the same
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: attorney to do the revocable trust. He must not have
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: known it exists.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: Don't know, Yeah, I don't. That's a good point. I
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: have no idea on this fact. Pattern. So Robert then
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: petitioned to file the nineteen eighty five will as it was,
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: you know the first time that they learned about it, Janie,
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: they said, But he argued that Janie knowingly withheld the will.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Janis said, no, the will was revoked and Robert, you're
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: not allowed to bring this. You're not allowed to petition
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: the court because in Kansas you have a six month
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: statute of limitations for filing a will unless it was
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: knowingly withheld. And the court agreed Robert missed out on
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: the statute of limitation period and could not file the will.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: And they appealed in the Appellate Court affirm saying that
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: its stated that the statute of limitations period had run
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: and only the exception only applies if the will had
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: been knowingly withheld. And there has been no proof that
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: either Janice or the other attorney knowingly withheld this will.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: So you don't get to file the will.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: And it probably wouldn't matter anyway, because she's good a trust.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: Now this is this, this is the whole point. As
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: soon as I got done with this, I'm like, oh great,
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: they're not filing the nineteen eighty five will, which was
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: an I love you will. Let's come back to this and.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: Exploit wasted time and money and resources.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: What's going on here, folks. This is a prime example
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: of people who plan but didn't really plan or didn't
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: fully complete the plan and folks, the guide this month
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: is for people who didn't plan at all. So if
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: you find yourself in a nursing home situation, call and
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: get the guide long Term care Planning for procrastinators. It
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: helps you understand the look back period, the penalty period.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: If you want to make gifts now, it brings back
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: in the half a loaf idea where maybe I can
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: give away some and keep some as a last minute technique.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: It explains annuities for married couples for single people, how
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: they work, how pool trusts work, they're back, how to
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: treat a house of vacation home. Folks, there are special
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: assets that are treated differently. Don't just write the check.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: You may find yourself eligible for medicaid even though you
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: didn't do planning. Call and get the guide eight six
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: six eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: Exchange Show dot com again eight six six eight four
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: What do we learn from this?
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: Maybe kick with one attorney?
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: Well, maybe get an attorney that does it right the
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: first time. So here they started off with, and I
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: love you will. So many of you people probably have these.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: You might have think, oh, I did my planning, I
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: got my will done, I leave everything to my spouse
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: when I die, then my kids. That is not planning,
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: not enough planning, for sure. Yeah that is so. So
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: here's what this. I love you will right in nineteen
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: eighty five, simply left all the assets to each other.
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: No planning, folks. This is no different than owning all
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: your assets jointly. It's a waste for estate tax savings purposes.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: I guess at a bare minimum, it will leave your
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: assets to who you want them to go to.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: Maybe better than nothing, right.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Maybe better than nothing, but certainly isn't going to help
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: from an estate tax standpoint. Remember all assets pass under
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: the marital reduction to the surviving spouse. Yeah, you avoid probate,
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: but you've loaded up on the first death there's no tax,
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: but you've loaded up the estate for the when the
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: surviving spouse dies, so then they'll tax it both federally
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: and state.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: The IRS loves when you do this, because you're wasting
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: your exemptions.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: It's exactly what happens. And so here that's what the
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: nineteen eighty five will did, just left everything to the survivor.
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: And if it didn't the assets were owned jointly, they
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: passed to the survivor. Again, at least they avoid probate.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: Question is I'm going to talk about the trust now.
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: When the trust was drafted, Why didn't they do a
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: new will, right?
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Because doesn't the will.
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: Pour into the trust?
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it refers to the trust and the trust to
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: the will.
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: It certainly should you all listen, all your listeners know
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: we've talked about pour over wills for years, and they
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: go with your trust. They're a safety net. There doesn't
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: seem to be any mention of that when she did
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: the new trust in twenty fifteen.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: And when you say a safety net, Todd, it's to
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: catch assets that you might have left owning in your
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: own name.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: It happens to pour it into your trust exactly. Okay,
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: so we're we're connecting the dots here, right. Yes, they
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: would go to probate if you didn't fund it, but
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: it would least anyway if you died owning it in
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: your own name.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: But at least take place exactly, yeah, exactly, Okay, So
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: what am I what am I driving it here? Well,
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: it seems like again when the if the trust was funded,
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: and let's just assume for now that they funded the trust. Remember, folks,
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: I'm always talking about funding a trust, and so it's
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: very important to fund the trust. So let's assume if
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: all the assets were in the trust, the trust assets
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: would avoid the will and avoid probate. So therefore, what's
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: the nineteen eighty five What the nineteen eighty five will
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: said really isn't important anyway, It wouldn't even matter, right
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: because if the assets are in the trust, the nineteen
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: eighty five will would not address those assets, So why
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: do we care? And that's not really addressed in this case.
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: But that's what's troubling to me.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: I wonder if there's something that she died owning in
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: her own name that would have been a probate asset.
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: And again, that's where I was going to go next. Susan,
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: You're right, if it was not funded, or if they
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: created the trust and just never funded it, well, then
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: the will might matter. Ye, then the old will if
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: that's all they had probably said equally to the to
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: the kids, right, and.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: That's disregarded the grand kids, which I.
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: Said equally to the five kids. Remember she cut.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Out Oh that's right, that's right. She cut out two kids,
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: a couple of kids, that's right.
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: So it would seem to me that if the will,
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: if the trust was not funded, which is a big waste.
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: I always tell people that, then yes, that this this
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: nineteen eighty five will would matter, and.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: It could be partially funded right where there could be
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: some assets outside.
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: It could be possibly and so those would be covered. Again, folks,
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: I think the biggest problem here was when they did
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: the trust, they either a didn't fund it, which we
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: stress all the time, or b they never created a
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: new will when she created the trust.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: And that you always do, don't you.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Well, when you lose a spouse, red flag, we talk
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: about it all the time. Update your dog documents. If
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: you update your documents, you would update all of your documents,
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: healthcare proxy, power of attorney will. Remember your primary fiduciary
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: is dead, so now you need to get an alternate
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: fiduciary anyway, So please complete the plan, do everything. Don't
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: just update a little piece. This is a red flag.
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: When someone dies, update all the planning documents and make
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: sure your wishes are clear. But again for folks who
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: don't plan long term care planning for the procrastinators. As
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: the guide, learn how to protect your assets from the
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: nursing home last minute eight six six, eight four, eight, five, six,
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: nine to nine.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Power as
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group and Todd
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: will be answering your listener questions when we return to
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: the legal exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan, here's
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan our elder law and estate
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes,
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: savings and retirement even when a health crisis comes out
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: of nowhere. They've just released a new guide called long
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: Term Care Planning for procrastinators. It explains what options may
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: still be available and what steps you should take before
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: writing that first check to a nursing home. If you've
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: been putting this off, or a loved one needs care
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: right now, time matters. Call Cushing and Dolin today at
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: to get your free guide. That's eight six six eight
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: four eight five six ninety nine, or you can request
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: it online by visiting Legal exchange Show dot com. That's
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Legal exchange show dot com. The proceeding was paid for
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: in The music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Pushing In, dolin In or Armstrong advisorymay contact through offering
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: legal or investment services. Cushing In, Doolin In Armstrong Advisory
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: do not endorse each other and are not affiliated. If
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: you've been dreaming about a getaway that feels far away
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: but easy to get to, it's time to think. Think
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: about the US Virgin Islands America's Caribbean. This is a
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: place where you can fall naturally in rhythm with the
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: heartbeat of the islands. Enjoy crystal clear water and powder
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: soft beaches, world class dining, sailing, and unforgettable sunsets and
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: here's the best part. Travel from New England is easy.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: The US Virgin Islands are part of the United States,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: which means no passport required and no money to exchange.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Just pack your bags and go. Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking,
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: or simply relaxing by the water, and your evenings enjoying
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: local cuisine, live music and warm island breezes. Explore Saint Thomas,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Saint John and Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: its own vibe, its own flavor, and its own way
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: of helping you unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: escape today and visit USVII dot com discover why the
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: US Virgin Islands are America's Caribbean paradise. For more information
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: and to book your trip, head to visit USVII dot com.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com. Hi.
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: As Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong Advisory Group, Retirement comes
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: with a lot of exciting freedom, but also with some
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: permanent decisions. Two of the most important ones are when
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: to file for Social Security and how to set up
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: your Medicare coverage. Claim source security too early and your
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: monthly check may be permanently reduced. Missing Medicare enrollment deadlines
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: might mean significant penalties and gaps in coverage. We have
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: a new guide available called how to Apply for Social
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: Security and Medicare. It breaks down when you can apply,
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: what information you'll need, and how these decisions fit into
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: a smart coordinated retirement plan. Get your copy today by
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: calling eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: That's eight hundred three nine three for zero zero one,
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: or you can request the guide online at Armstrong Advisory
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: dot com.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Armstrong guide a specific financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: your own financial, tax into state planning advisors before making
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: advisory services. You're listening to the Legal Exchange and it's
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: time for Ask. I'm Todd, the segment where Todd will
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: answer your questions about anything and everything that's included in
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: the estate planning process. Once again, here's Todd Lutsky and
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Susan Powers.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: Welcome back, Todd. I have a few questions from listeners
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: for you first question comes from Dave in Braintree, mass
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: and Dave writes, my wife and I have around eight
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: hundred thousand in total assets. Our home is worth around
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: four hundred thousand, and we have a mortgage of one
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: hundred thousand. Most of our assets are in iras with beneficiaries.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: Would there be any benefit for us to have a trust.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: We only have one child and he will be our
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: only beneficiary.
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: So if you have eight hundred thousand in assets and
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: the home is four hundred thousand, mm hmm, you're looking
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: at four hundred mostly iris. Yep. You know. This is
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: a great question because again folks think that just because
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: I don't have a million dollars, I shouldn't do estate planning.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: I don't think that's the case. I do agree, and
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: I'm the first to say it. There needs to be
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: an economic benefit to justify spending money today on a
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: lawyer to do estate planning. If there is no economic
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: benefit to the family, I tell clients save your money,
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: and I'm fine with that. This is really up to
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: the client because in this case, I say, well, look,
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: you're married, you have a four hundred thousand dollars house
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: that if you don't do planning. Because you only have
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: four hundred thousand in liquid assets, likely is very much
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: at risk for the nursing home because they will blow
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: through the money very quickly. Sure, so if you really
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: want to ensure at least one asset is protected for
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: the family, then yeah, I think a four hundred thousand
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: dollars home is worth protecting. I think it justifies, you know,
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: but that's really going to be the client's call.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: And that's because if you have one spouse left, then
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: if that surviving spouse goes into the nursing home, then
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: they'll put a lean on the home. So that's what
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: you're able to avoid.
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: I see what, Yeah, that's exactly right, because you're right
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: as a as a sing as a married couple. If
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: one gets sick last minute, yep, yeah, I can take
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: care of all this. Yeah, but if the goal is
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: to save it for the children or child I think
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: they have one beneficiary, that might be all the more
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: reason to do. And that's where I was jumping to. Yeah,
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: I was saying, forget about the last minute planning, do
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: planning right in advance, and get this house protected. That way,
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: regardless of who gets sick or if both all the
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: what ifs are off the table, the house will.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Be safe, and then the non nursing home considerations. If
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: you maybe you don't really care for your daughter in
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: law and you want a divorce proof.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: That could be in the trust as well.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: You know, you could certainly accomplish that, whether you do
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: vocable or you're evocable, that's right. You can take care
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: of that bloodline planning at the same time too, And.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: If you're going to go ahead and do planning anyway,
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: Let's say we want to protect the house. We all
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: know that the IRA is a hard asset to put
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: in a trust now because it costs you'd be hit
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: with taxes. But remember we've had these these shows where
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: we talked about testamentary trusts. So because you're a married couple,
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: we would set up a testamentary trust. And in the
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: event one of you died and didn't go to the
• 30:28
  Speaker 3: nursing home, if we have the testamentary trust in place,
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: now you've protected that person's IRA, whatever it is. Let's
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: say it's two hundred yep. That person's IRA would pass
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: through the will into the testamentary trust for the spouse yep,
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: but be immediately protected from the nursing home if the
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: spouse gets sick. So now you've added another layer of
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: protection of more than just a house, or at least
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: given yourself an option. So I think planning here is
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: a good idea. However, a lot of folks might say,
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: now we'll just roll the dice, or we haven't done
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: any planning. Get the guide folks, long term care planning
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: for procrastinators. It explains to you how to take care
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: of items like money, where annuities come into play for
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: single people and married couples. It talks about how pooled
• 31:23
  Speaker 3: trusts still around work great. What if you're single and
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: have no other way to save assets last minute? Look
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: at a pooled trust, learn how the look back period works.
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: How to save a house last minute, or even your
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: rental property or a vacation home. It can be saved
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: last minute, And get on medicaid. Don't write to check.
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: If you find yourself in this situation, call and get
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: the guide eight six six eight four eight five six
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: nine nine or legal Exchange show dot com again eight
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: six six eight four eight five six nine nine or
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: Legal Exchange showed.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: Our last question comes from Bob and Hyenna's Mass and
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: Bob wrights. Can I buy my mother's house from her
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: at a discount? She's having a hard time keeping up
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: with the mortgage payments, and I'm in a position to
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: help her out. The sale would leave her with around
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: one hundred thousand dollars in proceeds after she pays off
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: the mortgage if she does end up going into a
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: nursing home. Would this be an issue with medicaid if
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: she sells it to me at a discount, even if
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: it is in exchange for living rent free, So trying
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: to ease up some of the cash flow problems mom's having.
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So there's a couple of complications with this case
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: for sure. One, I don't know if this is the
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: only child. I'm right off the bat, I'm thinking the
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: other kids are going to be upset because, you know,
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: Bob gets the house at a sweet deal and could
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: flip it and sell it for way more, and these
• 32:47
  Speaker 3: other kids don't get anything. So that would be the
• 32:50
  Speaker 3: first concern I would bring up to the family. Are
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: we all okay with this inequality or perceived inequality? Can
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: you sell it at a discount? Yes? If you sell
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: it at a discount, Mom will be treated as making
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: a part sale, part gift for tax purposes. So let's
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: I got to think not only about nursing homes, which
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: I know what the question is about, but I can't
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: ignore income taxes and gift taxes because that's an issue.
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: And so in this case, if mom sells it at
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: a discount, depending on what the gain is, she'll get
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: her two hundred and fifty thousand dollars exclusion. But you know,
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: the piece that is a gift will be treated as
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: a gift and it'll be a gift tax, but there
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: won't be any because she has you know, a thirteen
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: million actually it's January one fifteen million dollars exemption for
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: gift taxes and for federal estate taxes. So so there
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: won't PERI in a gift tax, but it'll be a
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: part seal park gift from a nursing home perspective, yes,
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: I believe that it will create a five year waiting
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: period for the gift portion.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: The discounted part. So if she discounts it by like
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: one hundred grand, then it's.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: A five year waiting period. I mean, they might calculate
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: it if she gets sick and figure out how to
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: calculate the disqualification period versus the five year look back period.
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: You know, that's a that's a calculation that you have
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: to do. But at least initially when they do this,
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: it will it will start that five year waiting period
• 34:36
  Speaker 3: running for the portion that was deemed a gift. Okay,
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: so you're going to have that problem. You know. Of course,
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: you got you one hundred thousand dollars. The bigger problem
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: I have too, is I would tell her never to
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: sell the entire house. I mean, she's not in the
• 34:52
  Speaker 3: nursing home yet, right, yeah, I mean I want her
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: to keep a life estate. I want her to at
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: least keep the right to live there. It's great that
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: the kids want to do stuff, but I'm all about
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: the client protecting mom. Yeah, I'm like, this is great,
• 35:07
  Speaker 3: you know, Bob, that you want to do this, but
• 35:11
  Speaker 3: you know Mom should maybe sell you only the remainder
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: interest and Mom should keep a life estate.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: And that could maybe justify the discount.
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: Right yeah, Yeah, then you're going to be buying it
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: for less because it's a smaller piece that you're buying.
• 35:26
  Speaker 3: Mom will and you'll get a step up in basis
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: when you die or when Mom dies, it will still
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: all end up going to you. Because a death the
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: life estate ends, it avoids probate. And since it's her home,
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: if she goes into the nursing home, it's protected because
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: it's your primary residence. You can just check a box
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: that it's non countable and then it evaporates when she dies,
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: and there's no five year waiting period because you sold
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: the remainder interest to mom and there's no gift. Of course,
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: you're going to have to deal with the money she
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: goes in. Yeah, if Mom has this money in her
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: hands when when she goes to the nursing home, they'll
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: have to deal with that. But they will also do
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: it by talking about an annuity. And she could buy
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: an annuity for the money and get on and.
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: Bob can't kick her out.
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly what I would do. Folks, long term
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: care planning for the procrastinators, these are things to think
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: about last minute, especially here for Mom. She could buy
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: an annuity. Learn how annuities work for single people and
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: married couples eight six six eight four eight five six
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: nine nine or Legal Exchange show dot com.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: If you have a question you would like to ask Todd,
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: visit his website Legal Exchange show dot com and click
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: on the as Tod tab. Maybe I'd be able to
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: read your question in the air and hopefully his answer
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: will stop you from becoming one of his next real
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: life stories. You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: with the law firm of Pushing Into I'm Susan Powers
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: of financial advice with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We've got
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: more to come after this quick break on the Legal
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: Exchange with Todd Ledskey.
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan, here's
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan our elder law and estate
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes,
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: savings and retirement even when a health crisis comes out
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: of nowhere. They've just released a new guide called long
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: Term Care Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: still be available and what steps you should take before
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: writing that first check to a nursing home. If you've
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: been putting this off, or a loved one needs care
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: right now, time matters. Call Cushing and Dolan today at
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninet nine
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: to get your free guide. That's eight six six eight
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: four eight five six nine nine, or you can request
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: it online by visiting Legal Exchange show dot com. That's
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: Legal extanmeo dot com. The proceeding was paid for in
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: The music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: Pushing and dolin In or Armstrong Advisory may contact you're
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: offering legal investment services. Cushing in doolan In Armstrong Advisory
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: do not endorse each other and are not affiliated. If
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: you've been dreaming about a getaway that feels far away
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: but easy to get to, it's time to think about
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: the US Virgin Islands America's Caribbean. This is a place
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: where you can fall naturally in rhythm with the heartbeat
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: of the islands, enjoy crystal clear water and powder soft beaches,
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: world class dining, sailing and unforgettable sunsets. And here's the
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: best part. Travel from New England is easy. The US
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: Virgin Islands are part of the United States, which means
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: no passport required and no money to exchange. Just pack
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: your bags and go. Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: or simply relaxing by the water, and your evenings enjoying
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: local cuisine, live music, and warm island breezes. Explore Saint Thomas,
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: Saint John and Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: its own vibe, its own flavor, and its own way
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: of helping you unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: escape today and visit UA v dot com. Discover why
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: the US Virgin Islands are America's Caribbean Paradise. For more
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: information and to book your trip, head to visit USVII
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: dot com. That's visit USVII dot com.
• 39:11
  Speaker 4: Social Security and Medicare are oftentimes lumped together, but may
• 39:14
  Speaker 4: be handled separately, and depending on your strategy, they could
• 39:17
  Speaker 4: shape your entire retirement plan.
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: Hi.
• 39:19
  Speaker 4: This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong Advisory Group. Choosing
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: when to start social security has many effects, including determining
• 39:26
  Speaker 4: the amount of guaranteed income you receive each month. Medicare
• 39:29
  Speaker 4: decisions go beyond coverage as they can impact premiums, out
• 39:31
  Speaker 4: of pocket costs, and access to providers throughout retirement. Our
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: new guide is called How to Apply for Social Security
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: and Medicare. It will help you learn how these decisions
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: may fit together and how to take the right steps
• 39:42
  Speaker 4: at the right time to build a secure retirement plan.
• 39:45
  Speaker 4: Call us at eight hundred three nine three for zero
• 39:48
  Speaker 4: zero one to get your copy of How to Apply
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: for Social Security and Medicare. That's eight hundred three nine
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: three for zero zero one, or you can request it
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: online from our website Armstrong Advisory dot com.
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by I'm Strong Advisory Group,
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: a registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: any Armstrong guide to specific financial, legal or tax advice.
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: Cansult your own financial tax into state planning advisors before
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: making any investment decisions. Armstrong make contact you to offer
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: investment advisory services.
• 40:11
  Speaker 5: This is Michael Valila, adjudent of the Disabled American Veterans
• 40:15
  Speaker 5: Department of Massachusetts. The dav of Massachusetts has helped me
• 40:18
  Speaker 5: and countless others adjust to civilian life through a variety
• 40:22
  Speaker 5: of incredible programs. Through our local Veterans Assistance Program, we
• 40:26
  Speaker 5: provide necessary services to veterans in their communities such as
• 40:30
  Speaker 5: food shopping, landscaping and companionship. But we need your support.
• 40:34
  Speaker 5: You can help by making a donation today. Please visit
• 40:37
  Speaker 5: Dav fivek dot Boston. That's Dav five k dot Boston.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: Your tune to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. If
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: you are a loved one needs a nursing homestay, call
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: Todd right now at eight sixty six eight four eight
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: five six nine nine and let him make sure your
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: assets are protected. That's eight six six eight for eight
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: five six nine nine, or visit him online at Legal
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: Exchange show dot com.
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: Susan Powis, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group,
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: and I'm joined, of course by Todd Lutsky, a partner
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: with a law firm of Cushing and Dolan with a
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: master's in taxation. So, Tob we're talking about long term
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: care planning for procrastinators. People have put things off, they're
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: planning off, and now they find themselves with either themselves
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: going into a nursing home or their spice spouse, your mom,
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: your dad, someone's going into the nursing home. So when
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: we talk about protecting these assets last minute, can we
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: just review what type of assets are actually at risk?
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: And I know it's a little different for married couples
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: versus single individuals, so maybe we can break it down
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: for both of them. So let's start with the home
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: typically biggest assets for most people, so they risk for
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: a married couple.
• 41:55
  Speaker 3: Okay, So do married first and then single? Okay, fine, Yeah,
• 41:59
  Speaker 3: I think they'll home is the biggest asset, and it's
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: also I don't want to call it the most special
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: asset in terms of treatment for Medicaid, but it is.
• 42:09
  Speaker 3: It's a really special asset. And so the house, if
• 42:14
  Speaker 3: you're married and you're going to a nursing home, even
• 42:18
  Speaker 3: if it's own jointly, is deemed non countable provided the
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: community spouse.
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: The healthy spouse is living there, okay.
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: And it's located in Massachusetts, yeah, a little extra glitch,
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: and the adjacent land near it, so if they had
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: an adjacent lot, it would also be non countable and
• 42:46
  Speaker 3: non leanable okay, which means the state cannot place a
• 42:49
  Speaker 3: lean on it. And the value of the home doesn't matter.
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: Could be ten million dollar home does matter.
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: So never at risk for the healthy spouse.
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: For the healthy spouse, Now, don't leave it that way.
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: If you're gonna get sick and go to the nursing home,
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: yes you'll be able to wipe your brow and have
• 43:08
  Speaker 3: the community spouse stay in that house, but please transfer
• 43:12
  Speaker 3: it to her.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: So it's just a temporary bullet dodging.
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, get it over there, and then of course
• 43:18
  Speaker 3: think about planning later, but get it out of the
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: six spouses name in case the healthy spouse dies first.
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: Okay, because if someone's in the nursing home or your
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: spouse passes away, then you are treated as a single person.
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: And how do they treat a single person's home, that's.
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: Right, very different. So let's just take the idea that
• 43:40
  Speaker 3: this person is single right from the getting and you're
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: applying for medicaid. Well, now there's some rules attached to
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: whether or not the home is countable or not. It
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: will start off as countable unless and there's a checklist
• 44:01
  Speaker 3: of things, unless there is a spouse living there. Okay,
• 44:06
  Speaker 3: well they're not, they're they're single. But this is just
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: the list you have to run through. You know, is
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: there a blind or disabled child living there? Right? No.
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: So you know, you go through this list and then
• 44:19
  Speaker 3: you get to the point where there's one of them
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: that says, you know, check a box do you intend
• 44:26
  Speaker 3: to return home? If you intend to return home and
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: you check that box, then the house would become non
• 44:35
  Speaker 3: countable because you intended to return home. And that checking
• 44:40
  Speaker 3: the box seems silly, but it is subjective. It's not
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: based on medical.
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: So it's intentions. It's not likely, doesn't have to be
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: likely that they could return home from a physical perspective.
• 44:54
  Speaker 3: No, nope, nope. But once you do that, there's a couple
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: of other things on the checklist. But that's really the key.
• 45:00
  Speaker 3: I wanted to jump to the I'm single, I don't
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: have anybody special living there, I don't have a spouse,
• 45:04
  Speaker 3: I'm disabled, kids don't I don't have to meet any
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: of these other requirements. I check this box. Now it's
• 45:10
  Speaker 3: non countable provided provided it's worth less than it's a
• 45:16
  Speaker 3: little over a million dollars. They put a value on it. Yeah,
• 45:19
  Speaker 3: and by the way, under the obb A BBBA Act,
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: that's going to come down to a solid million in mass.
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: I think it's effective next year. Okay, and double check that.
• 45:30
  Speaker 3: But that's going to be a solid million. So if
• 45:32
  Speaker 3: it's under that value, then it's non countable but leanable.
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: So here in the Northeast, very likely it could be over.
• 45:43
  Speaker 3: Could be over a million dollar mark, could be over that. Yeah,
• 45:46
  Speaker 3: right now it's a little higher than it's like a
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: million one or something.
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: So let's say it's you know, let's say it's a
• 45:50
  Speaker 2: million and a half dollar home, then what what happened
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: to a single person accountable?
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: Hardstop? You're not going on medicaid. It's a big deal.
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: Do your planning. Yeah, so you know, we got to
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: figure out what to do then, So folks, that's part
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: of the reason we do planning, so we're not faced
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: with these last minute planning techniques. But as you saw,
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: this guide, long term care Planning for the procrastinators explains
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: the home, explains the rules for a married couple and
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: a single person. Really gets into that in terms of
• 46:21
  Speaker 3: how to protect it and just sticking with the real
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: estate world. It also tells you how to deal with
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: a vacation home and a rental property very different but
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: can be converted to non countable. Just learn how to
• 46:33
  Speaker 3: do it. Don't write to check folks, call and get
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: the guide. There's a lot of information in here regarding
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: money and real estate in terms of what to do
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: last minute eight six six eight four eight five six
• 46:46
  Speaker 3: nine to nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com Call
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: and get it eight six six eight four eight five
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show dot Com. It's
• 46:57
  Speaker 3: brand new for the month.
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: So it's the primary residence. What about your you know,
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: your banks or your investment accounts? How is that treated?
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: So a little different? Right, So it's funny we're going
• 47:10
  Speaker 3: to talk about married and single people, but we also
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: need to talk about banks versus investment accounts. Okay, even
• 47:17
  Speaker 3: those are treated differently. Okay, this is so important. So
• 47:21
  Speaker 3: a bank account, well, if you're married and it's joint
• 47:27
  Speaker 3: doesn't matter. One hundred percent at risk. Okay, if you're
• 47:32
  Speaker 3: single and you have a bank account and let's say
• 47:36
  Speaker 3: you put your daughter's name on it jointly with you,
• 47:41
  Speaker 3: So now you've got this joint bank account, one hundred
• 47:45
  Speaker 3: percent at risk unless the joint non applicant owner demonstrate
• 47:55
  Speaker 3: that they put half the money in.
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: Which you know they can't it. They're on for convenience,
• 47:59
  Speaker 2: they're on for convenience.
• 48:00
  Speaker 3: So problem. So that's how it works with bank accounts.
• 48:06
  Speaker 3: Let's skip over to brokerage accounts. The schwabs the fidelities
• 48:12
  Speaker 3: of whatever they are. Yep, a brokerage account is considered
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: if you are married and you own it jointly, one
• 48:23
  Speaker 3: hundred percent at risk. So just to recap banks and
• 48:27
  Speaker 3: brokerage accounts when you're married, everything dumped on the table
• 48:32
  Speaker 3: into a big bucket, okay, accountable. Interestingly enough, if you're
• 48:38
  Speaker 3: single and you happen to have a brokerage account with
• 48:42
  Speaker 3: an individual's name on it, like a daughter, stick with
• 48:45
  Speaker 3: that against it's not your spouse. There's a regulation that
• 48:49
  Speaker 3: says that asset is deemed to be owned proportionately with
• 48:56
  Speaker 3: the joint owner, so fifty to fifty, without proving unless
• 49:00
  Speaker 3: demonstrated differently. It's just that's the deemed That's what the
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: regulation says. It's deemed to be that way.
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: Timeframe of how long that money has to be in there.
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: You know, I love a loophole.
• 49:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and so we've pushed these envelopes right because you
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: can't really tell. It doesn't seem to put a timeframe
• 49:17
  Speaker 3: on it, right, at least not on that regulation. Yeah,
• 49:22
  Speaker 3: but I believe if you are going into a nursing
• 49:25
  Speaker 3: home and you take, you know, a five hundred thousand
• 49:28
  Speaker 3: dollars bank account and throw it into a joint brokerage
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: account or put multiple names on it to even reduce
• 49:37
  Speaker 3: it more, and then immediately apply for medicaid. I think
• 49:41
  Speaker 3: you'll run a foul of what we call the disqualifying
• 49:43
  Speaker 3: transfer section, where there it says any asset transferred in
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: which you take an asset and make it not available
• 49:54
  Speaker 3: when it was available before and don't get fair market
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: value in exchange is a disqualified transfer.
• 50:00
  Speaker 2: And that's a five year thing.
• 50:02
  Speaker 3: Five year thing. Yeah, So it would seemed to me
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: that if you set that up and now all of
• 50:05
  Speaker 3: a sudden made half of it not countable, that would
• 50:07
  Speaker 3: be a problem. But you never know if it's been
• 50:09
  Speaker 3: set up for five three years. Give it a try. Yeah, folks,
• 50:13
  Speaker 3: this is what the guide's about, right, You've got to
• 50:16
  Speaker 3: understand how these different assets work and how these different
• 50:20
  Speaker 3: assets can be protected last minute, whether it's money through
• 50:25
  Speaker 3: pooled trust's annuities or real estate. Different kinds of real
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: estate are treated differently. Call and get the guide eight
• 50:33
  Speaker 3: six six eight four eight five six nine nine or
• 50:37
  Speaker 3: Legal Exchange Show dot com Long term Care Planning for
• 50:41
  Speaker 3: the Procrastinator, brand new for the month.
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: Todd Lutsky from the law firm of Pushing in Dolan,
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: thank you so much.
• 50:48
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Susan. Always a pleasure.
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: I'm Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group.
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: We thank you for joining us and we'll be back
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: again next week on the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutski.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan. Here's
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan are elder law and estate
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes,
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: savings and retirement even when a health crisis comes out
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: of nowhere. They've just released a new guide called Long
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: Term Care Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: still be available and what steps you should take before
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: writing that first check to a nursing home. If you've
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: been putting this off or a loved one needs care
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: right now, time matters. Call Cushing and Dolan today at
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninet nine
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: to get your free guide. That's eight six six eight
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: four eight five six nine nine, or you can request
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: it online by visiting Legal Exchange Show dot com. That's
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: Legal exchange show dot com. The proceeding was paid for
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: in The music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: Pushing and Dolin in or Armstrong advisorymay contact through offering
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: legal or investment services. Cushing and Dolan in Armstrong Advisory
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: do not endorse each other and are not affiliated hy.
• 52:00
  Speaker 4: This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong Advisory Group. Retirement
• 52:03
  Speaker 4: comes with a lot of exciting freedom, but also with
• 52:06
  Speaker 4: some permanent decisions. Two of the most important ones are
• 52:09
  Speaker 4: when to file for Social Security and how to set
• 52:11
  Speaker 4: up your Medicare coverage. Claim source Security too early and
• 52:13
  Speaker 4: your monthly check may be permanently reduced. Missing Medicare enrollment
• 52:17
  Speaker 4: deadlines might mean significant penalties and gaps in coverage. We
• 52:20
  Speaker 4: have a new guide available called how to Apply for
• 52:23
  Speaker 4: Social Security and Medicare. It breaks down when you can apply,
• 52:27
  Speaker 4: what information you'll need, and how these decisions fit into
• 52:30
  Speaker 4: a smart coordinated retirement plan. Get your copy today by
• 52:34
  Speaker 4: calling eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one.
• 52:37
  Speaker 4: That's eight hundred three nine three for zero zero one,
• 52:40
  Speaker 4: or you can request the guide online at Armstrong Advisory
• 52:44
  Speaker 4: dot com.
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: Armstrong guide is specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: your own financial tax into state planning advisors before making
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: advisory services. If you've been dreaming about a getaway that
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: feels far away but easy to get to, it's time
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: to think about the US Virgin Islands, America's Caribbean. This
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: is a place where you can fall naturally in rhythm
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: with the heartbeat of the islands, enjoy crystal clear water
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: and powder soft beaches, world class dining, sailing and unforgettable sunsets.
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: And here's the best part. Travel from New England is easy.
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: The US Virgin Islands are part of the United States,
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: which means no passport required and no money to exchange.
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: Just pack your bags and go. Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking,
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: or simply relaxing by the water and your evenings enjoying
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: local cuisine, live music, and warm island breezes. Explore Saint Thomas,
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: Saint John and Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: its own vibe, its own flavor, and its own way
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: of helping you unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: escape today and visit USVII dot com discover why the
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: US Virgin Islands are America's Caribbean paradise. For more information
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: and to book your trip, head to visit USVII dot com.
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com.