Latest / The Legal Exchange / The benefits of using a no-contest clause in your trust
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- 0:01Speaker 1: This is the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky from the
- 0:04Speaker 1: law firm of Cushing and Dolan and Susan Powers of
- 0:07Speaker 1: the Armstrong Advisory Group. Each week, Todd and Susan will
- 0:10Speaker 1: discuss many topics, including estate planning, how to avoid probate,
- 0:13Speaker 1: and protecting your money from a nursing home. If you
- 0:16Speaker 1: need assistance in any of these areas, or have a
- 0:18Speaker 1: question about another issue that may affect your future, call
- 0:21Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine
- 0:24Speaker 1: to make an appointment. That's eight sixty six eight four
- 0:27Speaker 1: eight five six ninety nine. Operators are standing by. Now
- 0:31Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Todd Lutsky and Susan Powers.
- 0:36Speaker 2: Welcome into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm Susan Powers,
- 0:40Speaker 2: a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group, and I'm
- 0:43Speaker 2: joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with the law firm
- 0:46Speaker 2: of Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation. Welcome Todd.
- 0:50Speaker 2: How are you today?
- 0:51Speaker 3: I'm never better in you.
- 0:52Speaker 2: I am excellent. Thank you. What do you have for
- 0:54Speaker 2: us this week?
- 0:55Speaker 3: Couple of things.
- 0:56Speaker 4: I've got a Pennsylvania Pellet court case and this one
- 1:01Speaker 4: is really dealing with a trustee who's really stealing money
- 1:07Speaker 4: from the trust, and turns out he's stealing money. But
- 1:11Speaker 4: it's an interesting trust. It's drafted, it's got distribution committees
- 1:15Speaker 4: decide how distribution comes out, and yet this trustee managed
- 1:20Speaker 4: to start stealing money, and how the trust actually works
- 1:23Speaker 4: to save things. So you're going to see that the
- 1:25Speaker 4: trust planning is still a good plan. And also why
- 1:28Speaker 4: they did this trust it was to help get on
- 1:31Speaker 4: governmental benefits, which is also important. So there's a lot
- 1:34Speaker 4: to learn about this case, not just the fiduciary breach
- 1:38Speaker 4: of duty problem. Then we jump over to Iowa where
- 1:42Speaker 4: we have an appellate court case there, and this one
- 1:45Speaker 4: is all about the no contest clause. In fact, I
- 1:48Speaker 4: can't tell you enough about how courts have been narrowing
- 1:53Speaker 4: the implementation or the effect of no contest clauses. Doesn't
- 1:57Speaker 4: mean we don't use them. We still absolutely use them.
- 1:59Speaker 4: They're important, but it's important to see here how it's
- 2:02Speaker 4: being used and when do you enforce the no contest
- 2:06Speaker 4: clause and when is it allowed to be enforced. I
- 2:09Speaker 4: think we're going to learn a lot about no contest clauses,
- 2:12Speaker 4: how to use them, when to use them, and how
- 2:14Speaker 4: they work in this particular case.
- 2:17Speaker 3: But of course before.
- 2:19Speaker 4: We do any of that, we are going to remind
- 2:21Speaker 4: you about. This is all for people who have planned.
- 2:24Speaker 4: There's so many people who don't get around to planning
- 2:27Speaker 4: or have done their planning and find themselves faced with
- 2:29Speaker 4: nursing home admission. Right even when you've done your planning,
- 2:33Speaker 4: you might have stuff in the trust and items outside
- 2:36Speaker 4: the trust. We got to deal with those items outside
- 2:39Speaker 4: the trust. And for people who have never planned, we
- 2:41Speaker 4: really got to deal with items that are outside the trust.
- 2:44Speaker 4: So get this guide Long term care Planning for the procrastinator.
- 2:49Speaker 4: What we can do last minute to protect houses, vacation homes,
- 2:54Speaker 4: rental properties four oh one k's iras folks. They're all
- 2:58Speaker 4: treated differently, and they're treated differently for married couples versus
- 3:03Speaker 4: single people. A little something for everyone. Don't write the check.
- 3:08Speaker 4: Get this guide if you're faced with nursing home admission
- 3:11Speaker 4: eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine
- 3:15Speaker 4: or legal exchange show dot com you can download it
- 3:18Speaker 4: right there again eight six six eight four eight five
- 3:22Speaker 4: six nine nine or legal exchange show dot com to
- 3:26Speaker 4: get that and don't write the check to the nursing home. Okay,
- 3:31Speaker 4: that said, let's head over to Pennsylvania, the appellate court
- 3:34Speaker 4: case trustee stealing. Let's see what's going on. Mike Senior
- 3:39Speaker 4: and Betty created an irrevocable trust in order to qualify
- 3:44Speaker 4: for VA benefits through some governmental programs. Okay, I don't
- 3:49Speaker 4: really understand what that is, but.
- 3:51Speaker 2: Sounds probably the veterans aid that they use to provide.
- 3:55Speaker 4: Right, there's so many types, so it's good for them
- 3:58Speaker 4: to get it. TRUS is now funded with what E
- 4:02Speaker 4: trade stocks and bonds worth about three hundred thousand dollars.
- 4:07Speaker 4: The trustee is the grandson Stefan.
- 4:11Speaker 3: Okay.
- 4:12Speaker 4: The trust provides that no distributions can be made to
- 4:16Speaker 4: the donors or I mean to the donors' kids or
- 4:20Speaker 4: the donors' grandkids without approval from what they call a
- 4:25Speaker 4: distribution committee. We don't talk about that a lot, but
- 4:28Speaker 4: we've used them. It's in this case, this distribution committee
- 4:33Speaker 4: is not deciding by the trustee Stefan. It's deciding by
- 4:38Speaker 4: Uncle David and Mike Junior. So Uncle David and Mike Junior,
- 4:44Speaker 4: the father of the trustee, so checks and balances, which
- 4:47Speaker 4: is the Stefan is the trustee, the grandson, and so
- 4:51Speaker 4: in twenty thirteen, Stefan the trustee began loaning money to himself.
- 4:58Speaker 4: Twenty sixteen and tw eighteen, he was doing this. Senior died,
- 5:04Speaker 4: then Betsy died respectively. Well, in twenty eighteen, Steffan's business failed.
- 5:10Speaker 4: You're going to find that he was taking money out
- 5:12Speaker 4: for his business and the trust was valued at about
- 5:16Speaker 4: thirty five dollars.
- 5:19Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 5:19Speaker 4: Wow, so he took out a lot of money over time.
- 5:24Speaker 4: Steffan was charged with theft and misappropriation of trust money.
- 5:28Speaker 4: One to three years in prison, two years probation. That
- 5:32Speaker 4: was all ordered and he was ordered to pay back
- 5:34Speaker 4: two hundred and one thousand dollars to the trust. Well,
- 5:39Speaker 4: he didn't like that, so he appealed the appellate court.
- 5:43Speaker 4: During the appellate Court, he argued that they failed to
- 5:47Speaker 4: show that he intended to steal the money, as he
- 5:50Speaker 4: really believed that he was investing the money in his
- 5:53Speaker 4: business which would benefit the trust as a whole. Well,
- 6:01Speaker 4: the appellate court affirmed the lower court, saying that the
- 6:04Speaker 4: evidence showed right after the trust was formed and funded,
- 6:09Speaker 4: he began taking money out directly without the distribution committee's
- 6:13Speaker 4: approval and putting the money directly into his personal account
- 6:19Speaker 4: and his business account. You can't do that, just can't
- 6:24Speaker 4: do that. And so that clearly made the decision the
- 6:28Speaker 4: correct one that you know he was stealing money.
- 6:32Speaker 3: But you know what, this is actually.
- 6:34Speaker 4: Interesting and I want to explain why and what we
- 6:37Speaker 4: can learn from this. So this was a near vocable trust.
- 6:40Speaker 4: We talk about them all the time. This time they
- 6:42Speaker 4: were approved for veterans benefits, but hey, we do it
- 6:45Speaker 4: for Medicaid planning, similar idea. So first you know they planned,
- 6:50Speaker 4: they got the governmental benefits. I suspect it was based
- 6:53Speaker 4: on how it was drafted that protected the assets. It
- 6:57Speaker 4: also would have protected the assets from the nursing home right.
- 7:00Speaker 4: So like to get nursing home protection. No distributions of
- 7:03Speaker 4: principle to the donors. That's good, we want that all
- 7:07Speaker 4: the time. Here it was more restrictive than that right.
- 7:10Speaker 4: They couldn't get principal or income distributions could only be
- 7:14Speaker 4: made to the kids and the grandkids. And there was
- 7:17Speaker 4: a distribution of income. We usually like to give it
- 7:20Speaker 4: to our clients to help them. So it's taxed at
- 7:22Speaker 4: the donors level and not tax at the trust level,
- 7:25Speaker 4: which are higher. So we make our trust even more
- 7:28Speaker 4: flexible than this one. We even put a limited power
- 7:31Speaker 4: of appointment in our trust where principal and income can
- 7:34Speaker 4: go to kids, usually in the trustees discretion, to make
- 7:38Speaker 4: it a grand tour trust. Again, so it's taxed at
- 7:41Speaker 4: the trust level, I mean at the kids level or
- 7:44Speaker 4: at the parents level, and not the kids level. But
- 7:47Speaker 4: in this case, distributions of income and principle couldn't be
- 7:51Speaker 4: paid out at all, you know, but we want it
- 7:53Speaker 4: paid out. We want this language so that it's included
- 7:56Speaker 4: in the estate to get a step up in basis
- 7:59Speaker 4: under twenty thirty six to reduce the capital gains tax
- 8:03Speaker 4: when the kids get the assets. So this was a
- 8:06Speaker 4: really restrictive trust and the distributions could only come out
- 8:10Speaker 4: to the kids and grandkids, and they could only do
- 8:12Speaker 4: it with a distribution committee.
- 8:15Speaker 2: Parentsly even figured a way out to do it without it.
- 8:19Speaker 4: Well yeah, that's the problem, right, So in this case,
- 8:23Speaker 4: in five years, these assets would have been not only
- 8:26Speaker 4: available for getting them good this veterans benefits, they also
- 8:30Speaker 4: would have got governmental i mean nursing home protection. So
- 8:34Speaker 4: way more restrictive than needed compared to our irrevocable trusts.
- 8:38Speaker 4: But I just wanted to expend a little time on
- 8:41Speaker 4: this distribution committee. That's a good idea. If you don't
- 8:44Speaker 4: trust people, you put two other people involved in making
- 8:47Speaker 4: the distributions and you take that power out of the
- 8:50Speaker 4: hands of the trustee.
- 8:53Speaker 3: I like it.
- 8:54Speaker 4: But in this case, people have to be engaged. They
- 8:57Speaker 4: have to be involved, right, So if you're distribution committee,
- 9:01Speaker 4: you should have been demanding accountings.
- 9:03Speaker 2: Yeah, and looking at the accounts and reviewing things.
- 9:07Speaker 4: I mean, if you were getting these accountings once a year,
- 9:09Speaker 4: once a quarter, just to say, hey, once every six months,
- 9:13Speaker 4: let me see what's coming in and what's going out
- 9:16Speaker 4: of this, and they would have known right away, right,
- 9:19Speaker 4: and they could have moved in and stopped what was
- 9:21Speaker 4: going on. So I like committees, I like trustees. I
- 9:25Speaker 4: like checks and balances, but you know, people have to
- 9:29Speaker 4: be engaged in order for any plan to really work.
- 9:34Speaker 4: But understand, folks, without this plan, we're going to complete failure.
- 9:38Speaker 2: Right, And you can do those checks and balances really
- 9:41Speaker 2: with more than one kid, right, You could have more
- 9:44Speaker 2: than one kid kind of serving as your unofficial distribution
- 9:48Speaker 2: committee if you will.
- 9:49Speaker 4: You absolutely can and so so, folks, That's what I
- 9:53Speaker 4: want to sort of tell you about this case, right.
- 9:54Speaker 4: It was a nice example of planning and how the
- 9:57Speaker 4: year of vocable trust works to protect assets from the
- 10:00Speaker 4: nursing home, but without planning. This guide long term care
- 10:04Speaker 4: planning for procrastinators will help you save money last minute.
- 10:09Speaker 4: Don't write to check learn how to protect assets last
- 10:12Speaker 4: minute from the nursing home eight sixty six eight four
- 10:15Speaker 4: eight five six nine nine, or go to our website
- 10:19Speaker 4: Legal Exchange show dot com.
- 10:21Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
- 10:24Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
- 10:27Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We've got much
- 10:31Speaker 2: more to come when we return to the Legal Exchange
- 10:34Speaker 2: with Todd Lutsky.
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- 13:36Speaker 1: advisory services. You're listening to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lunsky,
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- 13:52Speaker 2: Welcome back into the legal exchange with Todd Lotsky. I'm
- 13:55Speaker 2: Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group,
- 13:59Speaker 2: and I'm sure joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with
- 14:01Speaker 2: the law firm of Cushing and Dolan with a masters
- 14:05Speaker 2: in taxation. Where are we headed now, Todd?
- 14:08Speaker 4: We are going to head over to Iowa. We have
- 14:10Speaker 4: an appellate court case. They are dealing with no contest clauses. Yeah,
- 14:15Speaker 4: the courts are really cracking down on these. There seemed
- 14:17Speaker 4: to be limiting them more and more than I would
- 14:20Speaker 4: like to see. Some oftimes, I think they just get
- 14:22Speaker 4: the they just get the law wrong. But let's take
- 14:25Speaker 4: a look at this one. So Rex and Mildred had
- 14:30Speaker 4: three kids, Karen, Kathy, and Ken apparently are like case.
- 14:35Speaker 2: Yes.
- 14:36Speaker 4: In two thousand and two, Mildred died Okay. Rex then
- 14:42Speaker 4: began struggling to care for himself, so Kathy moved in
- 14:46Speaker 4: to help out well. In twenty nineteen, Karen moved in
- 14:51Speaker 4: with Rex to provide care, and then Kathy ended up
- 14:55Speaker 4: moving out after Karen and Kathy were not on the
- 15:00Speaker 4: same page with how to provide care at the time,
- 15:04Speaker 4: so Kathy then moved out and Karen stayed stayed in
- 15:09Speaker 4: there well. In twenty twenty one, Rex does a new will, shocker,
- 15:15Speaker 4: which gives most of his assets to Karen, who's said
- 15:18Speaker 4: bris who moved in, and puts in a no contest clause.
- 15:23Speaker 3: Good for him.
- 15:24Speaker 4: Rex also went out of his way. The attorney told
- 15:26Speaker 4: him to take a cognitive test prior to executing the
- 15:30Speaker 4: new will you know, in anticipation sure of litigation, and
- 15:36Speaker 4: guess what, he got a perfect score. The doctor even
- 15:39Speaker 4: out of his way to write a note saying that
- 15:42Speaker 4: he can make his own decisions. Good because nineteen days later,
- 15:48Speaker 4: after the will was executed, Rex died. Wow, well as
- 15:54Speaker 4: you might imagine Ken and Kathy. Remember Kathy moved. Cathy
- 15:57Speaker 4: left Ken and Kathy to the will, claiming there was
- 16:02Speaker 4: a lack of capacity and undue influence shocker, So the
- 16:08Speaker 4: trial court ruled in favor of Karen, saying no, there
- 16:11Speaker 4: wasn't any lack of capacity on doing flux.
- 16:13Speaker 2: Thank goodness that he did all took those extra steps.
- 16:16Speaker 3: Huh yeah. Yeah.
- 16:18Speaker 4: Then Karen went ahead and said, you know what, I
- 16:20Speaker 4: want to enforce the no contest clause against my siblings.
- 16:23Speaker 4: Fair enough, Well, Kathy claimed that she acted in good faith,
- 16:30Speaker 4: that the claims that you know, she felt it was
- 16:33Speaker 4: the right thing to do. Well, Kathy claimed not only
- 16:37Speaker 4: did she act in good faith, but the court and
- 16:39Speaker 4: went out of its way to rule for Karen again
- 16:42Speaker 4: and allowed the no contest court to apply. Well, she
- 16:45Speaker 4: appealed and the appellate court affirmed, saying Kathy did not
- 16:51Speaker 4: meet her burden to show a good faith effort. What
- 16:55Speaker 4: is a good faith effort? Good faith standard requires challenger
- 17:01Speaker 4: to prove evidence that would lead a reasonable person to
- 17:06Speaker 4: conclude that there's a substantial likelihood that the challenge would
- 17:11Speaker 4: be successful. Evidence here did not show any of that,
- 17:16Speaker 4: So she loses. So it was on Kathy to right
- 17:21Speaker 4: to char that had to prove that, and so there
- 17:26Speaker 4: was no real evidence to the contrary of any of that.
- 17:29Speaker 4: After all, I had a note, he had a doctor's note.
- 17:31Speaker 2: I mean, she probably didn't know the extent to which
- 17:35Speaker 2: Rex went to make sure because he knew what was
- 17:37Speaker 2: going to come.
- 17:39Speaker 4: Yeah, so sure enough he was right, and sure enough
- 17:41Speaker 4: the claim came and they did approve this no contest
- 17:46Speaker 4: clause because clearly they challenged it wanting more money.
- 17:50Speaker 2: So Karen ended up getting everything because they were well.
- 17:54Speaker 3: Karen got the will that allowed her to get more.
- 17:56Speaker 2: Right right, which is good?
- 17:59Speaker 4: Yeahich good, well, folks, Again, this is about planning. I
- 18:02Speaker 4: want people to plan. It's always better than not planning.
- 18:06Speaker 4: But for folks who don't plan, and you find yourself
- 18:10Speaker 4: faced with going into a nursing home, call and get
- 18:13Speaker 4: this guide Long Term care Planning for procrastinators. And even
- 18:16Speaker 4: if you have planned, you might have assets that are
- 18:19Speaker 4: outside the trust. This guide tells you how to treat
- 18:22Speaker 4: them last minute, from houses to vacation homes, to rental
- 18:26Speaker 4: properties to iras in four to oh one ks life insurance.
- 18:30Speaker 3: Folks.
- 18:31Speaker 4: Assets are treated differently depending on what they are, and
- 18:35Speaker 4: they're treated differently if you're married or single. Please call
- 18:39Speaker 4: and learn how some of these assets can be protected
- 18:42Speaker 4: last minute. Don't write to check to the nursing home
- 18:45Speaker 4: eight six six eight four eight five six nine to
- 18:49Speaker 4: nine or Legal Exchange show dot com. Download the guide
- 18:53Speaker 4: right there again eight six six, eight four eight five
- 18:57Speaker 4: six nine nine or legal exchange show.
- 19:02Speaker 3: Well, what do we learned from this?
- 19:04Speaker 4: I want to help us understand no contest clauses a
- 19:07Speaker 4: little bit.
- 19:07Speaker 2: Better get your ducks in a row, for sure.
- 19:10Speaker 4: So they executed the documents. Following the procedures here to
- 19:14Speaker 4: ensure your wishes are honored was huge. There's an example
- 19:17Speaker 4: like whenever a client comes back to me or to
- 19:21Speaker 4: the firm and wants to update their documents. So we
- 19:24Speaker 4: might have done these documents years ago, and now they're saying, oh,
- 19:27Speaker 4: we want to leave a little more to one child
- 19:28Speaker 4: than another.
- 19:30Speaker 3: Fine.
- 19:31Speaker 4: We give them the power. We give them the ability
- 19:33Speaker 4: to do that, even with irrevocable trusts.
- 19:38Speaker 3: We give them this power.
- 19:40Speaker 4: But when they're making these changes and they want to
- 19:42Speaker 4: leave these assets, I always tell them it's a good
- 19:45Speaker 4: idea to go get a medical evaluation. Like what was
- 19:50Speaker 4: done here. It really ensures that there's no problem with capacity.
- 19:55Speaker 4: I always tell the client it's for your own good.
- 19:58Speaker 4: I'm not telling you this to be mean to you
- 20:01Speaker 4: to go spend money and see your doctor. I'm telling
- 20:04Speaker 4: you this because it's only going to be an arrow
- 20:06Speaker 4: in your quiver to ensure that when the time comes,
- 20:11Speaker 4: your wishes are going to be honored, even if someone
- 20:16Speaker 4: wants to, you know, challenge it, and you know your
- 20:20Speaker 4: kids and they might do it. So please make sure
- 20:23Speaker 4: you put this in there now, if you're going to
- 20:27Speaker 4: put the new contest clause and get this this in
- 20:30Speaker 4: there now.
- 20:31Speaker 3: We put them in all the time. By the way,
- 20:33Speaker 3: now we.
- 20:33Speaker 2: Just tried to dance.
- 20:35Speaker 4: Yeah, there's just really no reason not to have it
- 20:38Speaker 4: in there, because even if the kids are fine to
- 20:41Speaker 4: your face, they might.
- 20:43Speaker 3: Not be when you die.
- 20:45Speaker 2: How many times have we seen that, Todd Everything changes
- 20:47Speaker 2: when you die in that bag of money hits the
- 20:50Speaker 2: table that I mean, the claws come out, the greedy
- 20:54Speaker 2: hands come out, and they just it's we've seen some ugly,
- 20:58Speaker 2: ugly family dynamics.
- 20:59Speaker 4: After it's just altogether a different world. So we're going
- 21:04Speaker 4: to do that now. That takes care of the lack
- 21:07Speaker 4: of capacity argument in this case and in any case.
- 21:10Speaker 3: Really it's really helpful.
- 21:12Speaker 4: The undue influenced part, you know, was a little concerning
- 21:15Speaker 4: to me because after all, you know, Karen did move in.
- 21:18Speaker 4: Karen then did have the will redone, I say, Karen,
- 21:21Speaker 4: but it was really the client. Sure, and she ended
- 21:24Speaker 4: up getting more than she was getting before, so it
- 21:27Speaker 4: kind of looks a little funny. Sure, but because he
- 21:30Speaker 4: had complete capacity made it harder to argue undue influence.
- 21:35Speaker 4: Because he was competent. He wasn't, you know, maybe a
- 21:39Speaker 4: little weak, you know, easily influenced.
- 21:42Speaker 3: No, none of that was.
- 21:43Speaker 2: There, Todd. If you, I'm sorry to interrupted you. If
- 21:47Speaker 2: you had someone who came to you with this and
- 21:49Speaker 2: they wanted you to represent them fighting the trust of
- 21:54Speaker 2: their parents that had a new contest clause, would you
- 21:58Speaker 2: do it? I mean, you see that clause saying you're
- 21:59Speaker 2: going to get nothing.
- 22:00Speaker 4: But we do it all the time. We always defend,
- 22:04Speaker 4: you know, if we know, we're in a best position
- 22:06Speaker 4: to know how it was executed. So yes, we would.
- 22:09Speaker 4: We would defend the client.
- 22:11Speaker 2: No, the client, I know, but the child if I mean,
- 22:14Speaker 2: I can't imagine what attorney would say. We would probably
- 22:16Speaker 2: oh yeah, child right.
- 22:18Speaker 4: Be defending the trust and defending the client's wishes. We
- 22:21Speaker 4: would not be the one bringing the noble right.
- 22:23Speaker 2: I can't imagine an attorney would bring that because it
- 22:26Speaker 2: says right in there you lose.
- 22:27Speaker 3: I know, but it happens, so in this case, the
- 22:30Speaker 3: undue influence.
- 22:31Speaker 4: I was a little skeptical, but after the end of
- 22:34Speaker 4: the day, hey, she provided care, she probably earned it,
- 22:38Speaker 4: so I'm not I'm not worried about it. Right, But
- 22:41Speaker 4: just remember, folks, whenever you're treating people unequally, absolutely put
- 22:45Speaker 4: the no contest clause in right and always add this
- 22:50Speaker 4: due diligence of getting this you know, doctor note and
- 22:54Speaker 4: making sure they're cognitively sound and not easily you know, influenced.
- 23:00Speaker 3: So it's just going to help things down the road.
- 23:02Speaker 2: Get your dogs in place.
- 23:04Speaker 4: It was honored here, folks, and they upheld the no
- 23:07Speaker 4: contest clause, so use them. But finally, folks, people who
- 23:12Speaker 4: might not be might be faced with nursing home care,
- 23:16Speaker 4: learn last minute what you can do and don't just
- 23:19Speaker 4: write the check and spend all your money eight six
- 23:23Speaker 4: six eight four eight five six nine nine or legal
- 23:27Speaker 4: Exchange show dot com and you might learn how you
- 23:30Speaker 4: can save some assets last minute from the nursing home.
- 23:34Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
- 23:36Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
- 23:40Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. Tob will be
- 23:43Speaker 2: answering your listener questions when we return to the Legal
- 23:47Speaker 2: Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
- 23:50Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan. Here's
- 23:52Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
- 23:55Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
- 23:58Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
- 24:01Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
- 24:04Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan our elder law and estate
- 24:06Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes,
- 24:09Speaker 1: savings and retirement even when a health crisis comes out
- 24:12Speaker 1: of nowhere. They've just released a new guide called long
- 24:15Speaker 1: Term Care Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may
- 24:18Speaker 1: still be available and what steps you should take before
- 24:20Speaker 1: writing that first check to a nursing home. If you've
- 24:22Speaker 1: been putting this off, or a loved one needs care
- 24:24Speaker 1: right now, time matters. Call Cushing and Dolin today at
- 24:28Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninet nine
- 24:30Speaker 1: to get your free guide. That's eight six six eight
- 24:33Speaker 1: four eight five six nine nine, or you can request
- 24:35Speaker 1: it online by visiting Legal Exchange show dot com. That's
- 24:38Speaker 1: Legal Exchange show dot Com. The proceeding was paid for
- 24:41Speaker 1: in the music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
- 24:43Speaker 1: Pushing and Dolin in or Armstrong advisorymay contact you're offering
- 24:45Speaker 1: legal or investment services. Cushing and Dolan in Armstrong Advisory
- 24:48Speaker 1: do not endorse each other and are not affiliated.
- 24:50Speaker 6: Social Security and Medicare are oftentimes lumped together, but may
- 24:53Speaker 6: be handled separately, and depending on your strategy, they could
- 24:56Speaker 6: shape your entire retirement plan. Hi, this is Mike Armstrong
- 24:59Speaker 6: from the ar Armstrong Advisory Group. Choosing when to start
- 25:02Speaker 6: social Security has many effects, including determining the amount of
- 25:05Speaker 6: guaranteed income you receive each month. Medicare decisions go beyond
- 25:08Speaker 6: coverage as they can impact premiums, out of pocket costs,
- 25:11Speaker 6: and access to providers throughout retirement. Our new guide is
- 25:14Speaker 6: called How to Apply for Social Security and Medicare. It
- 25:17Speaker 6: will help you learn how these decisions may fit together
- 25:20Speaker 6: and how to take the right steps at the right
- 25:22Speaker 6: time to build a secure retirement plan. Call us at
- 25:25Speaker 6: eight hundred three nine three for zero zero one to
- 25:28Speaker 6: get your copy of How to Apply for Social Security
- 25:30Speaker 6: and Medicare. That's eight hundred three nine three for zero
- 25:33Speaker 6: zero one, or you can request it online from our
- 25:35Speaker 6: website Armstrong Advisory dot com.
- 25:37Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
- 25:39Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
- 25:41Speaker 1: Armstrong guide a specific financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult
- 25:44Speaker 1: your own financial tax into state planning advisors before making
- 25:47Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong make contact you to offer investment
- 25:49Speaker 1: advisory services. If you've been dreaming about a getaway that
- 25:52Speaker 1: feels far away but easy to get to, it's time
- 25:55Speaker 1: to think about the US Virgin Islands, America's Caribbean. This
- 25:58Speaker 1: is a place where you can follow Trillian rhythm with
- 26:00Speaker 1: the heartbeat of the islands, enjoy crystal clear water and
- 26:03Speaker 1: powder soft beaches, world class dining, sailing and unforgettable sunsets.
- 26:08Speaker 1: And here's the best part. Travel from New England is easy.
- 26:11Speaker 1: The US Virgin Islands are part of the United States,
- 26:14Speaker 1: which means no passport required and no money to exchange.
- 26:17Speaker 1: Just pack your bags and go. Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking,
- 26:21Speaker 1: or simply relaxing by the water, and your evenings enjoying
- 26:24Speaker 1: local cuisine, live music and warm island Breezes explore Saint Thomas,
- 26:29Speaker 1: Saint John and Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with
- 26:32Speaker 1: its own vibe, its own flavor, and its own way
- 26:34Speaker 1: of helping you unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean
- 26:37Speaker 1: escape today and visit USVII dot com discover why the
- 26:41Speaker 1: US Virgin Islands are America's Caribbean paradise. For more information
- 26:45Speaker 1: and to book your trip, head to visit USVII dot com.
- 26:48Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com. You're listening to the Legal Exchange,
- 26:53Speaker 1: and it's time for Ask Todd, the segment where Todd
- 26:57Speaker 1: will answer your questions about anything and everything that's in
- 27:00Speaker 1: included in the estate planning process. Once again, Here's Todd,
- 27:04Speaker 1: Lutsky and Susan Powers.
- 27:07Speaker 2: Welcome back, Todd. We have a few questions from listeners
- 27:10Speaker 2: for you. First question comes from Janet and Pembroke Mass
- 27:13Speaker 2: and Janet writes, I am single and seventy eight years old.
- 27:17Speaker 2: I have a home worth five hundred thousand, in IRA
- 27:20Speaker 2: worth four hundred thousand, and other liquid assets of around
- 27:23Speaker 2: three hundred. I have good pension and social security income,
- 27:27Speaker 2: so I don't really need to access my investments and
- 27:30Speaker 2: I tend to save my annual required distributions. I'm in
- 27:34Speaker 2: good health, but I want to save my assets for
- 27:36Speaker 2: my children. If I end up going in a nursing home.
- 27:39Speaker 2: How can I protect everything? Is there anything that can
- 27:42Speaker 2: be done to save the ira?
- 27:44Speaker 1: Wow?
- 27:45Speaker 3: At least she's you know, all inclusive here.
- 27:48Speaker 2: She wants everything she wants. Who wouldn't who wants to
- 27:51Speaker 2: sever it? Right? She wants her cake, she wants to
- 27:55Speaker 2: eat it too.
- 27:56Speaker 4: So we're going to give her as best of an
- 27:58Speaker 4: answer as we can. And so the way this plays
- 28:02Speaker 4: out is, you know, seventy eight never too old. First
- 28:05Speaker 4: of all, I'm glad that we're doing planning. Don't all
- 28:08Speaker 4: you folks that think, you know, oh my, I'm eighty,
- 28:10Speaker 4: I can't plan? Not true, Not true. So so that's
- 28:15Speaker 4: not a problem. Then we have to look at the
- 28:17Speaker 4: assets that we want to protect and the total dollar amount.
- 28:22Speaker 4: It looks like she's a little over a.
- 28:24Speaker 2: Million, one million, two million two.
- 28:26Speaker 4: So, you know, with a million two here in Massachusetts,
- 28:32Speaker 4: one thing we don't have to worry about we can
- 28:34Speaker 4: sort of outrule is.
- 28:36Speaker 3: The state taxes.
- 28:38Speaker 4: So she's under the two million dollar threshold for Massachusetts
- 28:42Speaker 4: death tax. So we don't need to worry about that.
- 28:46Speaker 4: And the second thing is avoiding probate. She didn't mentioned it,
- 28:50Speaker 4: but we certainly want to address that. Sure easily done
- 28:54Speaker 4: for all assets between the trust planning. I'm going to
- 28:58Speaker 4: recommend in a minute, and IRA money or any other
- 29:02Speaker 4: assets where we put a designated beneficiary on the account
- 29:06Speaker 4: to avoid the probate. So between DBS and trust work,
- 29:11Speaker 4: we'll be able to completely avoid the probate process perfect.
- 29:15Speaker 4: Leaving us her last question of protecting everything from the
- 29:18Speaker 4: nursing home, Well, you can't always do that. So as
- 29:24Speaker 4: a single person, we can take the five hundred thousand
- 29:26Speaker 4: dollars home put it in the trust. We can take
- 29:30Speaker 4: the four hundred thousand dollars three hundred thousand dollars of
- 29:35Speaker 4: her non IRA assets and put those into trust, most
- 29:40Speaker 4: of them, because it sounds like she's not living off
- 29:42Speaker 4: of them anyway, not at all, So we're going to
- 29:45Speaker 4: go ahead and put those in the trust.
- 29:46Speaker 3: So that's not bad.
- 29:48Speaker 4: You know, you got close to eight hundred thousand of
- 29:50Speaker 4: a million two taken care of, so that's not a
- 29:55Speaker 4: bad deal. Then, even though she's not needing them to
- 30:00Speaker 4: live off of. I'm going to tell her the four
- 30:03Speaker 4: hundred thousand dollars I already item, just leave outside the trust,
- 30:08Speaker 4: and you can't put it in because if you go
- 30:11Speaker 4: to put it in now, you're going to lose all
- 30:13Speaker 4: the government, You're going to lose income tax, You're gonna
- 30:15Speaker 4: have a big.
- 30:16Speaker 2: If she made one huge withdrawal, right, I mean, if
- 30:19Speaker 2: she took four hundred thousand dollars into income just to
- 30:22Speaker 2: put it into.
- 30:23Speaker 4: The trust, now she's going to lose you know, one
- 30:26Speaker 4: hundred and twenty thousand dollars in tax.
- 30:28Speaker 3: I just can't justify that.
- 30:31Speaker 4: So so I would say leave it outside the trust,
- 30:35Speaker 4: put a designated beneficiary on it to avoid probate. Maybe
- 30:40Speaker 4: that designated beneficiary can be the trust, because you want
- 30:45Speaker 4: to have these assets, you know, maybe protected for the
- 30:47Speaker 4: kids after you die. Depending on what your trust says
- 30:51Speaker 4: in terms of how you leave the assets to the kids,
- 30:54Speaker 4: put it in there. It'll still provide that benefit to
- 30:58Speaker 4: the kids going forward.
- 31:00Speaker 2: And at her age, Todd, would you recommend maybe taking
- 31:03Speaker 2: money out each year from the IRA if she wanted to,
- 31:06Speaker 2: and moving it into the trust.
- 31:08Speaker 3: Well, I'm going to say probably.
- 31:10Speaker 2: Not, okay, because at.
- 31:12Speaker 4: Seventy eight, that's going to create five year waiting periods
- 31:16Speaker 4: every time you add to the trust, meaning you're you're
- 31:20Speaker 4: going to be that much further from ever getting eligible
- 31:23Speaker 4: for Medicaid. So I probably wouldn't be adding a whole
- 31:27Speaker 4: lot to the trust.
- 31:28Speaker 3: Maybe the first year.
- 31:30Speaker 4: I might take a bunch out and put it in
- 31:31Speaker 4: all at the same time that I'm putting everything else in.
- 31:34Speaker 3: I'm okay with that.
- 31:35Speaker 2: Okay, manage your tax brackets.
- 31:38Speaker 4: But what I would do is I would live on this. Hey,
- 31:41Speaker 4: I need a little extra money. Take it, spend it,
- 31:44Speaker 4: use it, enjoy it. It's only going to be income
- 31:47Speaker 4: tax that perhaps a higher rate to your kids when
- 31:49Speaker 4: you die anyway, and it's at risk for the nursing home.
- 31:52Speaker 4: So put everything else in, live off your era, and
- 31:56Speaker 4: I think you've got about ninety five percent of what
- 31:59Speaker 4: you wanted accomplished. Accomplished, good folks. That's the planning we
- 32:05Speaker 4: recommend for a lot of people, and for you. If
- 32:09Speaker 4: you find yourself in a nursing home after you've done
- 32:11Speaker 4: this planning, we can talk to you about protecting that
- 32:14Speaker 4: IRA last minute. And for all of you folks who
- 32:18Speaker 4: have faced with nursing home planning and may have done
- 32:21Speaker 4: no planning. We can tell you with this guide how
- 32:24Speaker 4: to protect assets last minute, from using annuities to protect
- 32:30Speaker 4: excess resources, understanding the look back period, how to get
- 32:33Speaker 4: around it, and basically how to treat certain assets. Homes,
- 32:37Speaker 4: rental properties, vacation properties. They have special treatment and it's
- 32:43Speaker 4: different whether you're married or single. Don't just write the check, folks,
- 32:47Speaker 4: call and get this guide eight six six eight four
- 32:50Speaker 4: eight five six nine to nine or legal exchange show
- 32:54Speaker 4: dot com. You can download it right there again eight
- 32:58Speaker 4: six six four eight five six ninety nine or Legal
- 33:03Speaker 4: Exchange show dot com.
- 33:05Speaker 3: Todd.
- 33:05Speaker 2: Our last question comes from Bonnie in northeastern mass and
- 33:08Speaker 2: Bonnie writes, my husband is seventy four and recently went
- 33:11Speaker 2: into the nursing home. We only have around sixty thousand
- 33:14Speaker 2: in the bank, but he has a good pension, so
- 33:16Speaker 2: that has been okay. His pension does not have a
- 33:19Speaker 2: survivor benefit for me, so he took out a whole
- 33:22Speaker 2: life insurance policy. My daughter in law told me that
- 33:25Speaker 2: the cash value of his life insurance will need to
- 33:28Speaker 2: be cashed out in order for him to qualify for Medicaid.
- 33:32Speaker 2: It isn't a lot, just a fifty thousand dollars cash value,
- 33:35Speaker 2: but the death benefit is six hundred thousand. I cannot
- 33:38Speaker 2: afford to pay the life insurance if the cash value
- 33:41Speaker 2: isn't there because the premiums come out of the cash value.
- 33:45Speaker 2: How can I save the life insurance policy? And what
- 33:48Speaker 2: little assets that we have?
- 33:52Speaker 3: Wow? These are not easy questions today.
- 33:54Speaker 2: You are on the spot.
- 33:56Speaker 3: This is definitely heavy lifting.
- 33:58Speaker 2: Yeah, so.
- 34:00Speaker 3: I'm just going to try. I'm looking at this saying.
- 34:04Speaker 4: We're married and we have a healthy spouse, which is
- 34:07Speaker 4: a really key fact here, folks, everybody listening, married with
- 34:13Speaker 4: a healthy spouse.
- 34:14Speaker 2: Okay, she has sixty in the bank and then another
- 34:17Speaker 2: fifty thousand in cash value life insurance. I'm assuming a
- 34:21Speaker 2: home as well, but those are the assets.
- 34:23Speaker 4: Yeah, so let's add the home. So great news for
- 34:28Speaker 4: Bonnie Bonnie. The house is going to be protected from
- 34:33Speaker 4: the nursing home. Does not matter the value. If it's
- 34:36Speaker 4: located in Massachusetts and you're residing in it, it can
- 34:41Speaker 4: be transferred to your name alone, and the nursing home
- 34:45Speaker 4: cannot put a lien on it, and the state will
- 34:48Speaker 4: not count it. And it does not matter the value.
- 34:52Speaker 4: I don't care if it's two million or half a million.
- 34:56Speaker 4: It's going to be protected home run for the house.
- 35:00Speaker 4: Now all your income. You still get to keep Social
- 35:04Speaker 4: Security pension. Hey, you need that, I get it. It's
- 35:07Speaker 4: your income. You're going to keep that healthy spouse, and
- 35:12Speaker 4: you're going to get to keep to sixty grand because
- 35:15Speaker 4: you get to keep up to about one hundred and
- 35:18Speaker 4: fifty four thousand dollars of money assets when you are
- 35:23Speaker 4: a spouse living at home. So great news there, And
- 35:30Speaker 4: since you only have sixty thousand to deal with, yep,
- 35:35Speaker 4: you can add the fifty thousand from the cash surrender
- 35:38Speaker 4: value of the life insurance policy and transfer that into
- 35:42Speaker 4: your community spousal Resource allowance. So that one hundred and
- 35:47Speaker 4: fifty thousand of money that I told you were allowed
- 35:49Speaker 4: to keep, it's one hundred and fifty thousand of any assets, so.
- 35:53Speaker 2: That life insurance policy will not be at risk transfer
- 35:57Speaker 2: to you.
- 35:57Speaker 4: Add that to your sixty thousand dollars in your community
- 36:00Speaker 4: spousal it's protected.
- 36:02Speaker 3: So he's eligible for medicaid right right away.
- 36:07Speaker 4: Okay, folks, you can learn how to be eligible for
- 36:10Speaker 4: medicaid right away as well. Even some of these tough facts,
- 36:15Speaker 4: these assets are treated differently. Houses, rentals, vacation homes, Understand
- 36:22Speaker 4: how they work. Understand how to use annuities to protect assets.
- 36:26Speaker 4: Last minute single versus married couples eight six six, eight four,
- 36:31Speaker 4: eight five six nine to nine or Legal Exchange Show
- 36:34Speaker 4: dot com download the guide there.
- 36:37Speaker 2: If you have a question you would like to ask Todd,
- 36:40Speaker 2: visit his website Legal Exchange Show dot com and click
- 36:43Speaker 2: on the ask Tod tab. Maybe I'll be able to
- 36:45Speaker 2: read your question on the air, and hopefully his answer
- 36:48Speaker 2: will stop you from becoming one of his next real
- 36:51Speaker 2: life stories. You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner
- 36:55Speaker 2: with the law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers,
- 36:58Speaker 2: a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We'll be
- 37:02Speaker 2: back with more after this quick break on the Legal
- 37:05Speaker 2: Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
- 37:08Speaker 1: From the other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan. Here's
- 37:10Speaker 1: something you need to hear. Most people think long term
- 37:13Speaker 1: care planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly
- 37:16Speaker 1: someday is today. When a spouse or parent needs nursing
- 37:19Speaker 1: home care and no planning was done, the costs can
- 37:22Speaker 1: be overwhelming. Cushing and Dolan, our elder law and estate
- 37:25Speaker 1: planning attorneys who help New England families protect their homes,
- 37:27Speaker 1: savings and retirement even when a health crisis comes out
- 37:30Speaker 1: of nowhere. They've just released a new guide called Long
- 37:33Speaker 1: Term Care Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may
- 37:36Speaker 1: still be available and what steps you should take before
- 37:39Speaker 1: writing that first check to a nursing home. If you've
- 37:41Speaker 1: been putting this off, or a loved one needs care
- 37:43Speaker 1: right now, time matters. Call Cushing and Dolan today at
- 37:46Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine
- 37:48Speaker 1: to get your free guide. That's eight six six eight
- 37:51Speaker 1: four eight five six nine nine, or you can request
- 37:53Speaker 1: it online by visiting Legal Exchange Show dot com. That's
- 37:56Speaker 1: Legal exchange Show dot com. The proceeding was paid for
- 37:59Speaker 1: in the music expressed solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
- 38:01Speaker 1: Pushing and Dolin in or Armstrong Advisory may contact you're
- 38:03Speaker 1: offering legal investment services. Cushing Indolan in Armstrong Advisory do
- 38:06Speaker 1: not endorse each other and are not affiliated. If you've
- 38:08Speaker 1: been dreaming about a ghetaway that feels far away but
- 38:11Speaker 1: easy to get to, it's time to think about the
- 38:13Speaker 1: US Virgin Islands, America's Caribbean. This is a place where
- 38:17Speaker 1: you can fall naturally in rhythm with the heartbeat of
- 38:19Speaker 1: the islands. Enjoy crystal clear water and pounder soft beaches,
- 38:22Speaker 1: world class dining, sailing and unforgettable sunsets. And here's the
- 38:26Speaker 1: best part. Travel from New England is easy. The US
- 38:30Speaker 1: Virgin Islands are part of the United States, which means
- 38:32Speaker 1: no passport required and no money to exchange. Just pack
- 38:35Speaker 1: your bags and go. Spend your day snorkeling, sailing, hiking,
- 38:39Speaker 1: or simply relaxing by the water, and your evenings enjoying
- 38:42Speaker 1: local cuisine, live music and warm island breezes. Explore Saint Thomas,
- 38:46Speaker 1: Saint John and Saint Croix, three distinct islands, each with
- 38:50Speaker 1: its own vibe, its own flavor, and its own way
- 38:52Speaker 1: of helping you unplug and reset. Start planning your Caribbean
- 38:55Speaker 1: escape today and visit USVII dot com discover why the
- 38:59Speaker 1: US Virgin Islands our America's Caribbean paradise. For more information
- 39:03Speaker 1: and to book your trip, head to visit USVII dot com.
- 39:06Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com. Hi.
- 39:08Speaker 5: This is Chuck Zada from the Armstrong Advisory Group, one
- 39:11Speaker 5: of the biggest mistakes you can make is you prepare
- 39:13Speaker 5: for retirement is missing important deadlines. For solid Security and Medicare,
- 39:17Speaker 5: you can apply for solid Security up to four months
- 39:20Speaker 5: before you want benefits to begin. Medicare has a seven
- 39:22Speaker 5: month enrollment window around your sixty fifth birthday. Missing that
- 39:26Speaker 5: window may cause coverage delays. Something else to consider is
- 39:29Speaker 5: that you don't have to start them at the same time.
- 39:31Speaker 5: You can enroll in Medicare at sixty five but delay
- 39:34Speaker 5: social Security to increase your monthly benefit. Learn more in
- 39:37Speaker 5: our new guide called how to Apply for Social Security
- 39:40Speaker 5: and Medicare. To get your free copy, call say at
- 39:43Speaker 5: eight hundred three nine three for zero zero one. That's
- 39:46Speaker 5: eight hundred three nine three for zero zero one, or
- 39:50Speaker 5: request the guide online from our website Armstrong Advisory dot com.
- 39:54Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
- 39:56Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
- 39:59Speaker 1: Armstrong guide a specific financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult
- 40:02Speaker 1: your own financial, tax into state planning advisors before making
- 40:04Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
- 40:07Speaker 1: advisory services.
- 40:09Speaker 7: This is Michael Valila, adjudant of the Disabled American Veterans
- 40:12Speaker 7: Department of Massachusetts. The DAV of Massachusetts has helped me
- 40:16Speaker 7: and countless others adjust to civilian life through a variety
- 40:19Speaker 7: of incredible programs. Through our local Veterans Assistance Program, we
- 40:23Speaker 7: provide necessary services to veterans in their communities such as food, shopping, landscaping,
- 40:29Speaker 7: and companionship. But we need your support. You can help
- 40:32Speaker 7: by making a donation today. Please visit DAV FIVEK dot Boston.
- 40:36Speaker 7: That's DAV five K dot Boston.
- 40:39Speaker 1: Your tune to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. If
- 40:42Speaker 1: you are a loved one needs a nursing homestay, call
- 40:45Speaker 1: Todd right now at eight sixty six eight four eight
- 40:47Speaker 1: five six ninet nine and let him make sure your
- 40:49Speaker 1: assets are protected. That's eight six six eight for eight
- 40:52Speaker 1: five six nine nine, or visit him online at Legal
- 40:55Speaker 1: Exchange show dot com.
- 40:58Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Lead Change with Todd Lutsky. I'm
- 41:02Speaker 2: Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group,
- 41:05Speaker 2: and I'm joined, of course by Todd Lutsky, a partner
- 41:09Speaker 2: with the law firm of Cushing A. Dolan with a
- 41:11Speaker 2: master's in taxation. So, Todd, when you were talking about
- 41:15Speaker 2: your case. Earlier in the show about Kathy and Karen
- 41:18Speaker 2: and they're taking care of Dad, I thought it would
- 41:20Speaker 2: be a perfect time to have a conversation about personal
- 41:24Speaker 2: care contracts and just make people aware because there are
- 41:27Speaker 2: so many people that are caring for a family member
- 41:31Speaker 2: to try and keep them from going in the nursing home.
- 41:34Speaker 2: So let's start, because personal care contracts are part of
- 41:37Speaker 2: your guide and it's all about you know, if you
- 41:39Speaker 2: haven't done your planning and last minute things. So what
- 41:43Speaker 2: can you explain exactly? What is a personal care contract?
- 41:48Speaker 4: So a personal care contract is something that is needed
- 41:54Speaker 4: when you have let's say, in one of these cases,
- 41:57Speaker 4: we did, right, Karen, I think moved in to take
- 41:59Speaker 4: care of you know Dad, yep, right, Well, the parents
- 42:04Speaker 4: inevitably kind of want to pay for that care. They
- 42:09Speaker 4: feel bad that, you know, you moved in and you're
- 42:12Speaker 4: doing all this work.
- 42:13Speaker 2: I just stopped working to come and care for them.
- 42:16Speaker 2: Might have or reduced hours or things like that.
- 42:19Speaker 4: It's very possible, and so oftentimes the parent says, let
- 42:24Speaker 4: me just give you some money, and they do.
- 42:28Speaker 3: But if you do that.
- 42:30Speaker 4: Then bad things are going to happen when you try
- 42:32Speaker 4: to apply for Medicaid, it'll look like a gift.
- 42:35Speaker 2: So if you go into the nursing home right and
- 42:38Speaker 2: then apply.
- 42:39Speaker 4: So you need this contract, which is basically saying, hey,
- 42:43Speaker 4: I'm working for you, and I'm getting paid fair market
- 42:48Speaker 4: value for the services I'm rendering you for care. That's
- 42:53Speaker 4: that's basically the definition of a personal care contract. There's
- 42:57Speaker 4: more to it, but I think that at least answers
- 42:59Speaker 4: your initial question.
- 43:00Speaker 2: So who should actually consider using this toot Is it
- 43:03Speaker 2: anybody that you know, mom or dad want to slide
- 43:06Speaker 2: them a gift for something, or is it someone who's
- 43:09Speaker 2: really doing full time care is it part time care?
- 43:13Speaker 2: Who should consider using these?
- 43:16Speaker 4: So I would say if you are seriously providing care,
- 43:21Speaker 4: I mean, if you're just going over there, you know,
- 43:23Speaker 4: once in a while and checking in on your mom
- 43:25Speaker 4: and dad and you know, maybe cutting the grass or something, yeap,
- 43:29Speaker 4: you know, you're probably not gonna not gonna get the
- 43:32Speaker 4: you know, personal care contract. But but if you find yourself,
- 43:36Speaker 4: you know, moving in or even if you don't move in,
- 43:39Speaker 4: I don't think moving in as a requirement or a
- 43:42Speaker 4: personal care contract. It does help to justify your hours
- 43:46Speaker 4: if you're living there. But but you know, if you
- 43:49Speaker 4: find yourself, you know, really caring for somebody hours and
- 43:53Speaker 4: hours at a time every week, and and your parents
- 43:59Speaker 4: say I want to give you money for doing this,
- 44:04Speaker 4: then then yes, you better say I need a personal
- 44:08Speaker 4: care contract because I heard that it's not good if
- 44:11Speaker 4: we're trying to protect money from the nursing home to
- 44:14Speaker 4: do it without a personal care contract.
- 44:15Speaker 3: So then yes, get one.
- 44:17Speaker 2: So can you only have one at a time? Todd
- 44:20Speaker 2: Like I'm thinking about you know, parents who might have
- 44:22Speaker 2: a couple of kids and everyone's pitching in to do things.
- 44:25Speaker 2: Maybe there's two or three kids who are spending some
- 44:28Speaker 2: serious time. They're kind of divving up the load. Can
- 44:31Speaker 2: you have several personal care contracts?
- 44:34Speaker 3: You can?
- 44:35Speaker 7: You can?
- 44:36Speaker 3: So let me give you an example.
- 44:38Speaker 4: You've got someone who's actually neither kid can move in,
- 44:43Speaker 4: but you know their work schedule permits one kid to
- 44:48Speaker 4: work you know, certain days because maybe they're a nurse
- 44:50Speaker 4: and they're off certain days or there, you know, whatever
- 44:53Speaker 4: their work schedule is, and the other kids able to work.
- 44:56Speaker 3: Other days and maybe the weekends.
- 44:57Speaker 2: Yep.
- 44:58Speaker 4: And so these two kids might get together and put
- 45:03Speaker 4: together this schedule. If they do, then they should have
- 45:08Speaker 4: this personal care contract two separately drafted with separate terms
- 45:13Speaker 4: and conditions, And just let me reiterate that the real
- 45:18Speaker 4: reason for doing this is to convert the asset being
- 45:23Speaker 4: given from mom and dad to the person from being
- 45:29Speaker 4: a disqualifying.
- 45:30Speaker 2: Transfer for Medicaid like a gift.
- 45:33Speaker 4: Like a gift, which means every time they give you
- 45:35Speaker 4: four or five thousand dollars a month that they're not
- 45:39Speaker 4: treating it as a gift and you're disqualified for Medicaid.
- 45:42Speaker 4: By having the contract and including the money you get
- 45:46Speaker 4: on your income tax return that you receive treating it
- 45:50Speaker 4: as taxable income, you're cleansing that and saying it's now
- 45:54Speaker 4: not a gift, it's actually payment for services, so the
- 45:58Speaker 4: money would be automatic protected from the nursing home. No
- 46:02Speaker 4: five year waiting period, folks. Five year waiting period is
- 46:05Speaker 4: also something.
- 46:06Speaker 3: In this guide. Understand how it works, how to get
- 46:09Speaker 3: around it.
- 46:10Speaker 4: Understand how to use annuities, especially annuities to protect a
- 46:14Speaker 4: bunch of excess resources money and learn from this guide
- 46:19Speaker 4: how to use pool trusts and or how to deal
- 46:22Speaker 4: with non liquid money like real estate, rental properties, vacation homes. Folks,
- 46:28Speaker 4: This guide tells you how to treat them last minute,
- 46:31Speaker 4: how to save them last minute, and how to do
- 46:34Speaker 4: it differently if you're married versus single, Call and get
- 46:39Speaker 4: the guide Last long term care Planning for Procrastinators eight
- 46:43Speaker 4: six six eight four eight five six nine to nine
- 46:47Speaker 4: or Legal Exchange Show dot com. Don't just write the
- 46:50Speaker 4: check eight six six eight four eight five six nine
- 46:55Speaker 4: to nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com.
- 46:58Speaker 2: Todd, I would think that if you have children in
- 47:02Speaker 2: between your kids, you're they're kind of providing twenty four
- 47:05Speaker 2: to seven care. I would think that you could move
- 47:08Speaker 2: an awful lot of money out of your name into
- 47:12Speaker 2: their name. There's got to be some kind of restriction.
- 47:15Speaker 2: You can't just go in and say, oh, I'm gonna
- 47:18Speaker 2: you know, I'm gonna pay my kids each tenngry in
- 47:20Speaker 2: a month to care for me. So what are your
- 47:23Speaker 2: what's your advice in terms of how do you determine
- 47:26Speaker 2: how much you're going to pay them?
- 47:28Speaker 4: Yeah, so one of the things that are in this contract,
- 47:31Speaker 4: right is not only the terms meaning what you're doing,
- 47:36Speaker 4: what type of services you're actually providing, define that in
- 47:40Speaker 4: the contract, define the hours, right, but also define you
- 47:47Speaker 4: know how much you're going to get paid.
- 47:50Speaker 3: Right.
- 47:51Speaker 4: So you need the hours, the term how long you're
- 47:54Speaker 4: going to provide the services for, and then the hourly rate.
- 47:57Speaker 2: What do you think a reasonable hourly rate would be?
- 48:00Speaker 4: You know there's some old cases that say, you know,
- 48:03Speaker 4: if you're not a qualified nurse.
- 48:06Speaker 2: Yeah right, you might not be.
- 48:07Speaker 4: You know, seventeen to twenty dollars an hour, maybe twenty
- 48:11Speaker 4: bucks an hour should get you there. That was a
- 48:13Speaker 4: while ago, so I'm bumping it up to twenty. You
- 48:16Speaker 4: should be okay in that range. I wouldn't go much
- 48:18Speaker 4: over twenty five, but twenty bucks an hour you could
- 48:22Speaker 4: move a lot of money.
- 48:23Speaker 2: So do you need to you know, punch a clock?
- 48:27Speaker 2: Do you need? How do you track your time? And
- 48:29Speaker 2: how do you actually approve? Because they're not there with you,
- 48:32Speaker 2: they don't they don't know what you've done. If you're
- 48:34Speaker 2: going to be a buying for medicaid.
- 48:36Speaker 3: I think you actually track it, just you know yourself
- 48:40Speaker 3: on your own count.
- 48:41Speaker 2: Get a log or something.
- 48:42Speaker 4: Yeah, and a log, keep a log, show you know
- 48:44Speaker 4: what you did that day. These are the things I did.
- 48:47Speaker 4: This is how long I was there. I mean, you
- 48:49Speaker 4: just have to be honest about it, and then you know,
- 48:52Speaker 4: you get you get your paycheck, And I would also
- 48:55Speaker 4: sometimes recommend like even a paycheck services that will issue
- 49:00Speaker 4: a ten ninety nine at the end of the year,
- 49:03Speaker 4: and so you've got support showing how much you received
- 49:07Speaker 4: throughout the course.
- 49:08Speaker 2: Of the year because you need to pay taxes on
- 49:10Speaker 2: that money.
- 49:11Speaker 3: You do, you do.
- 49:12Speaker 4: That's really one of the parts that really cleanse the
- 49:15Speaker 4: whole thing from being a disqualifying transfer.
- 49:17Speaker 2: Yep, perfect, perfect. So when we're talking about doing these
- 49:22Speaker 2: personal care contracts, do you need to do them with
- 49:25Speaker 2: anyone that's providing care? Like? I know you can. You
- 49:28Speaker 2: can hire services to do this, you know, different companies.
- 49:32Speaker 2: Do you need to do it for everyone?
- 49:34Speaker 4: I would say if you have an actual company, you
- 49:38Speaker 4: know that's that's providing the care. These these folks who
- 49:42Speaker 4: come into your house, they share the care providers. So
- 49:45Speaker 4: if it's them, you don't need a personal care contract.
- 49:49Speaker 4: They're going to have their own contract, right, They're going
- 49:51Speaker 4: to have their own documentation.
- 49:53Speaker 3: You don't.
- 49:54Speaker 4: You won't need one, right. You really only need this
- 49:58Speaker 4: when you're when it's a love one doing it.
- 50:01Speaker 3: Right.
- 50:01Speaker 4: Okay, let me let me explain why. Right, if it's
- 50:04Speaker 4: a loved one that's providing the care and you don't
- 50:07Speaker 4: have it, then then you want to make sure that
- 50:12Speaker 4: they don't treat it as love and affection.
- 50:14Speaker 2: Oh, got it, got it, got it okay.
- 50:16Speaker 4: So that's really the key, you know, behind it okay,
- 50:20Speaker 4: that converts it from love and affection to an actual payment. Folks,
- 50:25Speaker 4: call and get the guide long Term Care Planning for procrastinators.
- 50:29Speaker 4: So it's going to help you not just write the
- 50:31Speaker 4: check to the nursing home eight six six eight four
- 50:35Speaker 4: eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange show dot
- 50:39Speaker 4: com to try to protect Usset's last minute from the
- 50:42Speaker 4: nursing home.
- 50:43Speaker 2: Todd Lutsky from the law firm of Cushing and Dolan,
- 50:46Speaker 2: thank you so much.
- 50:47Speaker 3: Thank you, Susan. Always a pleasure.
- 50:49Speaker 2: I'm Susan Power as a financial advisor with the Armstrong
- 50:52Speaker 2: Advisory Group. We thank you for joining us and we'll
- 50:54Speaker 2: be back again next week on the Legal Exchange with
- 50:57Speaker 2: Todd Lutsky from.
- 51:00Speaker 1: The other law attorneys at Cushing and Dolan. Here's something
- 51:03Speaker 1: you need to hear. Most people think long term care
- 51:05Speaker 1: planning is something they'll get to someday, until suddenly someday
- 51:09Speaker 1: is today when a spouse or parent needs nursing home
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- 51:15Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan are elder law and estate planning attorneys
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- 51:23Speaker 1: They've just released a new guide called long Term Care
- 51:25Speaker 1: Planning for Procrastinators. It explains what options may still be
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- 51:31Speaker 1: first check to a nursing home. If you've been putting
- 51:33Speaker 1: this off, or a loved one needs care right now,
- 51:35Speaker 1: time matters. Call Cushing and Dolan today at eight six
- 51:38Speaker 1: six eight four eight five six ninet nine to get
- 51:40Speaker 1: your free guide. That's eight six six eight four eight
- 51:43Speaker 1: five six nine nine, or you can request it online
- 51:45Speaker 1: by visiting Legal Exchange Show dot com. That's Legal exchange
- 51:49Speaker 1: Show dot com. The proceeding was paid for in The
- 51:51Speaker 1: music expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Pushing
- 51:53Speaker 1: and Dolin in or Armstrong advisorymay contact you're offering legal
- 51:55Speaker 1: investment services. Cushing in Dolan in Armstrong Advisory do not
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