Heritage Law Office Blog

Although their names are confusingly alike, Medicaid and Medicare are quite different programs. Both programs provide health coverage, but Medicare is an “entitlement” program, meaning that everyone who reaches age 65 and is entitled to receive Social Security benefits also receives Medicare. (Me...

A power of attorney may seem like a simple document, but there are several important decisions that need to be made when creating one. From whom to appoint to what powers to grant, care and consideration should be put into each choice. A power of attorney is one of the most important estate plan...

Medicaid is one of the most highly sought-after government assistance programs. Those with Medicaid coverage can have medical treatment and long-term care costs covered, leaving them responsible for only a small portion of total costs. While available for a range of individuals, the elderly are some of the greatest Medicaid benefactors as it can cover expenses for everything from nursing home care to prescription drugs.

Having children with a disability means that you have to take extra steps to plan and prepare for their future. When a parent cannot take care of their child any longer due to death or disability, it is vital to have a plan in place to ensure the child's needs are met. Here are five pointers to consider when planning for your disabled child's future...

The phrase life estate often comes up in discussions of estate and Medicaid planning, but what exactly does it mean? A life estate is a form of joint ownership that allows one person to remain in a house until his or her death, when it passes to the other owner. Life estates can be used to avoi...

Americans are living longer than they did in years past, including those with disabilities. According to one count, 730,000 people with developmental disabilities living with caregivers who are 60 or older. This figure does not include adult children with other forms of disability nor those who l...

When leaving a home to your children, you can avoid probate by using either joint ownership or a revocable trust, but which is the better method?  If you add your child as a joint tenant on your house, you will each have an equal ownership interest in the property. If one joint tenant dies, his ...

The contents of most trusts you create for yourself will be considered available to you in determining your eligibility for SSI. On the other hand, assets of most trusts that someone else creates and names you as a beneficiary of may not be considered to belong to you for purposes of determining ...

Medicaid is intended to give long-term medical care to people who need it. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid is a means-based program, which means a person may only be eligible if they have few assets. The program begins where a person’s funds and other assets end. You’re expected to pay for your own long-term care on your own until you can no longer pay, and then Medicaid takes over. When you consider the possibility of expensive long-term care, you may be concerned about losing your house or other assets in the course of applying. Transferring assets to your spouse, children, or various types of trusts may be ways to protect your assets, however Medicaid has something called a “look-back period” that you need to know about before you transfer anything.

Older parents are becoming more common, driven in part by changing cultural norms and advances in infertility treatment. Comedian and author Steve Martin had his first child at age 67. Singer Billy Joel just welcomed his third daughter. Janet Jackson had a child at age 50. But later-in-life paren...

You may be afraid of losing your home if you have to enter a nursing home and apply for Medicaid. While this fear is well-founded, transferring the home to your children is usually not the best way to protect it. Although you generally do not have to sell your home in order to qualify for Medica...