NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
West Essex Tribune
March 2, 2006
New, harsher rules apply when you try and qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid is a poverty program so you can only have very limited assets and income to qualify. Some of the new rules are:
- Previously people gave away assets in order to meet the Medicaid requirements. Medicaid now looks back at 5 years of records (instead of 3 years) from when you apply to see what gifts you made. Any gifts mean you are ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time.
- The time period of ineligibility now begins when you are out of money, instead of beginning when you made the gift. All gifts count, such as helping grandchildren with tuition or buying a computer, even if not made with any intention of qualifying for Medicaid.
West Essex Tribune
December 8, 2005
Lately I have had the misfortune to make too many Shiva calls and attend too many wakes. Recently a friend told me what a comfort it was and how much easier it had been on the whole family because her mother had a Living Will. She said it was such a relief not to have to make the decisions whether to give her mother resuscitation and feeding because her mother had made those decisions for herself in her Living Will. They had the confidence and security of knowing for certain that the medical decisions were what their mother had wanted because she had a properly drawn Living Will stating her wishes. It is hard to describe what a relief this was to the family, but it clearly made a huge difference to them in accepting their mother's death.
West Essex Tribune
November 10, 2005
There have been several recent tax law changes affecting charitable deductions that provide a unique opportunity if done by the end of this year.
- The limitation on most charitable donations of 50% of Adjusted Gross Income has been changed to a limit of 100% of Adjusted Gross Income for donations made from August 28, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
- The itemized deduction phase-out for most charitable donations made from August 28, 2005 to December 31, 2005 has been eliminated.
Read more: Charitable Deduction Changes Provide Opportunity If You Act Now
West Essex Tribune
October 13, 2005
There have been several recent tax law changes you ought to know about. Among them are:
- The limitation on most charitable donations of 50% of Adjusted Gross Income has been changed to a limit of 100% of Adjusted Gross Income for donations made from August 28, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
- The itemized deduction phase-out for most charitable donations made from August 28, 2005 to December 31, 2005 has been eliminated.
West Essex Tribune
January 20, 2005
When you have a properly prepared Will:
- You decide who will raise your children, not the Court.
- You decide who inherits your money, not the State-your assets don't go to any one you don't want to receive them.
- You can leave your child's assets in trust where you set the terms so the money isn't held by the Surrogate in a CD and given to your child when they are 18 years old.