Uncategorized – Page 2 – Taps Sutton & Roshon, LLC

June 28, 2018

Reverse Mortgages: What are they and how can they be used in long-term planning?

If you watch evening television, you’ve probably seen a commercial for reverse mortgages. Henry Winkler tells you about the great deal you can get by obtaining a reverse mortgage on your home. Some of the claims seem to be too good to be true and people tend to be suspicious of reverse mortgages. In reality, […]

June 4, 2018

Estate Planning for Young Adults

Turning 18 is a great milestone – the first steps of adulthood likely include graduating high school and heading off to college. Young adults can vote and get into casinos. They are also tasked with making responsible financial decisions and taking care of their health. Parents sometimes forget that all parental authority ends when the […]

May 29, 2018

VA Aid and Attendance benefits

Medicaid can be a great resource to help seniors pay for the cost of long-term care. Sometimes, a couple or individual may have too much money to qualify for Medicaid or may only need a small amount of extra income to cover the cost of their care. This is especially true if the senior is […]

May 18, 2018

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Simultaneous Death

Many of us have heard the tragic story of spouses being killed in a common accident, or one spouse dying and the other following a couple days later. Not only does the family need to grieve two losses, but the family must now handle two estates. It gets more complicated than that. Because two people […]

May 11, 2018

Guardianships in Ohio

Most people understand the concept of a guardian when talking about minor children. Minor children need consent from parents or their guardian to participate in sports and receive medical treatment. But beyond minor children, when is a guardianship needed? What does the guardian of an adult do? When is a guardianship needed? In most instances, […]

May 3, 2018

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Probate Creditors: Are you liable for your deceased loved one’s debts?

When a loved one dies, one of the first questions spouses and children have is “Am I liable for the deceased person’s debts?” The answer, generally, is “no.” Heirs and next of kin do not have personal liability for the deceased person’s debts. However, the deceased individual’s estate may be liable for properly-presented claims. In […]

April 26, 2018

ABLE Accounts for Blind and Disabled Individuals

In December 2014, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) became law. The law allows a disabled individual to create an account to save money for the individual’s disability expenses. The account will not affect the individual’s Social Security or Medicaid benefits. Eligibility for ABLE Accounts An individual qualifies to have an ABLE account […]

April 19, 2018

Medicaid 101: Part 12 – Medicaid Estate Recovery

The posts in this blog series have focused on Medicaid eligibility criteria, important concepts, and planning options. The final post for this series addresses Medicaid estate recovery. Beginning January 1, 1995, Ohio implemented the Medicaid estate recovery program, which is mandated by federal law. The Medicaid estate recovery program seeks repayment from the individual’s assets […]

April 12, 2018

Medicaid 101: Part 11 – Crisis Planning

Part 10 of this blog series discussed long-term planning – that is, planning to protect assets more than five years before a Medicaid application is filed. Many times, however, unexpected events occur and a long-term plan cannot be accomplished. Instead, a more immediate plan, called a crisis plan, could be implemented to still protect assets […]

April 10, 2018

New Medicare cards to be issued – beware of scams

Beginning in April 2018, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing new Medicare cards to remove Social Security Numbers from the cards. New Medicare enrollees will receive one of these new cards containing an account number instead of their Social Security Number. Those already enrolled in Medicare will start receiving new cards over […]

April 5, 2018

Medicaid 101: Part 10 – Long-term Planning for Medicaid

Part 5 of this blog discussed the five-year lookback period for Medicaid eligibility. If any gifts or transfers of assets are made in the five years preceding the filing of a Medicaid application, the applicant may be penalized for those gifts or transfers. Any transfers made more than five years before a Medicaid application is […]

March 29, 2018

Medicaid 101: Part 9 – Expansion Medicaid

Part 1 of this Medicaid blog series generally discussed the Medicaid program and its eligibility requirements. For most Medicaid applicants seeking long-term care coverage, there is both an income and an asset test for eligibility. Refer to Part 1 and the corresponding sections regarding those eligibility requirements. The Affordable Care Act implemented the Medicaid expansion […]