Have you heard about Texas’ take on tax-deferred annuities in Medicaid Planning? In November, we published a blog, highlighting a recent change in the Texas Medicaid Agency’s interpretation of the word annuity, and detailed how – pursuant to the Texas Medicaid Handbook – your clients’ retirement assets may be transferred to a tax-deferred annuity (TDA), while still … Continued
Spousal Medicaid Annuities No Longer Have Beneficiary Requirements Arkansas is the second state* to jump on board with the Hughes v. McCarthy U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, ruling that an annuity purchased for the sole benefit of the community spouse (CS) does not need to follow the beneficiary requirements. As you might recall, … Continued
Zahner Decision Validates Use of Short-Term Annuities in Medicaid Planning Zahner v. Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has been hanging over the heads of Medicaid planners across the country. The verdict, delivered earlier this week, is great news for the use of short-term annuities in Medicaid planning. Last year, a Pennsylvania District Court … Continued
Good News for Short-Term Annuities The long-awaited Zahner decision is here, and it is good for the use of short-term annuities in spousal Medicaid planning. More details to follow. Until then, read the full opinion here.
You might recall a letter the National Association of State Medicaid Directors (“NASMD”) wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) back in March of 2010. The letter was regarding the use of short-term annuities in spousal planning, particularly on the technique where community spouses were using the annuities to return the … Continued
For years practitioners throughout the nation watched in envy as Michigan couples transferred their entire spend-down amount into a special needs trust solely for the benefit of a community spouse and immediately qualified for Medicaid. The assets held in these “Solely for the Benefit Of” trusts, hereafter referred to as SBO trusts, were not … Continued
The “name on the check” rule is the common guideline used by Medicaid in determining who owns income. If a check is made payable to a particular individual, that individual is considered the owner of the income. This guideline is most advantageous in cases involving married couples, where the institutionalized spouse owns an IRA. … Continued
In a scenario involving a married couple, statistics show it’s usually the husband that will enter the nursing home first, while the wife continues to reside in the community. However, on occasion both spouses will be in the nursing home at the same time. The monthly costs incurred as a result of two nursing home … Continued
In the majority of states an IRA is countable for both the institutionalized individual and community spouse. In order to protect the IRA from a Medicaid spend-down and qualify the institutionalized individual for Medicaid benefits, a tax-qualified Medicaid Compliant Annuity may be purchased. Two options exist to fund a tax-qualified Medicaid Compliant Annuity and … Continued
November 2014 Update: The oral argument has taken place. We anticipate a decision in Spring of 2015. Listen to the oral argument here. June 2014 Update: The appellant’s brief has been filed, along with two Amicus Curiae Briefs. Read more. February 5, 2014, Update: The litigators will be appealing the Zahner decision. I … Continued