Law Offices

VASILIADIS & A SSOCIATES

Elder Law Solutions For Pennsylvania Seniors

Elder Law

ALERT

Volume V Number 4 October 2012

PLAN PRE-CRISIS FOR LONG-TERM CARE

Do you or a loved one need care at home or reside in or intend to enter an assisted living facility? Chances are the cost of that care is high and rising. Over time, the required level of care will likely increase, sometimes abruptly. And, of course, that increased care comes at increased cost. Fortunately, people today are more proactive than in times past. Many dont wait until the onset of a healthcare and financial crisis to take steps to protect themselves. Pre-Crisis long-term care planning is appropriate for persons at heightened risk for requiring long-term nursing home care at some time in the future. Ones decline in health and functional capacity does not stop upon entry into an assisted living facility. Eventually, many such persons require long-term nursing home care, which is not only expensive but financially ruinous. This kind of planning often relies upon creation and funding of irrevocable inter vivos (living) trusts. Such trusts protect assets while enabling one to qualify for public benefits such as Medicaid and Veterans Aid & Attendance. Early planning yields greater savings, less stress, and ultimately, greater quality of life for all concerned.

PROTECT YOUR HOME BELOW-MARKET SALE TO FAMILY

Tragically, many seniors forfeit their homes as the price for obtaining essential long-term care benefits. The tragedy is compounded when younger persons want to preserve the family homestead. But this doesnt have to happen. Stanley Vasiliadis recently addressed this issue with a group of elder law attorneys in a continuing legal education course he presented on behalf of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He illustrated the use of a novel strategy whereby someone can qualify for Medicaid benefits while passing along his home to family members at a fraction of its value. Proper integration of traditional half-a-loaf gift planning with the safe-harbor requirements of the Deficit Reduction Acts loan provisions is the key to successfully implementing this technique, explained Vasiliadis. Do you know someone in a nursing home who has not yet lost his or her home? Its not too late to act. Most persons no longer able to return home prefer to sell it and pass along the sale proceeds to their families. Achieving the same savings by keeping the home in the family is an alternative option that should not be overlooked.

ELDER LAW ADVISOR

Question: Over the past few years my wife and I provided home maintenance and personal care services to my father. Now he needs to enter a nursing home and will probably exhaust his estate to pay for his care. May dad reimburse us for the value of the services we provided? Answer: Yes, BUT if your father subsequently applies for Medicaid benefits to pay the nursing home after his money is gone, he will be disqualified. Absent a legally binding written family caregiver contract executed prior to commencement of family services, it will be presumed that those family services were rendered out of love and affection. Payment after the fact will therefore be penalized as a gift which incurs a penalty in the form of a period of ineligibility for benefits.

TAX NOTE NEW MEDICARE TAX

Beginning next year (2013) a new 3.8% Medicare tax will apply to net investment income for higher-income persons. This includes interest, dividends, rents and royalties. It also applies to gains from the sale of property not used in an active business. Persons whose taxable income exceeds $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers) will pay the 3.8% levy instead on the excess taxable income over the threshold if that excess amount exceeds their net investment income. Also slated for increase as of January 1, 2013 is the Medicare tax on earnings for this higher-income group.It will increase from 1.45% to 2.35%. This new tax is included as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. To read more about this tax, including examples of how it applies, go to our website www.elderlaw-penn.com.

FIRM NEWS
In November, Vasiliadis & Associates will commence its first in a series of monthly Lunchn Learn seminars for allied professionals. Local experts on various topics of interest to senior advisors and service providers will guest-lecture. First up will be Mark Bacak, an official from the Bethlehem office of the Social Security Administration. He will discuss various retirement elections and other important Social Security issues Dionysios (Dennis) Pappas and George Vasiliadis are scheduled to lecture on behalf of the National Business Institute to attorneys and allied professionals on the topic Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, with Dennis presenting in Allentown in December and George speaking in Philadelphia next MarchVasiliadis & Associates is available to address local organizations on request regarding various topics concerning estate, retirement and long-term care planning.

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Meet Our Legal Team:

We are easy to reach and ready to help Phone: 610-694-9455 | Fax: 610-694-9829
STANLEY M. VASILIADIS is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) as accredited by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. No other attorney in the Lehigh Valley has attained this distinction. His firm represents clients throughout eastern Pennsylvania, primarily in connection with long-term care planning, trust and estate administration, and estate planning. Dionysios C. (Dennis) Pappas practices in the areas of Elder Law, Estate & Tax planning, Trust & Estate Administration, and Veterans Pension Benefit planning. Mr. Pappas is an accredited attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. George M. Vasiliadis concentrates his practice in the areas of estate and long term care planning and trust & estate administration. His professional affiliations include membership in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.

Athanasia T. Pappas Law Clerk |

Kimberly A. Kintzel Secretary-Paralegal |

Jennifer A. Hodges Secretary-Paralegal |

Lisa A. Getz Secretary-Paralegal

Law Offices

Vasiliadis & a ssociates

2551 Baglyos Circle | Suite A-14 | Bethlehem, PA 18020

Elder Law Solutions For Pennsylvania Seniors

The VASILIADIS DIFFERENCE

The field of elder law is constantly changing, so having the right legal team is absolutely critical. Vasiliadis & Associates is that team, the right team.

VASILIADIS & ASSOCIATES is a team of legal professionals dedicated to helping you achieve financial and personal goals related to aging, incapacity, and the transfer of wealth to the next generation. We represent clients throughout eastern Pennsylvania in the following areas:
> Long-term Care Planning: structuring ones affairs so as to protect quality of life for oneself and for loved ones physical and financial in the event of chronic incapacity. > Estate and Tax Planning: structuring ones affairs so as to transfer wealth at death to desired beneficiaries in an orderly manner, at minimum cost while, at the same time, maintaining maximum control and enjoyment of ones assets during lifetime. > Trust and Estate Administration: assisting executors, trustees, guardians and agents under power of attorney in administering and distributing estates, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney. > Veterans Benefits Planning: assisting veterans and their spouses in qualifying for veterans benefits to pay for care at home or in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities; advising allied professionals and corporate health care providers regarding veterans benefits eligibility. > Special Needs Planning: assisting families of developmentally disabled persons and others with special needs in maximizing quality of life physical and financial for such persons. It emphasizes access to and preservation of public and private benefits for special needs persons without their forfeiting family resources. > Nursing Home Litigation: challenging, administratively and in court, denial and termination of public benefits; preventing nursing home discharge; quality of care advocacy on behalf of residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities; seeking damages for wrongful death and serious injury to residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

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