Cincinnati Tax Problem Attorney Blog

Most states provide people 65 and older with a reduction on their property tax bills called a homestead exemption. Frequently, this tax reduction is also given to people with disabilities who own their own homes, veterans, and others. The reduction usually must be applied for, and the application period typically begins in January and runs through April. Some application periods run through the first Monday in June, as is the case in Ohio.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com/

The Senate finally passed a test vote that will allow increased Medicaid funding for the first half of 2011 to pass Congress after the House returns from its August recess. GOP Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both from Maine, joined Senate Democrats to end debate on the legislation that will provide states with billions of dollars to shore up their Medicaid programs and prevent layoffs and program cuts.

A recent news story has reported a trend that could be costly to life insurance beneficiaries and could risk the stability of the financial system. In order to retain the assets of life insurance proceeds, some insurance companies send checkbooks to beneficiaries, instead of the insurance proceeds. These checkbooks are tied to investment accounts from which the insurance company profits, are not insured by the federal government, and could upset an already unsteady financial system.

Since these investment accounts are not insured by the federal government, something that may not be known or understood by the beneficiary, the beneficiary is at risk of losing the whole proceeds if the insurance company goes under. Further, if enough beneficiaries decide to demand all of their money at the same time, the life insurance company may not be able to meet the demand, causing the kind of "run on the bank" government insurance and regulation is intended to prevent.

Continue reading "Elder Law -- Life Insurers Give Beneficiaries Checkbooks Not Insurance Proceeds" »

On July 26, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed what he declared to be "the first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities." He further called for the destruction of "The Shameful Wall of Exclusion."

Since that day, there have been many court decisions interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some of these decisions, and particularly some decisions of the Supreme Court, narrowed the scope of the law intended by Congress when it passed the ADA. This led to Congress passing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 that President George W. Bush signed on September 25, 2008.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com/

In a letter to a member of Congress, the Internal Revenue Service recently re-iterated its position that the costs related to buying, training, and maintaining a service animal may be a deductible medical expense for a taxpayer. The tests regarding the deductibility of expenses for service animals are not different from other expenses that qualify for medical expense deduction.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com/

I had a new client come to my office recently. She was looking for Medicaid planning advice for her husband's parents. (This is a very frequent occurrence.) Her mother-in-law was suffering from dementia but was still able to live at home. Her father-in-law was 85 years old but in good health and led a fairly active life.

I explained that Medicaid had a five-year look-back period on transfers of assets for less than fair market value. I suggested that her in-laws might want to have a new irrevocable trust drafted. We also discussed the possibility of an irrevocable grantor trust, a special type of irrevocable trust that causes income to the trust to be taxed to the individual's personal return, rather than taxed at the higher trust rates.

Continue reading "Elder Law -- Is Avoiding Probate Enough?" »

The Department of Health and Human Services has created a web site to help people search out information about the new health care reform legislation. Health Care There is a lot of misinformation about the new law, some of which goes into effect this year.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.com

Failure to keep beneficiary designations up-to-date can be a very costly mistake. Most people have some life insurance, retirement accounts, IRAs, and other contracts that designate a recipient or beneficiary. When the primary beneficiary becomes disabled, enters a nursing home, or dies, the owner of these contracts frequently fails to update the beneficiary designation. This can cause problems with probate, estate taxes, especially state estate taxes, and inheritances.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com

Continue reading "Elder Law -- Keep Beneficiary Designations Up-to-Date" »

The National Center for State Courts has created a web site called the Center for Elders and the Courts. This site provides useful information about the following topics: "Aging Issues," "Guardianship," "Elder Abuse," and "State Laws."

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com

Trusts are used by estate planners, Medicaid planners, special needs trust planners, and tax attorneys for a variety of reasons. A particular type of trust, an irrevocable grantor trust, is particularly useful in Medicaid planning.

The second element is that the trust is designed to be a grantor trust, a significant tax saving. The income of a grantor trust is taxed to the individual who created the trust, rather than being taxed as income to the trust. Income of trusts have the highest rate of taxation applied, while no individual, no matter how rich, pays a tax rate even close to the tax rate of a trust.

Continue reading "Elder Law -- Planning With An Irrevocable Grantor Trust" »

On April 22nd, the Senate Budget Committee approved and sent to the Senate its Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2011 that begins on October 1, 2010. There are many provisions that deserve notice, but one issue that has plagued estate planners and taxpayers alike has been the issue of the estate tax.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com