Heath Ledger's Will Fails His Family

This morning I saw that the newest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight" had earned about 1/8th of the total summer box office. I began wondering how much money Heath Ledger, starring as the Joker, earned from this blockbuster.

I didn't find a current estimate of his take, but whatever it was, it's the center of a heated debate. Heath Ledger joins the list of wealthy celebrities that died without a proper estate plan. As you can see in this article from several months ago, Mr. Ledger's will was outdated (I'm shocked he even had one) and did not leave a penny to his child!

Remember - estate planning isn't a one time event. To ensure you and your loved ones are protected, it takes regular review to make sure your wishes are fulfilled.

Home Instead Senior Care

Home Instead Senior Care is a company that serves around 200 Central Ohio senior citizens that live in their homes. They suggest that adult children will speak to their parents who are in their 70's about various issues to ensure the senior's needs are met.

Their "40-70" program is organized nationwide through the Home Instead Senior Care franchise,, and it offers various resources at 4070talk.com. These materials include a "conversation starter guide", an "online communications assessment", and a "communications guide". A booklet can be ordered online or by calling (614) 849-0200.

They emphasize talking early about aging issues so that there is less of a communication barrier when issues pop up later.

Eons.com - An Online Community for 50+ Americans

This website follows in the footsteps of popular websites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com. These websites are an "online gathering place" which are very popular with teens and young adults.

Eons.com is similar, but specifically made for the 50+ crowd. It includes networking tools, information on "body", "money", "love" and "fun", as well as a search engine designed to find items related to the users stage in life.

Give Eons.com a try and leave a comment as to whether you find it useful!

What is The New Medicaid Lookback period?

What is the appropriate Medicaid Look-Back period under the DRA?

This is an important question for anyone making a Medicaid application in that the local office will request financial records for the time period of the Look-Back. I find it can be very difficult to gather 3 years of records for a senior who now requires Medicaid to pay for his or her long term care, and 5 years is an even greater burden.

So what is the Look-Back Period? I had been going with 60 months, as until recently all the States that had created the DRA enacting legislation had used that timeframe.

However, in Most States Fudging DRA Look-Back Change from Elderlawanswers.com, there is an excellent analysis that the states may have the changes to the Look-Back Period wrong.

In New York's enacting legislation, they have taken note of the fact that that DRA did NOT in fact changes the Look-Back Period from 36 months to 60 months. Instead, it said that IF there had been a transfer in the 60 months after enactment, THEN there was a 60 month Look-Back for the transfers.

New York then has taken a staggered approach to the Look-Back Period, since 60 months obviously have not expired since the DRA was enacted. For the first 36 months, the Look-Back Period remains 36 months (since any transfers would be before the DRA was enacted). The Look-Back Period then extends to 37 months in the 37th month after the DRA to capture any transfer in that month, until it finally reaches 60 months.

This approach appears to resolve the issue of the 60 month Look-Back for transfers after 2.8.06 with the 36 month Look-Back period in the Code not being changed by the DRA.

One would hope that in creating its enacting legislation to the DRA that New Jersey would take such a measured approach as well.

Most States Fudging DRA Look-Back Change - Elder Law Answers Articles:

"Since 1993, the look-back date on a Medicaid application for long-term care coverage has been 36 months, 42 U.S.C. S. 1396p(c)(1)(B), and this figure was not erased by Congress in the amendments to the statute it made through the DRA. Instead, the 36-month figure was preserved and a 60-month look-back date was added to the statute but made applicable only to transfers that occurred after the DRA effective date.

The last time Congress made any modification to the look-back date was in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, P.L 103-66 (OBRA-93), when it simply deleted '30' from the statute and replaced it with '36,' and thereby left little doubt that it intended to increase the look-back period on all prospective applications to 36 months. But Congress chose not to make the change in the same manner in its DRA amendments. In keeping the 36-month figure in the statute, Congress was clearly indicating that a 36-month look-back date is still applicable in some fashion. By attaching the 60-month look-back date to transfers made after the DRA enactment date, as opposed to applications filed after that date (a la OBRA-93), the design was obviously to at least phase in the extended look-back date over time. Based on the language Congress used in the DRA, the look-back period cannot be greater than 36 months until at least February 2009, because that will be the first point at which an
individual will have possibly made a transfer that occurred more than 36 months after the DRA enactment.

Agreeing with this reading of the DRA statute, New York keeps the look-back period at 36 months (60 months for trusts) until February 1, 2009. Beginning on that date, Medicaid offices will require resource documentation for the past 37 months (60 months for trusts). "

This is a confusing issue. Before you rely on "the grapevine", consult an elder law attorney who can help you sort through the convoluted laws of Medcaid.

Social Security E-mail Scam

Beware e-mails that look to be sent from the government regarding Social Security, as they are a scam to obtain your personal information.

These messages have a subject line of "Cost-of-Living for 2007 update" and have a bit of information about a benefit increase for 2007. The email states:

NOTE: We now need you to update your personal information. If this is not completed by November 11, 2006, we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely.

The reader is linked to a fraudulent website where the user is asked to enter their personal information to avoid losing the Social Security benefits.

Remember: The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not request your personal information online. In fact, SSA Inspector General O’Carroll recommends people always take precautions when giving out personal information. She says:

You should never provide your Social Security number or other personal information over the Internet or by telephone unless you are extremely confident of the source to whom you are providing the information.

If you have received this scam email, call 1-800-269-0271 (TTY: 1-866-501-2101) to report it.

Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes

On September 29, 2006 the National Nursing Home Quality Summit was held in Washington, D.C.

The Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes website describes their work as follows:

Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes is a new coalition based, two-year campaign that launched in September 2006. The campaign is reinvigorating efforts to improve the quality of care and quality of life for those living or recuperating in America's nursing homes.

The campaign's unprecedented coalition includes long-term care providers, caregivers, medical and quality improvement experts, government agencies, consumers and others. Together, we are building on the success of other quality initiatives, including Quality First, the Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI), the culture change movement, and other quality initiatives.

Learn more about the campaign and its goals.

To learn about how you can help by registering as a Nursing Home consumer, visit this link.

Web Link - Ohio Association of Senior Centers

The Ohio Association of Senior Centers exists to support and enhance the ability of Ohio's senior center network to effectively serve older adults by providing 1) education, mentoring, and training to senior center and aging network staff; 2) professional senior center staff certification; 3) development of new funding resources; and 4) information on legislative issues and organized advocacy efforts on behalf of older Ohioans.

Click here for OASC Member Senior Centers.

Coping With The Sudden Death of an Elderly Parent

Lucy Whelchel works with businesses, professionals, and agencies to prepare for the demographic shift to an aging America. In her article "Coping With the Sudden Death of an Elderly Parent", she reminds us that even when we don't plan ahead, there are resources for spouses or family members in crisis.

Ms. Whelchel reccomends calling or visiting the website of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Members of this organization ore knowlegeable about aging, as well as the services and programs available to families. Care managers often create plans of action aimed at meeting the specific needs of that person, and may help on a daily basis to help with daily activities or to find appropriate housing.

Second, the Area Agency on Aging is a reccomended resource. The Agency for your community can be found by visiting the Eldercare Locator Website. This can link to services such as "Meals on Wheels, senior centers, home nursing and personal care, respite care for caregivers, homemmaking and chore services, adult day care, senior victims advocate programs, injury prevention and protection programs, information on Medicare, Medicaid, Medigap and Long Term Care Insurances, Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias servicses, transportation, senior employment services, long term care ombudsman programs, and health promotion and disease prevention."

Finally, Ms. Whelchel points out that those that are 85 and older will increase by 56% from 2010 to 2030, and the number of persons from 65 to 84 will increase by 81% from 1010 to 2030. The important piece to take out of this article is to realize that planning for these changes and the aging of your family and loved ones can ensure that all live a full, healthy life.

Squidoo Lens - Elder Law

Check out my Squidoo Lens on Elder Law. It has many links and is generally a portal I've created for you to access information related to issues you may be facing. Please sign the guestbook and leave a suggestion so that I may make it better!

Thank you!

Where Can I Check Out My Financial Adviser?

Visit the Securities and Exchange Commission website to make sure that your financial adviser (or a potential advisor that you're interviewing) is on the "straight and narrow".

You can download the adviser's "form ADV" to find out if he or she has ever been disciplined by the SEC or another ageny, what type of misconduct was found, and the resolution. There is also information on the adviser's education and business. For Ohio-specific information, visit the Ohio Department of Commerce - Securities Division.

Be aware, however, that I am told only advisers that manage more than $25 million in assets must register with the S.E.C. This means that many advisers may not show up on this webpage, which does not necessarily mean that adviser is "good" or "bad".

I've had the good fortune of creating some good working relationships with advisers with many varied backgrounds. I find that they are often a valuable, even indispensable, part of creating the best plans for my clients. For more information about retirement planning with your IRA or 401(k), feel free to contact me today.