Trusts and Estates | Fraser Blog

Presentation Wrap Up: Legal & Financial Planning for Alzheimer’s Disease

Fraser Trebilcock attorney Mark E. Kellogg recently presented a program on Legal & Financial Planning for Alzheimer’s Disease at MSU Federal Credit Union.

Advance planning is important for everyone, Mark explained, though especially so after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis so that the person with dementia is able to be involved in the planning as much as possible. As a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association Michigan Great Lakes Chapter, and an attorney/CPA, Mark shared information on legal topics that included advance directives, durable powers of attorney, legal capacity, and guardianship. Financial issues discussed at the program included long-term care insurance, tax deductions, Medicare, Medicaid, veteran’s benefits, and employment issues.

Mark E. Kellogg has devoted his nearly 30 years of practice to the needs of family and closely-held businesses and enterprises business succession, commercial lending, and estate planning. In addition to this wide breadth of experience practicing law, he is also a certified public accountant. These skills allow him to give his clients a unique insight when working with them.

For more information on Alzheimer’s disease and resources available, visit alz.org.

Workshop Wrap-Up: Completing the Medicaid Application

Navigating through the many rules and regulations of Medicaid can often be a stressful time for families. The application process itself can be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. It’s with this in mind that Fraser Trebilcock attorney Melisa Mysliwiec recently shared key insights with other attorneys in Michigan. The presentation, titled Completing the Medicaid Application: a Hands-On Workshop, was delivered at the Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s 3^rd Annual Elder Law Institute, on Friday, September 15.

The seminar provided attendees with a case study about a husband and wife, second marriage, navigating the long-term care process after husband had a massive stroke requiring his admission to a nursing facility. Sample income and financial statements were provided and the attendees worked through a sample Assets Declaration. Finally, attendees worked through a sample spend down and completed a sample Medicaid Application.

Melisa, along with Rosemary Howley Buhl, Arthur L. Malisow, Charles S. Ofstein, and Terrence G. Quinn, answered questions and provided thorough advice on each step in the process. The well over 100 attendees were able to walk away with a completed sample Medicaid Application.

If you would like to talk with an attorney about putting legal plans in place, contact attorney Melisa M. W. Mysliwiec. Melisa focuses her work in the areas of Elder Law and Medicaid planning, estate planning, and trust and estate administration. She can be reached at mmysliwiec@fraserlawfirm.com or 616-301-0800.

New Rules Make Preventative Care for Alzheimer’s, Diabetes More Accessible for Medicare Patients

New rules for Medicare services are about to take effect that will give people greater access to preventative care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) decided that, beginning January 1, 2017, Medicare will pay more for cognitive and behavioral assessments, diabetes prevention programs, and to patient-centered care for people living with multiple chronic conditions and cognitive impairment conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.

CMS says the new payment rules are part of a push by the Administration to create a health-care system that emphasizes prevention and results in better care, smarter spending, and healthier people. The additional funding will go toward care coordination and patient-centered care, mental and behavioral health care, and cognitive impairment care assessment and planning.

Clinicians will also have the opportunity to be paid more for spending more time with patients. That extra time with physicians could be critically important for patients who have multiple chronic conditions, as older adults sometimes do.

For more information from CMS about the new rules, visit its website here and blog here.

Questions? Contact us to learn more.

Fraser Trebilcock provides counsel on all matters relating to the legal planning for care and support of those needing Medicare and Medicaid. Attorney Melisa M. W. Mysliwiec focuses her work in the areas of Elder Law and Medicaid planning, estate planning, and trust and estate administration. She can be reached at mmysliwiec@fraserlawfirm.com or 616-301-0800. You can also click here to learn more about our Trusts & Estates practice.

New Rule Preserves Your Right to Sue Nursing Homes

A new rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on September 28 prohibits nursing homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding from including binding arbitration clauses within their admissions contracts. Continue reading New Rule Preserves Your Right to Sue Nursing Homes

Estate Strategies Summer Newsletter

Fraser Trebilcock’s Summer 2015 Estate Strategies newsletter contains valuable information on a variety of Trusts and Estates topics, including:

A look at how the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges impacts Michigan trust & estate laws.
Important information on how to name your own patient advocate, 10 years after the death of Terri Schiavo made national headlines.
Major revisions to federal estate tax laws will result in more joint trusts. So what is a joint trust, and when is it used?

Inside, you will also find an invitation to join our team for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Lansing, as well as a brief chance to get to know our Trusts & Estates Attorneys. To view the newsletter, click here: Fraser Trebilcock Trusts and Estates Summer Newsletter 2015

If you have questions, please contact Marlaine C. Teahan, Chair of the Trusts and Estates Department, at mteahan@fraserlawfirm.com or 517-377-0869.

If you’d like to receive these newsletters automatically, please let us know by filling out the contact us form on our website, and checking the box that reads: “Please send me the Fraser Trebilcock Newsletter”. Click here for a direct link.

Estate Strategies Spring Newsletter

Fraser Trebilcock’s Spring 2015 Estate Strategies newsletter contains valuable information on a variety of Trusts and Estates topics, including:

Ten tips for Estate planning.
Protection planning techniques to protect your assets.
An overview on the new property tax uncapping exemption and the possible benefits.

Continue reading Estate Strategies Spring Newsletter

Knowing Who to Trust: Upcoming Estate Planning Seminar

For many people, the estate planning process can be overwhelming. In this digital age, it can also be hard to know who to trust to guide you through the process. If this sounds familiar, an upcoming seminar can help you learn where to turn, and how to avoid common estate planning mistakes.

Continue reading Knowing Who to Trust: Upcoming Estate Planning Seminar

IRA Trusts Can Be Useful to Counteract Recent SCOTUS Ruling on Inherited IRAs

The Supreme Court ruled on June 12, 2014, that inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are not protected from creditors during bankruptcy proceedings as they are not “retirement funds” within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(c).[1] The petitioners in the case originally filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”) and attempted to exclude about $300,000 of an inherited IRA from the bankruptcy estate. They claimed that they fit within the “retirement funds” exemption of the Code. The Bankruptcy Court disallowed the exemption but the District Court reversed, stating that the retirement funds exemption covers any account in which funds were saved for retirement. The Seventh Circuit reversed the District Court and the Supreme Court affirmed.

Continue reading IRA Trusts Can Be Useful to Counteract Recent SCOTUS Ruling on Inherited IRAs

Planning for Your Family Cottage

The family cottage traditionally holds a sentimental place for many people. It is the gathering spot for families, bringing back fond memories as a child growing up, as parents with your children, and as the family patriarch and matriarch. Often, people desire to keep the cottage within the family for generations to come, to continue to provide a place for everyone to gather together and feel as one. This view is often held by the senior generation, envisioning their children, grandchildren, and subsequent generations bonding together at this special gathering place. Despite these fond memories and the desire to maintain the family cottage, there are challenges to consider.

Developing a plan for the succession of your family cottage is imperative in order to avoid, or at least have mechanisms in place to deal with, potential problems and conflicts in future generations.

Continue reading Planning for Your Family Cottage

Join Team Fraser Trebilcock in Lansing’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in September

Every 67 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s the sixth leading cause of death, killing more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

For many of us at Fraser Trebilcock, the fight against Alzheimer’s is personal. Some of us have held the hand of a loved one, a close friend, or a grieving client, dealing with the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Our Trusts and Estates department is proud to be leading the Fraser Trebilcock team at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event this fall.

Continue reading Join Team Fraser Trebilcock in Lansing’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in September