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June 2017

Home Placed In Massachusetts Trust Protected

By News

Ability to Use House Placed In Massachusetts Trust Does Not Render Trust Available

Reversing a lower court, Massachusetts’ highest court rules that two Medicaid applicants’ trusts were not available assets even though the applicants retained the right to use the houses that were put into the trusts. Daley v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (Mass., No. SJC-12200, May 30, 2017) and Nadeau v. Director of the Office of Medicaid (Mass., No. SJC-12205, May 30, 2017).
James and Mary Daley created an irrevocable trust. They conveyed their interest in their condominium to the trust, but retained a life estate in the property. Seven years later, Mr. Daley was admitted to a nursing home and applied for Medicaid benefits. The state denied him benefits after determining that the trust was an available asset. Lionel Nadeau and his wife created an irrevocable trust and transferred their house into the trust. The trust provided that the Nadeaus had the right to use and occupy the house, which they did until Mr. Nadeau entered a nursing home and applied for Medicaid benefits. As with the Daleys, the state considered the trust a countable asset and denied benefits.

The Daleys and the Nadeaus appealed but following hearings, the state ruled that the trusts were available assets because the Daleys and Nadeaus had the right to occupy and use the properties that were in the trusts. In separate rulings, Massachusetts trial courts held that both trusts were available assets. [Daley v. Sudders, Mass. Super. Ct., No. 15–CV–0188–D; Dec. 23, 2015; and Nadeau v.Thorn, Mass. Super. Ct., No. 14-DV-02278C, Dec. 30,2015]; see The ElderLaw Report, March 2016, p. 5.) The Daleys and Nadeaus appealed and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial decided both cases together.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court reverses, holding that the trusts are not available assets. According to the court, “where a trust grants the use or occupancy of a home to the grantors [as in the Nadeau’s case], it is effectively making a payment to the grantors in the amount of the fair rental value of that property.” The court adds that these payments “do not affect an applicant’s eligibility for Medicaid long-term care benefits, but they may affect how much the applicant is required to contribute to the payment for that care.” In the Daleys’ case, the court rules that because the Daleys hold a life estate, their use of the home is not considered income and “the continued use of the home by the applicant pursuant to his or her life estate interest does not make the remainder interest in the property owned by the trust available to the applicant.”

Maryland elder law attorney Ron M. Landsman joined the briefing and argument. In reaching its conclusion in the Daley case, the court cites the Elder Law section of West’s Massachusetts Practice series, written by Harry S. Margolis and Jeffrey A. Bloom of the Boston firm of Margolis & Bloom, LLP. For the full text of this decision, go to: http://tinyurl.com/elr-Daley3

AARP ranks Rhode Island 32nd among states in meeting long-term care needs

By Uncategorized

Source: AARP ranks Rhode Island 32nd among states in meeting long-term care needs

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island ranks 32nd in the nation, and the worst in New England, when it comes to meeting the long-term care needs of older residents and people with disabilities, according to a scorecard released this week by the national nonprofit AARP.

The good news: Rhode Island showed improvement in all but one category.

“The vast majority of older Rhode Islanders want to live independently, at home, as they age — most with the help of unpaid family caregivers,” Kathleen Connell, state director of AARP Rhode Island, said in a statement released Wednesday. “Even facing tight budgets, Rhode Island is making progress to help our older residents achieve that goal. However, this scorecard shows we have more to do, and we need to pick up the pace.”

Rhode Island ranks 22nd nationally “support for family caregivers” and 24th in “quality of life and quality of care.” The state ranks 35th in “effective transitions,″ or how effectively the state transitions residents between nursing homes, hospitals and homes — the only category that showed a decline.

The report — “Picking Up the Pace of Change: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers” — is the third in a series that ranks states overall and on 25 separate indicators in five key areas: affordability and access; choice of setting and provider; quality of life and quality of care; support for family caregivers; and effective transitions between nursing homes, hospitals and homes.

Unpaid family caregivers provide the bulk of care for older Rhode Islanders, in part because the cost of long-term care remains unaffordable for most middle-income families, according to AARP Rhode Island. More than 134,000 Rhode Islanders help care for their aging parents, spouses and other loved ones so they can stay at home. AARP estimates the value of this unpaid care at about $1.78 billion.

“Many [family caregivers] juggle full-time jobs with their caregiving duties,″ Connell said, while “others provide 24/7 care for their loved ones.” Family caregivers “save the state money,″ she said, “by keeping their loved ones out of costly nursing homes – most often paid for Medicaid.″

Rhode Island improved its rank from 50th to 44th in the percentage of Medicaid long-term care dollars for older adults and people with physical disabilities that support care at home and in the community.

The report comes at a time when proposals in Washington are being considered to drastically cut federal Medicaid funding, which Connell said “would threaten these advancements, likely resulting in our most vulnerable citizens losing the lifesaving supports that they count on.″

The scorecard was developed AARP with the support of The Commonwealth Fund and SCAN Foundation.

The AARP Rhode Island has more than 138,000 members age 50 and older in the state.

New England Scorecard Rankings (best to worst):

Vermont: 3

Connecticut: 10

Massachusetts: 11

New Hampshire: 16

Rhode Island: 32

Rhode Island’s scorecard:

Overall: 32

Affordability and Access: 34

Choice of Setting and Provider: 30

Quality of Life & Quality of Care: 24

Effective Transitions: 35

-larditi@providencejournal.com

(401)277-7335

On Twitter: @LynnArditi

Pre-Planning versus Emergency Planning

By News

Pre-Planning vs. Emergency Planning

This video explains the difference between pre-planning and emergency planning when confronted with planning for long-term care and skilled nursing care and Medicaid qualification.

Posted by Rhode Island Medicaid Planning on Monday, June 5, 2017