THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, FEbRuARy 3, 2023 Page 19 - LEGAL NOTICE - CITY OF EVERETT THE DERMODY SJC CASE O n January 27, 2023 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down a decision in favor of MassHealth with respect to Medicaid annuities required benefi ciary designations. This was a long-awaited decision by members of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law attorneys. Several members of the Massachusetts Chapter presented an amicus curiae brief in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Laurie A. Dermody. The case was originally heard in the Superior Court in 2017 and the SJC granted an application for direct appellate review. Robert G. Hamel purchased a Medicaid annuity issued by Nationwide Life in order to seek approval for his wife Joan Hamel’s MassHealth application. He named the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the remainder benefi ciary to the “extent of benefi ts paid”, and his daughter Laurie A. Dermody as the contingent benefi ciary. Upon Robert’s death, prior to having received all of the monthly payments under the annuity policy, Laurie brought suit against MassHealth and Nationwide contending that she, rather than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was entitled to the remainder of the annuity payments. A Medicaid annuity is a last-minute strategy to take excess assets off of the table by purchasing it with those excess assets thereby creating a non-countable income stream for the spouse who is at home, thereby qualifying the spouse in the nursing home for MassHealth benefits. Congress intended on providing the at home spouse with enough income to pay for monthly living expenses and not to be impoverished. The SJC reasoned that Congress’ intent when it passed the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) was to name the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the remainder benefi ciary on any Medicaid annuity, regardless of whether or not the annuity was purchased by the institutionalized spouse or the community spouse. If the community spouse outlives the term of the annuity (e.g. fi ve years of monthly payments), then he or she will have enjoyed the benefi t of those monthly payments over that fi ve year period. Upon the community spouse’s death in that situPUBLIC HEARING FOR PETITION FROM MASSACHUSETTS ELECTRIC COMPANY D/B/A NATIONAL GRID OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS and VERIZON NEW ENGLAND, INC. To all parties interested in the public hearing. Be it hereby ordered: ation, there are no remaining payments left and no balance remaining that could be paid to the State. However, if the community spouse dies in year two or three, for example, the remaining balance of the annuity must be paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to repay it for any MassHealth benefits paid for the institutional spouse while in the nursing home. Any remaining balance after that can then be paid to the children. Elder law attorneys have been unsure as to whether or not the annuity benefi ciary designation could state “Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the extent of benefits paid on behalf of the community spouse”. The hope was that so long as the community spouse never went into a nursing home and qualifi ed for MassHealth benefi ts, upon his or her death, the insurance company would make payment of the remaining balance to the children. This SJC case makes it clear that will not be the case. The community spouse will simply have to live for the entire term of the annuity policy in order to protect all of that money. Otherwise, the state must be paid off in full fi rst before the children can receive anything. The SJC stated that the DRA requires the State to be named the primary remainder benefi ciary on the death of the community spouse. The SJC did hold that the Medicaid annuity met all other requirements of the statute and was an eff ective strategy in order to achieve MassHealth approval for Joan Hamel. As a further note, the look-back period was extended from 3 years to 5 years under the Defi cit Reduction Act of 2005. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation. Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid of North Andover, Massachusetts and Verizon New England, Inc that it desires to construct a line of underground electric conduits, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, under and across the public way or ways hereinafter named. The following are the streets and highways referred to: Plan # 30636732 Garvey St - National Grid to install 1 JO Pole on Garvey St beginning at a point approximately 35 feet south of the centerline of the intersection of Garvey St & Revere Beach Parkway and continuing approximately 20 feet in an east direction. Install JO Pole # 3474 70ft +/- north of Pole # 3473 to provide service for a new development at 35 Garvey St. Wherefore it prays that after due notice and hearing as provided by law, it be granted permission to excavate the public highways and to run and maintain underground electric conduits, together with such sustaining and protecting fixtures as it may find necessary for the transmission of electricity, said underground conduits to be located substantially in accordance with the plan filed herewith marked: Garvey Street - Everett - Massachusetts. Hearing to be held with the Everett City Council, held on Monday at 7:00PM, on the 13th of February, 2023 at the Everett City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, Everett City Hall. February 3, 2023 Carpenito Real Estate is proud to congratulate Lori Johnson As a Multi Million Dollar producer once again. Lori’s dedication to her profession has earned her this outstanding designation. Lori’s hard work is a testament to the commitment she gives every one of her clients. Her personality shines through and is a pleasure to work with! Call Lori today and see for yourself! She will not disappoint you! Lori can be reached at 781-718-7409 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com
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