Page 16 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, MAy 12, 2023 Asset protection elder law presentation at Medford Council on Aging O n Thursday, May 25, 2023, Medford’s Council on Aging will offer a free asset protection presentation by Certified Elder Law Attorneys Patrick Curley and Lucy Budman of Curley Law Firm LLP. Titled “Estate Plan Survival Kit – What you need to protect your family, your assets, and your independence as you age,” the presentation will take place at the Medford Senior Center (101 Riverside Ave., Medford, Mass.) at 1:00 p.m. and is open to the public. The presentation is offered in connection with the 2023 Elder Law Education Program, which is sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) with support from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA). The MBA publication “2023 Elder Law Education Guide” is available to all members of the public to read or download for free online at www.massbar. org/elderlaw. At the invitation of the MBA and MassNAELA, Attorney Curley has served as a contributing author of this publication for many years. Attorneys Curley and Budman will share with attendees the strategies they can use to better protect themselves and their family, their home and savings and their ongoing independence. The presentation will address (1) steps to take to avoid Guardianship, Conservatorship and Probate; (2) the pros and cons of Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts; and (3) peace of mind planning to be prepared for ‘what if’ scenarios, including nursing home care. “Elder law education is part of my mission to help seniors in Medford and the surrounding North Shore communities better protect their independence and assets for the future,” said PROTECTION | SEE PAGE 22 Patrick G. Curley Certified Elder Law Attorney Law Offices of JOSEPH D. CATALDO, P.C. “ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW” • ESTATE/MEDICAID PLANNING • WILLS/TRUSTS/ESTATES • INCOME TAX PREPARATION • WEALTH MANAGEMENT • RETIREMENT PLANNING • ELDER LAW 369 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 (617)381-9600 JOSEPH D. CATALDO, CPA, CFP, MST, ESQUIRE. AICPA Personal Financial Specialist Designee Lucy J. Budman Certified Elder Law Attorney M assHealth has just recently issued Eligibility Operations Memo 23-15 regarding how it will be treating pooled trusts. Pooled trusts are utilized typically when a single individual is applying for MassHealth benefits and is over the asset limit. A Payment is made to the non-profit organization that administers the pooled trust in order to reduce the applicant’s countable resources to $2,000. The administrator of the pooled trust may use the monies set aside for the applicant for support services that MassHealth does not pay for or for the purchase if items that MassHealth does not pay for, such as a computer. Any monies left over upon the MassHealth recipient’s death has to be utilized to pay back MassHealth for benefits paid on behalf of the recipient and typically 10% of the funds remaining will be kept by the pooled trust organization (often 20% if the recipient was receiving MassHealth benefits for two years or longer). If there are still monies remaining, those monies will be distributed to the family of the MassHealth recipient. The benefit is that MassHealth pays a nursing home anywhere from fifty to sixty percent of the private pay amount. Therefore, the amount that has to be repaid is much lower than the private pay rate allowing for the funds in the pooled trust to last longer. There is a chance that money will be left for the family to enjoy. Currently, a single person can put money into a pooled trust if over the asset limit and immediately POOLED TRUSTS ELIGIBILITY OPERATIONS MEMO 23-15 qualify for MassHealth. There is no five-year look back period requirement. This recent memo is stating that after March 1, 2024, there will be a five-year lookback period requirement for funds placed into a pooled trust for applicants over the age of 65. Currently, there is no five-year look back period requirement for applicants who have funded a pooled trust at age 64 or younger, regardless of whether an application for MassHealth benefits is not submitted until age 65 or later, and that provision will remain the same. The likelihood is that this memo is designed to provide our state legislature time to enact legislation to allow for pooled trust to continue to be utilized as they have been in the past thereby requiring no five-year look-back period in order to avoid a disqualifying transfer. For example, if you wish to transfer your home into an irrevocable trust, you have to wait for five years in order to avoid a disqualifying transfer. We’ll see what law is actually passed in hopes of protecting the use of pooled trusts. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.
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