Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 7, 2022 OBITUARIES Richard Don "Richie" Cremone Of Wakefield passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at the age of 71. Raised in Malden, Richie was a proud Edgeworthian. From a young age, he earned a living cooking, his life's passion. Initially, he worked as a milkman with his father at Sunnyhurst Dairy, but soon found INCOME FIRST RULE M assHealth follows federal Medicaid regulations and therefore must provide a spouse who continues to live home, while his or her spouse resides in a nursing home and receives MassHealth benefits, with what is called the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA). The current MMMNA is $2,177.50. Assume a husband is going into a nursing home and his combined monthly pension and social security income is $3,000. Ordinarily, his patient pay amount (PPA), the amount of his monthly income that would have to be paid to the nursing home each month, would be $2,727.20, which results from subtracting the personal needs allowance that MassHealth allows him to keep each month of $72.80 and his monthly health insurance premiums of $200 from $3,000.00. If his wife only has social security income of $750 per month, MassHealth will reallocate $1,427.50 of his monthly income to her to bring her up to the MMMNA figure of $2,177.50. Therefore, the actual amount the husband will pay to the nursing home each month will instead be $1,299.70. In addition to the MMMNA designed to provide a minimum amount of income to the spouse who stays at home and still needs to pay the house bills, food shopping bills, etc., Medicaid law also provides for a certain amount of otherwise countable assets to be kept in his or her name. That amount is currently set at $130,380. The spouse in the nursing home can only have $2,000 of countable assets in his or her name. Any excess assets must be spent on nursing home care unless steps are taking to protect those assets for the spouse at home to avoid his or her being impoverished. What are some of the steps that can be taken? Certainly, funds should be set aside towards irrevocable funeral contracts, cemetery plot and other expenses associated with your funeral arrangements. A separate “burial” account in the amount of $1,500 can be established at your bank for each spouse. Although this is not a large amount of money, it would still serve to fund a collation for the family after the funeral service for each of the spouses. A Medicaid annuity can be purchased in the name of the spouse who remains at home thereby providing him or her with additional monthly income to help pay for monthly bills. The annuity contract must be irrevocable, non-assignable and non-commutable. This strategy essentially converts countable assets that would otherwise be required to be spent down on nursing home care into a lifetime income stream for the spouse who stays at home. Furthermore, there is no five-year look back period concern as transfers between spouses are not disqualifying transfers. It is always a good idea to plan ahead. However, there are last minute planning opportunities available depending upon the unique circumstances applicable to a particular family. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. his calling at Tricca’s, Anthony’s and Brandano’s restaurants, where he built a reputation as a hardworking and talented chef whose food brought people together and buttons apart. He also experienced great joy and satisfaction catering many events throughout the years. Richie was the proud owner of Cremones’ Restaurant in Malden. The fulfillment of a lifelong dream, the restaurant was a special place where everyone truly knew your name. It’s impossible to recount the number of friendships, loves, and good times that were made at Cremones’ and will be cherished throughout the years. After closing the restaurant, Richie worked for several years at the Middlesex Sheriff’s office as the Director of Food Service in Cambridge. It was through cooking that Richie expressed his creativity and demonstrated his love for family and friends. His delicious soups, stuffed artichokes, Abruzzi sauce, and, of course, skiffyskaf happily filled the bellies of countless people over the years. Richie was a graduate of Malden High School’s Class of 1967. He served in the Army National Guard’s 182nd Infantry Regiment as a mess steward. Although he and his wife raised their daughters in Wakefield and enjoyed innumerable good times with their dear "neighborhood" friends, his heart was always in Malden. Richie was a longtime member of the American Legion and Italian American Citizens Club. Cooking bracciole and sausages at St. Rocco’s every summer was one of his favorite activities and he also loved golfing in several leagues and being a champion bocce player. Some of his charitable activities included fundraisers for Children’s Hospital of Boston and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Richie was married for 48 years to Toni Marie (Cole) Cremone and together they raised two daughters, Julie Ann (Cremone) Whitson and Lindsay (Cremone) Cammarata, who will never fully recover from the loss of their devoted and doting father. He was the son of the late Joseph and Eleanor (Clivio) Cremone and the brother of Robert Cremone of Woburn, his late twin Dr. Joseph Cremone Jr. and Janet Schweitzer and her husband ~ Legal Notice ~ COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THE TRIAL COURT PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT DEPARTMENT Middlesex Probate and Family Court 10-U Commerce Way Woburn, MA 01801 Docket No. MI21D3642DR DIVORCE SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION AND MAILING Melissa L. Rodriguez, Plaintiff also known as Melissa Lopez vs. Juan Rodriguez, Defendant To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for Irretrievable Breakdown of the Marriage 1B The Complaint is on file at the Court. An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Melissa L. Rodriguez, 52 Magnolia St., Malden, MA 02148 your answer, if any, on or before 01/24/2022. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. WITNESS, Hon. Maureen H. Monks, First Justice of this Court. Date: December 13, 2021 TARA E. DeCRISTOFARO REGISTER OF PROBATE January 7, 2022 Allen of Reading. Richie was dearly loved by his sons-in-law, John Whitson of Wakefield and Jason Cammarata of Melrose. His greatest joy was being Papa to Mollybeth, Johnny, Toni Marie, Ellie, Josie and JJ and they will forever hold his love for them in their hearts. Richie was a dear cousin of Paul Condon of Malden and the late William Condon. He was also wellloved by many nieces, nephews and cherished friends. The Cremone family would like to thank the many doctors, nurses, and therapists that cared for Richie over the years, especially the Medical ICU team at Tufts Medical Center for their outstanding care and compassion in the last days of his life. The funeral will be held from the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Saturday, January 8 at 9:00 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in the Immaculate Conception Church, 600 Pleasant Street, Malden at 10:00 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held at the funeral home on Friday, January 7 from 4-8 p.m. Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden. In lieu of flowers, donations in Richie's memory may be made to the Joseph and Eleanor Cremone Centennial Fund - Tufts Medical Center Development Office, 800 Washington St., Mailbox 231, Boston, MA 02111. For more info 617-636-7656. James W. Huntsman Of Malden and formerly a longtime Everett resident, passed away at the Whidden Hospital on December 28, 2021, at 74 years. Born in Ohio he was the beloved husband of Donna L. (Reed) Huntsman. Loving father of Jamey Huntsman, Todd Huntsman, and Kristin (Huntsman) Ritchie all of Everett. Cherished grandfather of Kayla, Nicholas, Jace, Kyle, Hailee, Jenna, Riley, Colby, and Sara. Jim was a US Navy Vietnam War veteran. He later retired as a sheet metal foreman. He loved traveling and camping with his family. He was also an all-around handyman who was constantly repairing things for anyone in need. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Jim’s name to the charity of your choice.
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