THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 31, 2025 Page 19 OBITUARY Jones Siu Fu Kwong Of Malden. Passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 23, 2025 at Melrose Wakefield Hospital surrounded by his loving family at the age of 94. He was born in Guangdong Province, China and later became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America. Jones is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years Wai Ping Ng, their daughter Katy M. Kwong, son John C. Kwong and daughter-in-law Deborah M. Kwong, cherished grandchildren Emily M. Kwong, Grace M. Brown-Kwong and grandson-inlaw Stephen J. Brown, Olivia M. Kwong and Natalie M. Kwong, his brothers Kwok Ball Kwong, Shu Fun Kwong, Shu Ching Kwong and sister Ngan Ling Kwok, and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by grandson Nathan J. Kwong, brother Shu Sun Kwong and sister Ngan Yo Kwong. Jones was a dedicated and hardworking person who always prioritized his family above all else. In his younger years, he traveled the world working aboard numerous ships in Her Majesty's fleet. During his time in the United States, he worked in the culinary industry for over 25 years before his well-earned retirement. Jones cherished every moment with his grandchildren, dedicating himself to enriching their lives. The fond memories of their time together will forever be treasured. An avid gardener, Jones had a remarkable talent for nurturing plants. His abundant garden was a testament to his green thumb and was often shared with his friends and relatives, who enjoyed the fresh harvest of Chinese vegetables he grew. Jones touched the lives of many and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. The family has chosen to hold a private celebration of life, and Spadafora Funeral Home in Malden has been entrusted with the arrangements. A private interment will take place at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston. Yegeniya A. Kuzmich I t is with heavy hearts we say goodbye earthside to our beloved Yevgeniya Kuzmich, who walked into the arms of Jesus on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at the age of 86 years old. Born in Gomel, Belarus, she was a loving wife to her late husband, Sergey Kuzmich (who met Jesus 11 years ago), devoted mother to her two children, Yelena Kuzmich and Alexander (and Svetlana) Kuzmich, cherished grandmother to her 5 grandkids (and their spouses) Oleg (and Vickie) Khuzeykin, Yanina (and Michael) Adams, Igor Khuzeykin, Ilona Kuzmich, and Daniel Kuzmich, and adoring Great Grandma to her 4 great grandkids Adrian Castillo, Jasmine Castillo, Stella Khuzeykin, and Jaxson Adams. She survives 5 of her 8 siblings, Larissa Visotskaya, Tatyana Kozina, Volodya Kolesnichenko, Alec Kolesnichenko, and Viktor Kolesnichenko. She is now reunited with her siblings who left before her, Alec Kolesnichenko (passed away as a baby), Misha Kolesnichenko, and Lilya Balasyuk. She was known for her intense love of the Lord and consistent presence in church, her dedication to a life of serving others, and a deep devotion to her family. Food was one major way she showed her love, and many in this world have been blessed with endless jars of borscht, cream puff containers full of her famous and highly sought after Blinchiki, as well as many other dishes throughout the years. Having grown up during war in extreme poverty and under unfathomable conditions, she developed a strong sense of always taking care of others and giving the last of everything she had if it meant someone else getting what they needed. These last few years, majority of her joy was found in her family, especially in her grandCOMMUNITY SPOUSE PROTECTION OF ASSETS Therefore, in Massachusetts, the entire $157,920 may be kept and no spend down is necessary. The income of the communiM edicaid (MassHealth in Massachusetts) law provides certain protections for the spouse of a nursing home resident in order to make sure he or she has the minimum support necessary to live in the community. If the MassHealth applicant is married, the countable assets of both the community spouse and institutionalized spouse are totaled as of the date of “institutionalization”, the day on which the ill spouse enters either a hospital or a longterm care facility in which he or she then stays for at least 30 days. This is also commonly referred to as the “snapshot” date because MassHealth is taking a picture of the couple’s assets as of this date. For calendar year 2025, the community spouse may keep up to a maximum of $157,920. Called the “community spouse resource allowance”, this is the most that a state may allow a community spouse to retain without a hearing or a court order. Example: If a couple has $159,920 in countable assets on the date the applicant enters a nursing home, the institutionalized spouse will be eligible for MassHealth. The community spouse may keep $157,920 in his or her own name while the institutionalized spouse may keep up to $2,000 in his or her own name. ty spouse will continue undisturbed. He or she will not have to use his or her income to support the nursing home spouse receiving MassHealth benefits. What if most of the couple’s income is in the name of the institutionalized spouse, and the community spouse’s income is not sufficient to live on? In such cases, the community spouse is entitled to some or all of the monthly income of the institutionalized spouse. How much the community spouse is entitled to depends on what MassHealth determines to be the minimum income level for the community spouse. This figure, known as the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance or MMMNA, is calculated for each community spouse according to a complicated formula based on his or her housing costs. From July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, the MMMNA may range from a low of $2,555 to a high of $3,948. If the community spouse’s income falls below his or her MMMNA, the shortfall is made up from the nursing home spouse’s income. In some instances community spouses may seek to retain more of the couple’s countable assets and/or some of the institutionalized spouse’s income by asking for a Fair Hearing with MassHealth. The spousal resource allowance is adjusted on January 1st of each year. It is important to know that for a married couple, there may not be a need to transfer assets directly to the children if the countable assets are at or below the $157,920 figure and one spouse is healthy and at home. Planning ahead of time with married couples is very important from an asset protection standpoint. Avoiding an unnecessary spend down is often critical in terms of maintaining some sense of financial stability for the community spouse. It is important to know all of the options available to you under the law. For example, there are numerous key exceptions to certain asset transfers that would otherwise constitute a disqualifying transfer under MassHealth rules. It is important to know whether or not you might fall under one of these exceptions. Obtaining MassHealth eligibility is no easy task. Caseworkers are often overburdened and many times take a long time before they even start to work on reviewing the application and all of the supporting documentation. Invariably, the caseworker will send out a Request For Information once the initial review of the application is completed. Denial notices are issued all of the time. Once a denial notice is issued, you must then file an appeal in order to preserve your initial application date and your benefit start date. It is submitted to the Board of Hearings. Most often, an appeal can be withdrawn upon providing the additional information requested by the caseworker and an agreement by the caseworker to approve the application. 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. kids and great grandkids. Funeral service will be held at the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Saturday February 1st at 11:00am. A visitation period will be held from 10:00am11:00am prior to the service. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Interment will be in Forest Dale Cemetery, Malden.
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