14

Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 28, 2023 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 3 CASH VALUE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES ration of the five year look back period. If the policies are paid up with no more required premiums to be paid, the life insurance policies can be transferred to an irrevocable trust as well in order to commence the five year look back period. Keep in mind that since term f applying for MassHealth it is important to realize that MassHealth will count the cash value in a whole life, universal life or variable universal life insurance policy if the face value of the policy is greater than $1,500. This is important as the community spouse can have no more than $148,620 in countable assets and the nursing home spouse can only have $2,000 or less in countable assets in order to be eligible for MassHealth longterm care benefits. If the community spouse has two cash value life insurance policies and each has a face value of $800, then the total face value would exceed $1,500 thereby rendering the cash value of both policies a countable asset. If the cash value policies are I owned by the spouse applying for MassHealth benefits, ownership of the policies can be transferred to the community spouse in order to reduce the nursing home spouse’s countable assets to less than $2,000. There is no disqualifying transfer when one spouse transfers countable assets to the other spouse. However, the community spouse’s total countable assets cannot exceed $148,620, including the total cash value of all of the life insurance policies. An advanced planning strategy might be to transfer ownership of the policies to the children in order to commence the five year look back period. Each of your children could also be the beneficiary of each life insurance policy. This will serve to remove the countable asset out of the name(s) of the parent(s) when you feel confident neither of the parents will be applying for MassHealth benefits prior to the expiinsurance policies have no cash value, they are not countable assets for MassHealth eligibility purposes. The community spouse would certainly want to make sure that the children are named the beneficiaries of the life insurance policy and not the spouse who is entering a nursing home who is either applying for MassHealth benefits or who is already on MassHealth. Another option would be for the community spouse to name his or her estate as the beneficiary of the life insurance policies (cash value or term) and include a testamentary trust provision in his or her Will that would provide discretionary distributions of income and principal for the nursing home spouse. Assets in such a testamentary trust would not be a countable asset for MassHealth purposes and income and principal distributions would serve to provide supplemental benefits to the nursing home spouse that would not be provided by MassHealth or any other governmental programs. With advanced planning, you can transfer ownership of any life insurance policy to an irrevocable trust in order to remove the policy from the countable resource pool. Five years after such a transfer, the cash value in any life insurance policy will no longer be countable. If the insured were to die, the death benefit would be paid to the Trust and the surviving spouse would be entitled to the income generated from the investment of the life insurance proceeds, but not be entitled to receive any principal. It is always good to review your life insurance policies in order to determine if any advanced planning strategies should be employed. 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. 3. Picked up pieces while sitting and listening...Jack remembers, like it was yesterday, that terrible night in 1972 when the Centre Methodist burned down; cites his cutting the firefighter work week down to 42 hours from 84 hours as one of his greatest accomplishments; he loved the job and the camaraderie he shared with fellow firefighters; the Highland Cafe was his favorite restaurant, and Dave (Angelo) met future wife Donna by chance one night when she came into the Highland with Jack’s daughter Lorri. 4. And finally, possibly my favorite takeaway from my sit down with Jack was his philosophy on life and longevity; one of life’s simplest perhaps, but for many, the hardest to actually apply: “Everything in moderation and enjoy every day.” Bam! He continued – I am paraphrasing a bit – also musing that “worrying” just ain’t worth it. That life has its ups and downs, they will also pass (Jack a George Harrison fan?). “Enjoy the moment” is what I’ll always remember. Thank you for that, sir. I put the call out to Facebook for “Friends of Jack” to wish him a happy birthday. I was flooded with well-wishers – over 75 before I submitted this article. Here are but a few... • Beth Lowenstein: “HBD Chief! My dad worked with you on the MFD and my sister Rie and I went to school with your daughter June. Enjoy your special day.” • Rick J. Wilson: “I worked for Chief Garrity when I was in high school. Just the nicest human I can remember. HBD to you Chief.” • Retired Firefighter Jimmy McGonagle: “HBD Chief Garrity!” • Retired Firefighter Mike Craven: “My dad was on the MFD FESTIVAL | FROM PAGE 12 tistic excellence. Patrons can anticipate top-tier talent and a celebration of the performing arts that will leave a lasting impression. Whether you’re a fan of animated adventures, mythological quests or empowering love stories, these productions are sure to leave you with lasting memories and a renewed appreciation for the magic of live theater! “The Young Company Summer Festival is a testament to the importance of providing REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS BUYER1 NIEMEYER, JAMES D PINKHAM JR, DAVID T RUAN, TIEMING XU, FANGYAN BUYER2 NIEMEYER, DAVID C CHEN, HONGDAN SELLER1 WILION, HAROLD PINKHAM, SUSAN E ZHAI, HUANWU CHARTOR, JOSEPH SELLER2 PINKHAM, DAVID T GOODMAN, CAROLYN during the same time frame you were Chief. HBD Chief!” • Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe: “HBD Chief Garrity!” • Amanda Boyle Grazioso: “HBD from the entire Boyle family!” • Steve Jesi: “Happiest 104th birthday Chief Garrity! The Barnes Ave neighborhood was always safe when you were around. God bless you.” • Former Ward 3 Councillor Paul DiPietro: “HBD Chief! Fond memories of Brother Garrity, from the 19 Claremont St DiPietro’s.” • Marty Keane: “HBD Chief! Hope to visit you soon!” • Robin Farren: “Gentleman Jack, happy 104th BD to Lorri‘s sweet father! Always a delightful fellow. You’ve done well Mr. Garrity.” • Barbara Mcglinchy: “Happy birthday from Barbara and Kevin Mcglinchy!” • Cliff Jacobs: “HBD Chief Garrity, you were always a fair man. 104 – my Lord, what staying power! God bless you, Chief!” As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – retired Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis at times may come off like Sergeant Joe Friday (“just the facts, ma’am”), but don’t let that particular facade fool ya; he’s another Maldonian with as much compassion as all outdoors – one who never fails to deliver, straight fire from his heart and soul. His reverence for those that came before us, for those that made a difference in our lives, is legendary. Thank you, Chief, for these thoughtful and heartfelt words: “growing up in Malden you would most often hang around with kids whose dads were cops or firemen. Chief Garrity was one of them. He was someone who we all respected as an American and Malden icon for his service to our counyoung artists with a platform to express themselves and grow in their craft,” says Greater Boston Stage Company Education Associate Autumn Blazon-Brown. “We are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication these young actors have put into their performances, and we can’t wait to share their talents with you!” All tickets are $25. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 781279- 2200 or visit www.greaterbostonstage.org. Group sales are try and our city. He carried himself as a dedicated, highly competent professional and he did it with a quiet and dignified humility. He is a living American and Malden story, and I am happy that it has been a lengthy story of 104 years which I hope has many more pages…” Postscript 1: At this point, much to my regret, I must stop babbling. With only 1,500 words allotted each week, I am almost at my limit. With that said, let’s hear from a good friend of Jack’s, the Honorable Mayor of Malden, Gary Christenson: “they say that everyone changes over time, but I would have to say that one exception is Jack Garrity. Each time I go to visit him, I marvel that at 104 years old we continue to have the best discussions about everything from WWII to the Malden High School Golden Tornadoes. Speaking of which, I like to think that it was Jack’s well wishes just before last year’s football game at Fenway Park that propelled the team to the big win. Our motto is ‘Strong Past, Proud Future’ and if there is anyone that is indicative of that motto, it’s Jack Garrity. Happy birthday, my friend!” Postscript 2: Jack, I sincerely hope you had a wonderful birthday and that you enjoyed my humble tribute. It was love at first sight when we met – and we will meet again soon, my friend. With that said: “Happy trails to you, till we meet again, some trails are happy ones, others are blue, It’s the way you ride the trail that counts, here’s a happy one for you.” Happy trails Jack, till we meet again. —Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms. also available. Please contact Director of Marketing and PR Bryan Miner at bryan@greaterbostonstage.org or 781-279-7885 x107 for more information. Box Office hours: Tuesdays–Fridays, noon–4 p.m. Location: 395 Main St., Stoneham, Mass. Flagship Season Sponsors: Mass Cultural Council, Stoneham Bank and the Salem Five Charitable Foundation. Young Company Season Sponsor: Adelaide Breed Bayrd Foundation and Stoneham Business and Community Educational Foundation. Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman/The Commercial Record, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group. For a searchable database of real estate transactions and property information visit: www.thewarrengroup.com. ADDRESS 30 RICH ST #31 92 WINCHESTER ST 793 MAIN ST #4 141 PIERCE ST #11 CITY MALDEN MALDEN MALDEN MALDEN DATE 06.30.23 06.30.23 07.07.23 07.07.23 PRICE 360000 525000 340000 235000

15 Publizr Home