THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2021 Page 17 FUNDING | FROM Page 16 SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT RECENT CASE A BIG BOOST TO UPHOLDING WELL SETTLED TRUST LAW A July 23, 2021 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld well settled Trust law and now provides the elder bar with more certainty in drafting irrevocable trusts in the context of Medicaid planning. MassHealth’s legal department could not persuade the SJC that a special or limited power of appointment contained in the applicant’s irrevocable trust caused the trust principal to be countable thereby resulting in ineligibility for MassHealth benefi ts for the applicant. The SJC cited the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers, Section 17.2 (2011) and many Superior Court and Appellate Court cases as grounds for its decision against MassHealth. The benefi ts of this SJC case for the elderly in Massachusetts are profound. MassHealth has over the last 10 years or so been attacking almost any provision contained in an irrevocable trust in order to deny MassHealth benefits, even though so many of its legal arguments have been in complete contradiction with well settled case law and statutory law. Its arguments seemed to be more based upon its own ideology as to desired outcomes as opposed to them being based upon the actual law. In the case at hand, the applicant and her husband were the Settlors of an irrevocable trust. There was a provision in the trust granting the applicant, during her lifetime, a limited power of appointment to appoint all or any portion of the trust principal to a nonprofi t or charitable organization over which she has no controlling interest. MassHealth argued that the applicant could appoint the trust principal to a nonprofi t nursing home in order to pay for her nursing home care, and as a result, the entire principal of the trust was countable thereby making What to Ponder Before Remarrying Later in Life Dear Savvy Senior, What types of fi nancial or legal snags should I be aware of when considering remarriage? I’m 62-years-old and have been seeing a nice man for about a year. We’ve been talking about getting married, but I want to make sure I understand all the possible consequences beforehand. Divorced Widow Dear Divorced, Getting remarried later in the applicant ineligible for MassHealth benefi ts. The SJC went on to state that since the applicant possessed a special or limited power of appointment, she could not appoint to an otherwise permissible benefi ciary in any way that could benefi t herself. As a matter of trust common law, statutory law and case law, a special or limited power of appointment, by defi nition, can never be utilized by the Donee of the power to benefi t himself or herself in any way. After MassHealth appealed the Superior Court decision, the SJC took the case directly from the Superior Court thereby bypassing the Appeals Court altogether. The SJC also made it clear that a use and occupancy provision contained in an irrevocable trust likewise did not make the trust principal countable. The decision also made it clear that a trust instrument must be read as a whole in order to determine the Settlor’s intent when he or she executed the document. Trust provisions should not be read in isolation. Rather, they should be read in the context of reading the Trust instrument as a whole. Only then can you determine the Settlor’s intent when creating the Trust. This was an impactful opinion rendered by the SJC based upon excellent legal reasoning. Thank you to the Mass Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Mass Bar Association. A job well done. 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. life can actually bring about a host of fi nancial and legal issues that are much more complicated than they are for younger couples just starting out. Here are some common problem areas you need to think about, and some tips that can help you solve them. Estate Plan: Getting remarried can have a big eff ect on your estate plan. Even if your will leaves everything to your kids, in most states spouses are automatically entitled to a share of your estate – usually one-third to one-half. If you don’t want to leave a third or more of your assets to your new partner, get a prenuptial agreement where you both agree not to take anything from the other’s estate. If you do want to leave something to your spouse and ensure your heirs receive their inheritance, a trust is the best option. Medical and Long-Term Care: As a married couple, you and your husband will be responsible for each other’s medical and long-term care bills. This is one of the main reasons many older couples choose to live together instead of marrying. Staying unmarried lets you and your partner qualify individually for public benefi ts, such as Medicaid (which pays nursing home costs), without draining the other one’s resources. But, if you remarry and can aff ord it, consider getting a longterm care insurance policy to protect your assets. See AALTCI.org to help you fi nd one. Home: If you’re planning on living in your house or vice versa, you also need to think about what will happen to the house when the owner dies. If, for example, you both decide to live in your home, but you want your kids to inherit the place after you die, putting the house in both names is not an option. But, you may also not want your heirs to evict him once you die. One solution is for you to give your surviving husband a life estate, which gives him the right to live in your property during his lifetime. Then once he dies, the house will pass to your heirs. Social Security: Getting remarried can also aff ect your Social Security benefits if you’re divorced, widowed or are receiving SSI. For instance, getting remarried makes you ineligible for divorced spouse’s benefi ts. And getting remarried before age 60 (50 if you’re disabled) will cause widows and widowers to lose their right to survivor’s benefi ts from their former spouse. For more information, see SSA.gov. Pension Benefi ts: Be aware that if you’re receiving a survivor’s annuity from a public employees pension, getting remarried may cause you to lose it. In addition, widows and widowers of military personnel killed in the line of duty may lose their benefi ts if they remarry before age 57, and survivors of federal civil servants that receive a pension will forfeit it if they remarry before 55. Alimony: If you are receiving alimony from an exspouse, it will almost certainly end if you remarry and might even be cut off if you live together. College Aid: If you have any children in college receiving fi nancial aid, getting married and adding a new spouse’s income to the family could affect what he or she gets. To get help with these issues, consider hiring an estate planner who can draw up a plan to protect both you and your partner’s interests. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. $53,000 is eligible for $782 every month. Over the past year, over 6,000 Revere students received additional food benefi ts through the Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT, program. As many as half of those students may also be eligible for SNAP. A recent survey conducted by the MassINC Polling Group of over 10,000 families in Massachusetts showed that a full 48% of participants did not know that you can receive both P-EBT and SNAP benefi ts at the same time. With P-EBT ending at the end of this summer and temporary increases in SNAP, there’s no better time to apply. You can use your SNAP benefits at the Revere Farmers Market to earn money back to your EBT card through the HIP program. For every $1 you spend, you'll get the $1 automatically loaded back onto your EBT card. To learn more and to receive free SNAP application assistance, visit https:// www.map-ebt.org/snap. • Tax Credits: Low or no-income families with children are eligible to receive monthly payments of $250-$300 per child, per month through the expanded Child Tax Credit. The IRS estimates that around 700 children in Revere between the ages of 1-5 are at risk of missing these payments right now because they are not in their system. In addition, hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents are eligible for up to $3,200 in federal stimulus checks if they did not already receive them. And thousands of dollars in additional benefi ts are available through the Earned Income Tax Credit. To receive all of these benefi ts, Revere residents should fi le a 2020 tax return. To learn more and to receive free application assistance, visit https://www. fi ndyourfunds.org. “We want to make sure our residents have access to all resources available to them,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “With the passing of the Urban Farming Ordinance as well as the food justice work being done with the Revere Food Hub, I am proud of all the work Britney Sao and the entire food justice team are doing in our city. By adding SNAP benefits to our toolbox, our residents are in good hands.” Mayor Arrigo was joined by Britney Sao, Food Justice Manager and SNAP Coordinator for the City of Revere, and Danielle Osterman, Community Development Program Manager for the City of Revere and VITA Site Coordinator at the Community Action Agency of Somerville, for a Facebook Town Hall last week to discuss the importance of applying for these programs.
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