THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 9, 2026 SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 10 Daley And Nadeau Supreme Court Cases O n May 30, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) handed down a pretty big blow to MassHealth by ruling in favor of the appellants. The SJC decided to hear the Daley case and the Nadeau case at the same time as the issues in both cases were so intricately related. This favorable decision was due to the endless work by members of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys as well as assistance from the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association. The Daley case involved the transfer of a remainder interest in real estate into an irrevocable trust with a retained life estate in the deed itself on the part of the applicant. The Nadeau case involved simply a transfer of the entire fee simple interest in real estate into an irrevocable trust without a retention of a life estate in the deed itself on the part of the applicant. The court held in both cases that the real estate housed in each of the irrevocable trusts was not a countable asset and reversed the prior judgments that were in favor of MassHealth. As a result, the applicants become eligible for MassHealth benefits. In other words, these trust provisions have passed muster insofar as the highest court in the land is concerned. MassHealth had presented what virtually every elder law attorney believed to have been an outrageous argument by claiming that the Health Care Financing Agency (HCFA) Transmittal 64 in effect contained language that should lead to the conclusion that a right to use, occupy and possess real estate held in an irrevocable Trust was a “payment” to a MassHealth applicant/nursing home resident. The SJC rebuked MassHealth’s argument unequivocally. In a nutshell, the SJC stated a use and occupancy right does not rise to the level of a Trustee being able to sell the underlying real estate and use the net sales proceeds therefrom to pay for nursing home care. I always insert a use and occupancy right in irrevocable Trusts that I draft. Another reason to include such a provision is to obtain the real estate exemption that several cities and towns in Massachusetts provide to homeowners. The homeowner must also be either the Trustee of the irrevocable Trust in order to maintain legal title, or if a child is the Trustee, the homeowner must then reserve a life estate in the deed that transfers the home into the irrevocable Trust. The SJC also indicated that a reserved life estate in and of itself does not render the underlying real estate a “countable” asset for MassHealth eligibility purposes. It went on to say, regarding the Daley Trust, that the remainder interest that was transferred into the irrevocable Trust itself was not a “countable” asset as well. It was great news at that time for elderly applicants who had placed their home in an irrevocable Trust that included a provision for use and occupancy. The SJC could have gone a lot further in this case in setting MassHealth straight on many other issues pertaining to irrevocable Trusts. However, subsequent court cases, such as the Fournier Mass Supreme Judicial Court case, helped greatly to prevent MassHealth from taking legal positions with virtually no statutory or case law support. MassHealth at least has to think twice before making an unreasonable and legally-flawed argument in an attempt to attack an otherwise properly drafted irrevocable Trust. It simply lost too many very important court cases and at least for now, decided to change its policy. The Massachusetts elder bar is continually voraciously advocating on behalf of the elderly community. 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. SUPERIOR COURT DEPARTMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT ~LEGAL NOTICE~ COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ESSEX, SS. CIVIL ACTION NO. 2677CV00421 LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC, Plaintiff v. JOSHUA VAN NGO AND ELVENT CHENH, Defendants, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE SECRETARY OF HOUSING, Defendant/Party-in-Interest. ORDER OF NOTICE BY PUBLICATION To: JOSHUA VAN NGO AND ELVENT CHENH, and to all persons entitled to the benefit of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. c. 50 §3901 (et seq). LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC, has filed a complaint for Declaratory Judgement and determination of military status in the Essex County Superior Court against you. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment declaring that JOSHUA VAN NGO AND ELVENT CHENH are the owners of the property located at 1902 Lewis O. Gray Drive, Unit 1902, Sheffield Heights Condominium, Saugus, MA 01906 (“Property”) pursuant to the Quitclaim Deed recorded with the Essex South Registry of Deeds (“Registry”) at Book 38244, Page 162 and its complaint seeks aurthority to foreclose said mortgage in the manner following: by entry and possession and exercise of power of sale and that neither party named above is protected by the Servicemember Civil Relief Act. If you now are, or recently have been, in the active military service of the United States of America, then you may be entitled to the benefits of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If you object to a foreclosure of the above-mentioned property on that or another basis, then you or your attorney must file a written appearance and answer in this court at Essex County Superior Court-Lawrence 43 Appleton Way, Lawrence, MA on or before 11/9/26 or you may lose the opportunity to challenge the foreclosure on the ground of noncompliance with the Act or other defenses that you may have. It is ORDERED that notice of this suit be given to the above-named Defendant(s) by publishing this Order of Notice in the Saugus Advocate a newspaper of general circulation in the City/Town of Saugus, Massachusetts at least 20 days before said return day. Dated this 28th day of September, 2026. So Ordered, Jeffrey T. Karp Justice of the Superior Court Thomas H. Driscoll, Jr. Clerk of Court October 09, 2026 eners, drain and oven cleaners, lawn and garden materials, cesspool cleaners (corrosives), flammable liquids/gasoPage 11 line, flea and tick powders, fire starters, herbicides and pesticides, no-pest strips, poisons, pool chemicals, propane tanks (empty or up to 20 lbs.); automotive products: antifreeze, batteries, brake fluid, carburetor cleaner, oil (used), radiator flush, solvents and degreasers, tire cleaners, transmission fluid. Latex paint can be dried out and disposed of with your
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