Estate Planning & Elder Law
Estate Planning & Elder Law
My law practice is concentrated in the areas of estate planning and elder law. The two areas are related, elder law being that part of estate planning which deals with issues that may be unique to the elderly population. An example of this would be planning for long term care. Protecting one’s assets should one need to enter a nursing home has become increasingly difficult over the years. One has less time to do so as there is currently a five year look- back period for uncompensated transfers.
The period of Medicaid disqualification no longer begins at the time of transfer, but at the time one might otherwise qualify for benefits but for the uncompensated transfer. Therefore, the five year look- back needs to be carefully analyzed before any transfers are considered. Where appropriate we oftentimes draft irrevocable trusts and/or deeds with reserved life estates. Long term care insurance, when affordable, may also be advisable.
Estate tax avoidance or minimization is also an important goal in estate planning. Although the federal threshold for a taxable estate has increased considerably so that most estates are largely unaffected by the federal estate tax , the Rhode Island estate tax has remained comparatively low so that it is still an issue that needs to be considered and planned for in the estates of many Rhode islanders.
