Bach & Jacobs attorney Babette Bach has been working for the past year on a new law to regulate guardians and emergency guardianship proceedings. Bach stated in an interview with ABC 7 that this law will strengthen the number of quality, educated professional guardians working in the state of Florida. To hear more about this new law, watch the interview with Babette linked below.
To read the 2015 Declaration of Preneed Guardian for Adult, follow this link: Preneed Guardian for Adult
Follow this link to read the 2015 Declaration of Preneed Guardian for Minor Child: Declaration-of-Preneed-Guardian-for-Minor-Child
Qualified income trusts (QITs) can be used to help a person qualify for Medicaid whose gross income before any deductions is above the limit to qualify for Medicaid long-term care services. The current income limit for Medicaid long-term care services (in 2015) is $2,199 per month. This type of trust agreement must be irrevocable and must be approved by the Department of Children and Families’ legal office. Deposits must be made into your QIT each month you wish to qualify for Medicaid. After the account holder’s death, the funds remaining in the QIT will be used to pay back Medicaid up to the amount received and used for long term care.
If you have questions about qualifying for Medicaid to help pay for long term care, contact our Florida Board Certified Elder Law Attorney Babette Bach, Esq. at (941) 906-1231.
Babette Bach and Rob Patten were featured in the February 2015 issue of Scene Magazine, which included an article on their shared commitment to land conservation and environmental protection. Click here to read the article and see a picture near their rustic cabin on the Myakka River.
Babette Bach Esq. will be a speaker at the Florida Health Care Assoc. District VI meeting.
Ms. Bach’s presentation will be on the “Unlicensed Practice of Law & Medicaid Planning”
LOCATION: Tidewell Hospice Building, 5955 Rand Boulevard, Sarasota FL. 34240.
DATE: Thursday, January 22nd, 2015.
TIME: 12pm.
For the recent Supreme Court ruling on Medicaid planning by non-lawyers (January 15, 2015),
please click this link: http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2015/sc14-211.pdf
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the COLA for seniors, placing the increase at 1.7% for 2015. There’s not going to be any change in the Part B premium of $104.90 (for those unmarried seniors with incomes below $85,000). The SSI monthly benefit is $733. The Presumed Maximum Value is $264.33. The 2015 Florida Medicaid Income Cap is $2199. Attorney Babette B. Bach is a Board Certified Florida Elder Law attorney and an expert in public benefits. Call Bach & Jacobs, PA to schedule an appointment with Babette to review your eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits.
Do you employ private-duty caregivers in your home? On January 1, 2015, a new Final Rule issued by the United States Department of Labor will take effect concerning domestic service workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and will extend minimum wage and overtime protection to such workers. Domestic employers are very vulnerable to employment-related mistakes and oversights that could carry significant financial and legal risks. The attorneys at Bach & Jacobs, P.A. work with clients to make them aware of payroll, tax, and labor law requirements, including insurance requirements, when they hire home help. Contact our office today to make an appointment with one of our elder law attorneys if you are employing or are considering employing private duty home health assistance.
Question: Why would someone convey property using a lady bird deed?
Answer: There are multiple advantages of using a Lady Bird deed. First, the transfer of the real property occurs pursuant to the remainder provision in the deed and will not require probate to effectuate the transfer. Second, the owner/life tenant can maintain the homestead tax exemption. Third, it gives the owner/life tenant greater control than with a typical life-estate deed. The remainderman can be changed and a future conveyance or mortgage would not require the remainderman’s cooperation or approval. Fourth, there are various tax advantages. The remainderman receives the property at the life tenant’s death with a ‘stepped up basis’ for federal income tax purposes. The Florida Department of Revenue does not levy documentary stamp taxes against Lady Bird deed transfers. Finally, a Lady Bird deed can be useful in planning for Medicaid eligibility for an unmarried applicant because the creation of the deed is not considered to be a transfer of assets by the state. Contact Board Certified Elder Lawyer Babette B. Bach, Esq. to find out if a Lady Bird deed would be appropriate for transferring interests in real property you own.
Question: What is a ‘Lady Bird Deed’?
Answer: A Lady Bird deed, or “enhanced life estate deed,” is a method for transferring an interest in real estate. With a Lady Bird deed, the owner of a property reserves a life estate in the property, entitling the grantor the right to live on the real property for the rest of his or her life. The deed also identifies a ‘remainderman’, who, at the grantor’s death, receives title to the real property. What makes Lady Bird deeds unique is that the grantor/owner/life tenant also reserves the right to encumber the property, keep all income from the property, and sell the property without the approval of the remainderman. In short, the remainderman only get what’s left on the date of death of the property owner/life tenant. This deed is designed to leave the owner with all the powers of a solely-owned parcel but with an automatic conveyance of whatever is left upon the owner’s death to the remainderman. It can be a useful tool.
