Is Your Estate Plan Up To Date?

By Estate Planning Attorney Rick Law.  Law Elder Law is based in Aurora, IL and provides Elder Law and Estate Planning services to seniors and their families in the surrounding communities.

In 2012, Illinois passed a Medicaid reform law that eliminated the use of a pooled trust for individuals 65 or older. The d4C, which is a self-settled pooled trust, had been the number one planning tool used by Illinois elder-law practitioners to provide the preservation-of-dignity resources for their clients while qualifying for nursing home Medicaid benefits.

One of the most common uses was the circumstance in which aged individuals had been living in their home and had depleted all of their liquid assets on their living expenses and care. Upon selling their home, they needed to be relocated to a skilled-care nursing facility. Proceeds from the sale of the home would be transferred to a charitable organization that administers a pooled trust, and institutionalized individuals’ assets would be reduced to no more than $2,000.

The nursing home would be paid by Medicaid, and individuals would have supplemental-care needs funded from their own funds held in the charitable pooled trust. At the end of their lives, any funds remaining in the pooled trust were subject to distribution to the charitable entity and reimbursement to the state for Medicaid expenses incurred.

Although the statutory underpinnings for the d4C trust are expressed in federal law, the pooled trust is under attack in numerous states.

Unfortunately, at least to this date, there are no current legal challenges pending in Illinois against the most recent state ban against the pooled trust.

The loss of the availability of a pooled trust has already begun to force thousands of Illinois citizens to face their final months or years limited to a meager $1 a day personal-needs allowance and an ever-decreasing level of care as provided by nursing home Medicaid.

Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options!

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees.

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.    Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!

Our Reviews

My wife and I had our first child three years ago. That’s when we decided to set up a trust, should anything happen to either of us. We reached out to Zach Hesselbaum to help us out. He was very thorough and professional throughout the whole process. Zach went above and beyond to make sure that we understood every detail of setting it up and he did an excellent job. We recently had our second child a few months ago. With the new baby, he helped us make the necessary revisions to the trust. Zach made this process great for us! I would definitely recommend using him for any of your estate planning needs!

Tom G., Naperville, IL