Seniors are the fastest growing segment of the population, not only in the United States, but in the world. Currently, individuals age 65 and over represent 13% of the U. S. population – about 41 million people – but this will grow to 20% — 88 million — in just a matter of 38 years. Seniors also control a great deal of the wealth in this country. (USNews)

Even though many seniors have put together financial plans or completed retirement planning, very few have a plan in place for later life needs.

Most healthy, active seniors ignore this type of planning. The need for later life planning is typically recognized when, due to the aging process,

• the senior’s family realizes that their loved one’s savings and investments will run out,
• the senior is moving into a new living arrangement such as living with a child or living in a facility,
• the senior’s health is failing or
• the senior is losing his or her independence.

It is often at this point that one or more of the children of the aging senior intervenes and seeks direction from a resource planning specialist on how to extend income for long term care, where to find government and private services and how to preserve assets.

An example of this is Larry and Joan. Larry worked for the same company all his life and retired with a pension and some savings. Joan was a stay-at-home mom and did not work.

Upon retirement they paid off their home mortgage and traveled. A number of years later, Larry’s health began to fail and signs of dementia appeared. Joan became his caregiver, while struggling with her own health issues. It was becoming apparent that they would need some outside help, either from their children or from someone who understood their challenges. For Joan and Larry there was no health insurance program that would cover non-medical care services at home. This cost would have to be paid by them out-of-pocket. If they had purchased long term care insurance when they were younger and healthy – that would have been a good strategy. But they didn’t. Larry and Joan, along with their children were in need of expert advice to best utilize their assets and income for care services and future expenses.

There are resources available to people like Larry and Joan and their family. New income can be created from assets or real estate equity can provide cash or there are possible new sources of income or care support services from certain government programs.

To find these resources and supportive programs for later life needs, planning strategies need to go way beyond traditional financial and retirement planning. The National Care Planning Council has developed a planning system called Life Resource Planning that uncovers all resources available to seniors when they need the medical, social, legal and financial resource assistance later in life.

Life Resource Planning creates an individualized plan for seniors and their families that will:

Optimize Income

• finding new sources of income
• finding government services to pay for costs
• enhancing income derived from assets
• tapping into real estate equity
• reducing income taxes

Protect and Preserve Assets

• making and updating legal arrangements
• implementing asset protection and estate planning strategies
• structuring insurance
• understanding and planning for Medicaid issues
• using personal service contracts
• implementing capital gains and estate tax strategies

Facilitate Favorable Outcomes for Health, Medical Issues and Final Preparations

• implementing strategies for improving or maintaining health
• understanding medical care issues
• planning for major medical incidents
• planning for end of life, including funeral trusts

Maximize Family and Community Support

• identifying community support systems for the elderly
• implementing personal service arrangements
• identifying government and private support for eldercare
• ensuring family consensus for caregiving — a meeting of the minds
• putting together a eldercare plan
• solving family disputes over assets

Find the Right Living Arrangements

• identifying appropriate places to live, based on security, cost and support
• identifying government support for living arrangements
• tapping into equity
• enlisting help for downsizing and moving
• maximizing the sale of property

Seniors and their families who want to know more about Life Resource Planning from the National Care Planning Council or would like speak to a qualified planner using this approach can submit a request form online.

Professional practitioners who work with seniors and who would like to know more about Life Resource Planning and how it can help their clients, can call (800) 989-8137 to learn more.

In honor of Veterans Day, the attorneys at Morton Law Firm, PLLC will offer free healthcare directives the week of November 12 -16 for local heroes in the community including active and retired military personnel, veterans, police, fire and first responders.

Clinton, MS (11/01/12)- To honor local heroes for their service and sacrifice this Veteran’s Day, the attorneys at Morton Law Firm, PLLC will offer free health care directives the week of November 12 – 16.

Active or retired military personnel, veterans, police, fire and other first responders are invited to visit the firm between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to legally document their medical and/or end-of-life wishes, and appoint someone they trust to manage their medical affairs and communicate with doctors on their behalf in the event of an emergency or incapacity.

Local heroes will also receive a Personal Affairs Organizer designed to help loved ones find key insurance, medical and legal information quickly in a crisis, as well as 5 years of free online vault storage of their documents courtesy of Docubank, the nation’s leading electronic storage provider.

“It’s an honor to be able to give back to our local heroes by helping them get the right legal documents in place,” says Ronald Morton founding attorney of Morton Law Firm, PLLC. “While we can never repay them for their service, we can certainly offer ours to make life easier for them and their loved ones in the event of a medical crisis,” he adds.

To receive free healthcare directives this Veteran’s Day, Morton says local heroes simply need to stop by the firm located at 132 Fairmont St., Clinton, MS 39056 during the week of November 12 – 16. There are no appointments necessary between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For further questions about Morton Law Firm’s Health Care Directives for Heroes event, please call (601) 925-9797 or visit www.mortonelderlaw.com.

Yesterday the United States Supreme Court upheld the healthcare reforms commonly called “Obama Care.”  But, the Court did say that states should have the option to expand their Medicaid rolls without facing any penalty.  A key component of the law was insuring many uninsured people by reducing the Medicaid qualification limits. Medicaid already covers over 600,000 Mississippians, and this addition would bring coverage to one in every 3 in the state as a Medicaid beneficiary. Expanding Medicaid will add around 400,000 additional Mississippians to Medicaid rolls, and according to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, would cost the state about $1.7 billion over 10 years. For a law that supposedly did not result in a tax increase, one has to wonder where else this extra money is supposed to come from – if not higher taxes, then through deep cuts to education and transportation, according to Gov. Phil Bryant.

While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of the law Thursday, it said the federal government can’t withhold Medicaid money from states like Mississippi that choose not to expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income adults. Given the high cost to the state, Republican lawmakers in Mississippi have already stated that such expansion is unlikely.

If the current proposal before congress to eliminate the stretch IRA provisions from the tax code go into effect, it presents an even more compelling reason to convert traditional IRA's into Roth IRA's.  While most people are reluctant to pay taxes now on a tax deferred account, the ability to pay taxes now under current rates, rather than under future rates which are likely to be higher.  Now with the potential loss of the ability of beneficiaries to stretch withdrawals when they inherit, thereby paying the taxes on the account within 5 years of their inheritance, the case for the Roth becomes more compelling.  Under the proposal, Roth beneficiaries would continue to enjoy required minimum distributions over their lifetimes, rather than accellerated 5 years.  Their growth and distributions would be tax free – unless, of course, congress eliminated the tax free character of the Roth IRA.  But they would never break a promise like that (unless, of course, you count their original promise not to tax social security benefits). 

No matter how old or young you are you should have some kind of estate planning in place. A collegue in Florida accounts a recent encounter with a young couple who did not plan.  The couple was young and a second marriage, and had a young child.  The two of them executed identical wills and then the wife died a month later. While the couple did do some planning, the wife failed to change beneficiary on a retirement account from ex-husband to her new husband or child. As a result, it was the ex husband, not the child or new spouse, who was beneficiary of her retirement.  When you have children and assets involved no matter your age you should consult an estate planning attorney, so that they make sure your estate plan plays out the way you intended. See here for the complete story.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently ruled that real property that is "exempt" from creditor claims within a probated estate, are not subject to Medicaid's recapture rights.  Federal law requires all staets that participate in the Medicaid program to recover the costs of care of a beneficiary against that beneficiary's estate.  This practice is commonly known as "Estate Recovery."  However, Mississippi probate law also provides that certain assets, like a person's homestead, pass to the heirs free and clear of any other debts of the Estate.  These two provisions of state law where Medicaid asserts a lien against an estate that contains homestead property.  In the case of Stinson v. Medicaid, the Court of Appeals resolved this issue in favor of homeowners and beneficiaries.  The Court held that Medicaid's recovery right did not place it in any special position not enjoyed by every other creditor, and therefore held that the home property passed free of indebtedness to Medicaid.   The full case is here: Stinson  Medicaid has appealed the case to the Mississippi Supreme Court. 

This ruling opens up tremendous planning opportunities for sheltering assets.  If you need assistance in protecting the assets of a loved one that is residing in a nursing home, or may reside in one soon, feel free to contact my office for a complementary phone consultation.  (601)925-9797.    

A 32 year old, psychiatric assistant at Millcreek of Pontotoc’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility is charged with sexual battery of a 17 year old patient of Millcreek of Pontotoc's Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. The 32 year old woman could face up to 30 years in prison for taking advantage of the minor patient. See here.

A woman gained access to an elderly couple’s home by posing as a health care agent from the “Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging” and claimed to be there to check on the elderly woman, whom is bedridden. The elderly man claimed that the woman spoke with his wife and then left. However, the woman returned claiming that her car had broken down and she needed to borrow his phone. The woman entered the home a second time, but this time running into the bedroom and grabbing several items out of the elderly couple’s bedroom and running out of the house. Police are still looking for the woman that posed as a health care agent to rob and elderly couple. See here. This is not the only current incident where an individual was posing as a health care agent to gain access to an elderly couples home. See here.  Be careful who you trust.  People are not always who they claim to be.