Blogs

Are Social Security Benefits Taxable?

Individual income tax returns for 2015 are due by April 18, 2016. The IRS filing deadline is usually April 15, but this year’s deadline has been pushed to the following Monday because April 15 is a legal holiday. A portion of your Social Security benefits may be taxable depending on the amount of benefits you […]

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Estate Planning Advice: Should My Parents Give Me Their Home?

Long-term care can be very costly and it can quickly deplete a person’s life savings. Medicaid can help cover the costs of a nursing home, but only if the person going into care has limited resources. When someone owns a home, it is thus natural to be concerned about whether the home will be lost if […]

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Do I need a Will? Can I just write down where I want my assets to go or tell someone my intentions?

In Florida, as in every state, there are specific requirements that must be met in order for a Will to be validly executed. In order to be legally sufficient and distribute assets as the testator (one who executes a Will) intended, a Will in Florida must be executed according to Florida law. If the Will […]

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Does Medicaid Pay For Long-term Care in the Home?

Medicaid provides important benefits for seniors and other individuals who are unable to care for themselves and who need long-term care. While many seniors benefit from Medicaid coverage to help pay the cost of a nursing home, there are also situations where a senior or his/her family members want to ensure that their loved one […]

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Can’t I Just Add My Child’s Name to the Title of my House to Avoid Losing my Home to Medicaid recovery?

Estate recovery is a process in which the government tries to recover funds paid out by Medicaid for long-term care costs or other medical expenses. Medicaid is a program designed to provide medical coverage for the poor, but it has become widely used by seniors to pay for nursing home costs. After a senior dies, […]

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Will You Need Long Term Care?

At least 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will require long-term care services at some point in their lives. Medicare and private health insurance programs do not pay for the majority of long-term care services that most people need – help with personal care such as dressing, use of the bathroom independently, […]

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10 Tips To Avoid Breast Cancer

The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Do you have questions or concerns about the possibility of breast cancer for you or a loved one? In honor of this month and what it stands for, here are Caring.com’s top ten ways to prevent breast cancer. Get regular mammograms. It sounds obvious, but you’d […]

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Assisted Living Facility in Lakeland Receives Flowers From Elder Law Firm

On June 9, The Elder Law Firm of Clements and Wallace P.L. spent the day delivering flowers to the residents of Lake Morton Plaza, an assisted living facility located at 400 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, FL.  I had the pleasure of being one of the staff participating in this public service. We began on […]

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Ten Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Barbara Buxton, a fellow elder law attorney, recently posted an article with common mistakes made during the estate planning process. We believe these tips to be helpful and beneficial to anyone in this position. Ten Common Estate Planning Mistakes Procrastination. Not creating more than a Will in your estate plan.(You don’t create a Revocable Trust […]

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Revitalization of Promissory Notes as a Medicaid Planning Tool

Recent implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has resulted in Medicaid policies that are just now being utilized by the Elder Law Bar as a new planning opportunity for asset preservation for families with loved ones seeking long term care. This change was set forth in the ESS manual in January 2010. However, […]

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