LaBelle Lunch & Learn

Medicaid Irrevocable Trusts: How to Spot the Broken Ones, and How to Fix Them 

Principal Knowledge Topic H. Estate Planning

H. 68. Types, features and taxation of trusts

H. 64. Strategies to transfer property

H. 63. Characteristics and consequences of property titling

H. 65 Estate planning documents

Hours: 1.0

Method: Live, October 3, 2017, 12:00 – 1:30 pm; LaBelle Winery, Amherst, NH

Complexity: Intermediate      Link to Program Webpage: http://estateplannh.com/seminars/     

Course Description:

Medicaid Irrevocable Trusts are powerful tools that can preserve assets for your clients where long-term care insurance is not an option or they want more coverage than they are willing or able to purchase. Think of these trusts as umbrella policies with a one-time premium. However, the rules are changing rapidly, and thousands of these trusts have been written which, recent court cases tell us, will not work when put to the test.

Learning Objectives: In this 60-minute session, you will: 1. learn the five key Massachusetts and New Hampshire cases that have changed the rules for Medicaid Irrevocable Trusts; 2. how to spot the five most common flaws in written trust agreements; 3. the three ways defective irrevocable trusts can be fixed, modified or terminated; and 4. when to refer your clients to a competent Elder Law attorney.               

Outline

1. 12:30         Mechanics of a Medicaid Application
2. 12:35         The “Any Circumstances” Test of 42 U.S.C. 1396p
3. 12:40         The Cases
   1. Doherty (MA 2007): Don’t trust “boilerplate” administrative powers
   2. Smith v. Toumpas (NH 2010): watch out for “trusts, conditions or limitations”
   3. Heyn (MA 2016): know the difference between retained powers of appointment and delegated distribution powers
   4. Daley/Nadeau (MA 2017): life estates, leases, and occupancy agreements
   5. Braiterman (NH 2016): who can be trustee?
4. 1:05           Three Methods of Curing a Defective Irrevocable Trust
   1. Court Petition
   2. Non-Judicial Settlement Agreement under RSA 564-B:1-111
   3. Decanting under RSA 564-B:4-418
5. 1:20 – 1:30 pm  Questions & Answers

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