Is There a Way to Make a Gift After Death Without Worrying About the Medicaid Five-Year Lookback?

[DonP]

Nobody did it like Steinbrenner:

George Steinbrenner’s estate tax homerun | Illinois State Bar Association

www.isba.org

Personally, I hope it goes even lower. I'm not inheriting 27 million or 7 million so the lower it goes, the more life insurance I can sell.


It's over 27m.

Everyone talks there book . Just like the Medicare Fmo’s only gave 2 shits about cms rules when there slush fund overrides threatened . They tried to rally agents to help them who could give 2 craps about there overrides . Everyone cares what affects them and I get it . I care about the estate tax as it effects my inheritance

 

[Allen Trent]

It's over 27m.

yup, fat fingered it........................twice. LOL

 

[Allen Trent]

Nobody did it like Steinbrenner:

true-- while my mother didnt have an estate tax problem. She was super sharp & understood tax laws as CPA. She had cancer & was in hospice. She died in late November of 2019, thus allowing the old stretch IRA laws on her IRA.

Because my dad had his own money, accounts & largest SS check I have seen from max earnings & postponing to 70, she didnt have him as bene on her IRA. My sister & I were both 50/50, per stripes as Primary.

I then disclaimed my share & my 4 kids ages 17-25, now have 12.5% of my moms IRA & will get an RMD check right before Christmas every year for the next 50 years or so (assuming they dont figure out they can call Fidelity & empty it anytime)

I think my mom thought she might as well get one over on the IRS & the politicians

 

[jdeasy]

Everyone talks there book . Just like the Medicare Fmo’s only gave 2 shits about cms rules when there slush fund overrides threatened . They tried to rally agents to help them who could give 2 craps about there overrides . Everyone cares what affects them and I get it . I care about the estate tax as it effects my inheritance

I would like to answer your questions but there's not a simple answer. Medicaid is state so there are 50 different sets of Medicaid regulations.

You need to be as versed as you can you be in your state and the states you sell in. One example, here there is no recovery ever for Medicaid bills paid before age 55. Those are exempt from recovery. Over 55 is fair game. I don't know if that's the case in all 50 states.

 

[Newby]

If a policy is assigned to a funeral home, what happens if the covered person moves, or is moved by their kids?

Just select a new funeral home where you move to and they transfer it. Only the funersl home that performs the funeral can be paid.

 

[Newby]

Here’s a question . Let’s say a person had $100k 3 yrs ago. She gifted it out to her grandkids as she didn’t need it anymore as she made $3k a month in pension and social security . If she went in nursing home at $10k a month they’ll take here social security and pension if she can’t pay the nursing home and put her on Medicaid right? If she has equity in here house they’ll seize the house and sell it and take the equity when she dies right ?Will they go after the Grandkids for the $100k she gifted out 3 yrs earlier ?

I would assume they would. But it’s always case by case. They figure out ways to tighten things up as the years go on too. They used to be a lot more loopholes than there are today.

 

[shonceman]

There are several companies that have those estate planning trust but they must be set up five full years before the person applies for Medicaid or they do not work.
They can do a funeral Trust with no look back, but the reason it has no look back is that any money not used for the actual funeral has to run through the person’s estate and anything that runs through the estate goes to Medicaid if they’ve been on Medicaid.

Scott, I remember Settlers Life having a funeral trust product where you could transfer ownership of life insurance to the trust. Do you know of any companies offering such a product where I could do that with existing policies from another company? I have several clients that are already getting assistance, with cash values that are getting close to the limit. Other than that, is assigning to a funeral home their best bet?

 

[scagnt83]

Scott, I remember Settlers Life having a funeral trust product where you could transfer ownership of life insurance to the trust. Do you know of any companies offering such a product where I could do that with existing policies from another company? I have several clients that are already getting assistance, with cash values that are getting close to the limit. Other than that, is assigning to a funeral home their best bet?

Even with the Trust. It seems like it is subject to the 5y lookback. Best bet most likely is the assignment to the funeral home. We will see what Scott says.

 

[jdeasy]

Even with the Trust. It seems like it is subject to the 5y lookback. Best bet most likely is the assignment to the funeral home. We will see what Scott says.

Funeral trust is not subject to the 5 year lookback up to the state maximums.

 

[Newby]

Scott, I remember Settlers Life having a funeral trust product where you could transfer ownership of life insurance to the trust. Do you know of any companies offering such a product where I could do that with existing policies from another company? I have several clients that are already getting assistance, with cash values that are getting close to the limit. Other than that, is assigning to a funeral home their best bet?

NGL, Unity, Great Western are three that have funeral trust products.
Assigning any policy to a funeral home does the same thing.