Last August, we published a blog about California’s new Medicaid eligibility rules. Well, those new rules are coming to fruition and will drastically change Medicaid planning in that state.

Most states have a $2,000 asset limit for an individual to qualify for Medicaid. California was no exception. However, the new rules change the asset limit for an individual to $130,000 ($267,000 for a married applicant) as of July 1, 2022. Even more astonishing – all resources will be disregarded no sooner than January 1, 2024. Meaning, a MAGI-based applicant can have unlimited resources and qualify for long-term care Medicaid at that time.

Clients want their estates to grow until it is tax time—when they want to give the Internal Revenue Service as small a target as possible. While the federal wealth transfer tax exemptions run into the millions of dollars, some clients’ estates exceed these amounts and result in large estate tax bills. Fortunately, several methods are available to reduce the amount of a client’s estate for tax purposes. Here are ten strategies to limit your client’s exposure.

Elder Docx™ is a powerful document drafting system. Within the system, you can draft many legal documents related to elder law, Veterans benefits law, and special needs law – a Standalone Will, Revocable Living Trust, Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, Veterans Asset Protection Trust, First-Party Special Needs Trust, Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust, and so much more.

Within these documents, you have the option to include a Trust Protector. Who can serve in this role, what does that person do, and why would you want to include a Trust Protector? Let’s dive in.