Written by Ryan Snow, JD, MBA

As an estate planning attorney, you are familiar with the complexities of wealth transfer. When your clients are small business owners, their business is often their most significant asset, but the company’s illiquidity and operational demands can present unique challenges. Business succession and exit planning, while distinct from traditional estate planning, are crucial for ensuring the smooth transition and continued value of this critical asset.

Written by Zach Bloxham, J.D

Medicaid pays for millions of Americans to receive long-term care and support. While many know that a Medicaid applicant must meet strict means-tested financial eligibility requirements to secure benefits, many more are unaware that these benefits are often granted with strings attached in the form of federally authorized liens.

The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust used for Medicaid planning or asset protection purposes. After assets are funded into the trust and the look-back period has expired, the assets in the trust are non-countable for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. The MAPT has several aspects that result in tax advantages, such as being a grantor trust and having trust income taxed according to the Grantor’s income tax brackets instead of trust taxation rates. Other tax advantages that the MAPT can be designed with stem from retaining a limited power of appointment (LPOA). Let’s take a deeper dive into the LPOA.