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December 2019 Newsletter

Posted on Dec. 1 2019.

Dear Clients and Friends,

Season’s Greetings!

As I write this, my family is busy making plans for Christmas and the new year. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or something else, we wish you the very best in the new year.

Secure Act

I previously wrote about the Secure Act. This act will change the starting age to take required minimum distribution from age 70 ½ to age 72. More importantly, it will limit your IRA beneficiary from “stretching” an inherited IRA over their lifetime and require that it be taken over 10 years or less. This will require that taxes on an inherited IRA be paid more quickly and probably at a higher rate of interest.

The House passed the Secure Act in May of this year. It was expected that the Senate would pass it in September or October. It is now expected to pass this week as part of the budget bill. When it finally passes, I will do a full review of the final provisions in another newsletter.

Medicaid Planning

Sometimes, while living our lives, we find ourselves or a loved one needing more help getting through each day. This help may come from the family, an outside company, or call for moving to assisted living.

The next step after that might be a memory care facility or a nursing home with costs of $8,000 per month or more.

That is when questions about Medicaid begin to arise. Medicaid is a government program designed to pay for long term care expenses when individuals need to live in a facility to receive that needed care. However, it is a “needs based” program which means you cannot receive benefits if your assets are over certain amounts.

Medicaid planning deals with helping families make a family member eligible for Medicaid. When the time comes, it often involves moving assets to exempt assets, irrevocable trusts, pre-paid funerals, etc.

Medicaid planning differs from estate planning which is about distributing your assets when you pass away.

Please contact our office if you or a friend would like a free consultation on Medicaid planning.


Very truly yours,

Gary