On a limited basis for non-smoking households who are elderly and/or housebound. There is a minimum advance charge of $75.00 for an initial consultation house call if paid by check, cash or electronic transfer and a $97.00 minimum charge for those paying by credit card.
No. Military bases do offer some limited legal advice and services for military personnel. Naturally, these legal services are focused on the needs of young persons in their late teens or twenties who are serving in the military and need advance planning should they be seriously injured or killed in the course of their service.
While the simple Wills and Powers of Attorney prepared on military bases have value and all competent adults should at least have Powers of Attorney in place, these legal services are indeed limited. The more sophisticated planning that those who are middle-aged or older often require is beyond of the scope of the free legal assistance provided on military bases. Even many VA employees are not aware of all the programs the VA offers. Anyone who may need long term care within the next several years, whether it is part-time care provided in their home or round-the-clock care in a nursing home, should seek the advice of a private attorney who specializes in planning for VA Aid & Attendance and Long Term Care Medicaid benefits. Doing so will help to ensure that some hard-won assets can be passed on rather than given to the government or spent entirely on nursing home costs.
Similarly, while military bases may be able to provide limited advice for military personnel going through divorce, legal separation or custody issues, for more extensive advice and actual representation, a private attorney specializing in family law will need to be retained.
Masayo Quick
Care Consultant
Masayo Quick is an attorney with expertise in estate planning, estate administration, Medicaid planning and VA Aid & Attendance planning. In the past seven years, she has focused on elder law within the Trusts & Estates field. Some typical results for clients include saving six figure nest eggs and family homes from nursing home costs and, above all, peace of mind.
Attorney Quick has a Juris Doctor from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law – Carlisle campus and a Bachelor’s of Science in Organizational Management with a minor in marketing, summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She is admitted to practice law in Colorado.
Masayo Quick is the recipient of the Miller Center Public Interest Advocate Certificate, two CALI Awards for achieving the highest grade in the class in law school, the Dean’s Scholarship at the Dickinson School of Law, the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, the Colorado Scholars Award, the College of Business and Administration Scholarship and was named six times on the President’s List for a 4.0 GPA as an undergraduate. She is a lifetime member of the international honor society Beta Gamma Sigma and served on Student Conduct Committee as an undergraduate student. Attorney Quick gained valuable experience with preeminent estate planning attorneys who were members of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys, Medicaid Practice Systems and the Personal Family Lawyer. She is an active member of the Colorado Bar Association, Southern Colorado Bar Association and the Solo/Small Firm Bar Association. She spends several hours each month engaging in volunteer work.
Attorney Quick’s work has been published in The Colorado Lawyer and Legalese.
Masayo Quick is a Colorado native who loves to swim.
Contrary to popular belief, yes. Many do not realize that lawyers are actually professional writers and teachers. Accordingly, although a lawyer’s case load would be different in an ideal society than it is currently, there would still be a need for them to document information to be preserved and to relay knowledge.
Trusts often are an important part of an estate plan. Trusts are not just for the wealthy. For example, even those with modest assets and who receive government benefits have benefited from a special needs trust. Further, revocable living trusts can help you avoid an expensive Conservatorship if you become incapacitated, simplify management of your assets, avoid probate of your estate, reduce settlement costs after your death, reduce estate taxes and protect the inheritance you pass on from lawsuits, divorces and other creditors. However, when it comes to planning for Medicaid and VA Aid & Attendance benefits, an irrevocable trust is needed. True to its name, an irrevocable trust cannot be amended, in contrast to a revocable living trust. An irrevocable trust provides excellent creditor protection, not just for your heirs, but also for your own assets during your lifetime. To determine what kind of trust or trusts will benefit you the most, it is critical to consult with an estate planning attorney.
Up to $536,000.00 (in 2013 in Colorado) of a Medicaid applicant’s equity interest in their personal residence is excluded from counting towards the resource limit as long as they have an intent to return home. The home is excluded regardless of the value if there is a well spouse or child who is under age 21, blind or permanently disabled living in the home. However, if a person on Medicaid dies and does not leave behind a surviving spouse or child who is under age 21, blind or permanently disabled living in the home, Medicaid will have a lien on the home. Because Medicaid often provides services valued into the six figures, the lien is usually more than the value of the home. In that case, the home must be sold and all of the proceeds given to the Medicaid program known as estate recovery.
The lien against the home can be avoided by placing the home into a properly drafted Irrevocable Trust. If this is done at least five years before needing Medicaid, the home is off the table for Medicaid purposes and can be passed on to family members, close friends or charity. If this is done less than five years before needing Medicaid, placing the home into Trust is deemed a gift for which there is a significant penalty. Depending on the circumstances, it may not be feasible to protect the home from estate recovery when Medicaid will be needed within the next five years. Hence, the sooner Medicaid planning is commenced, the better.
No. As long as the sick spouse is in a nursing home, the income of the well spouse at home is not considered available to the spouse in the nursing home. Medicaid normally determines ownership of the income by whose name is on the check. If the income comes from joint assets, Medicaid deems the income to be 50/50. Medicaid’s determination can be changed if there is a contract that says otherwise or if the income from a jointly titled asset can be traced to the contribution of just one spouse. In some circumstances, income of the spouse in a nursing home can actually be shifted to the well spouse at home to help them meet their expenses.
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