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The Role of Trusts in Estate Planning: Choosing the Right Trust for Your Needs

Rainey Attorneys Law

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Should You Establish a Trust?

In the State of Texas, if you choose to set up a trust, you will need the advice and assistance that a Waco trust attorney will provide.

If you own a home or a business in Texas, if you have any specific or special needs in your family, or if you own significant assets and properties, creating a trust may be the best tool to protect your assets and properties throughout your lifetime and preserve those assets and properties for your beneficiaries after you pass away.

Trusts – both irrevocable and revocable trusts – are popular estate planning tools. When you set up a trust, a Waco estate planning lawyer can help you consider your options and advise you regarding the best estate planning choices for you and your loved ones.

Why Establish a Trust?

Your trust is a legal and financial document that requires you to designate a trustee who will manage your assets and properties for your beneficiaries after your death. Your trust may specify precisely when and how your properties and assets are to be distributed to your beneficiaries.

The conditions and terms of your trust should be set forth carefully in the trust document, and that document should clearly indicate who will receive your assets and properties (and when). You may prepare a trust that is “revocable” or “irrevocable.”

What Action Can You Take to Avoid Probate?

With a properly created, and correctly maintained trust, your estate and your beneficiaries will avoid the probate process, and your assets and properties will be transferred sooner than they would if you had established only a will. Moreover, your beneficiaries will not have to deal with a probate court’s interference.

If you prepare only a will, in order for your assets to transfer after you pass away, your loved ones will need to begin some sort of probate process. This probate process may involve a probate court and long time delays.
For many, it is important to avoid probate. It can be lengthy and expensive, and in many cases. Probate proceedings go on the public record, so if privacy is a high priority for you, you may consider a trust and avoid the probate process.

Is a Revocable Trust Right for You?

If you prepare and properly use a revocable trust, your estate and your beneficiaries will avoid probate. You will stay in charge of the properties and assets in the trust for your lifetime, unless you become unable to manage the trust or choose to step aside so that the successor trustee of your choice can step to serve. A revocable trust may be amended, revised, or dissolved if your situation changes or if your wishes change.

You may designate yourself as the trustee of your revocable trust, but you also must designate a successor trustee to oversee your trust after your death or if you become incapacitated. Upon your death, your revocable trust immediately becomes an irrevocable trust.

If you have a revocable trust that has not been updated, or if your trust was prepared in another state, have a Waco estate planning lawyer review the trust to make sure that it is up-to-date, that it still meets your needs, and that it is compliant with this state’s financial requirements.

Is an Irrevocable Trust Right for You?

An irrevocable trust protects your properties and assets from estate taxes and the probate court, but an irrevocable trust cannot be dissolved or revised after it is established. When you move properties or assets into an irrevocable trust, you no longer own or control those properties and assets.

In some cases, however, setting up an irrevocable trust reduces the assets that are subject to estate taxes. There are no taxes on the income produced by an irrevocable trust’s assets, so long as that income is distributed in that year to the trust beneficiaries (although the distributions of such income may have tax consequences for the beneficiaries).

If the trust is properly created and administered, assets in your irrevocable trust are protected from legal judgments against you. Additionally, an irrevocable trust may instruct your trustee to halt temporarily or, in some cases, terminate distributions to a beneficiary who is named as a defendant in a lawsuit or files for bankruptcy.

Which Type of Trust Provides the Advantages You Need?

The flexibility of a revocable trust makes it a popular estate planning tool because a revocable trust lets you stay in charge of the assets you transfer into the trust. However, depending on your situation and your needs, the better option may be establishing an irrevocable trust.

A “specialty” trust is a revocable or irrevocable trust prepared for specific situations and needs. A Waco trust attorney can discuss specialty trusts with you and may advise you to prepare one of these:

  1. an asset protection trust
  2. a testamentary trust
  3. a special needs trust
  4. a marital trust
  5. a life insurance trust
  6. a charitable trust

What’s the Best Way to Protect Your Estate and Your Loved Ones?

If you’ve worked hard and saved, you should prepare a comprehensive estate plan that can protect your properties and assets, reduce your taxes, accomplish your wishes, and provide for your family after you’ve passed away.

Now is the time to schedule a meeting with an estate planning lawyer who can offer practical advice and help you start the estate planning process. And if you have an estate plan in place, it may be time to have that plan updated.

Why Should You Choose Rainey & Rainey?

You can learn more about trusts and estate planning by scheduling a consultation with Rainey & Rainey. We offer advice and insights based on our experience – more than two decades – helping clients prepare trusts and plan their estates.

After we discuss your finances, circumstances, and goals, Rainey & Rainey will recommend a comprehensive estate plan that protects your estate and offers security to your loved ones for years to come.

To find out more or to schedule your first consultation, call the offices of Rainey & Rainey at 254-457-508 (in or near Waco) or 512-357-7169 (in the Georgetown area). Across the State of Texas, we help clients and their families prepare for the future. Learn more, and call us today.

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Is It Time to Begin Medicaid Planning?

If your family needs to begin long-term healthcare planning for an older relative, or if it’s time to begin long-term healthcare planning for yourself, the first steps to take are learning the facts about Medicaid and discussing your situation with a Waco Medicaid planning attorney.

It is important to know the difference between the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Medicare is a federal health insurance program for those who are 65 and older. It can provide limited, short-term medical coverage, but the Medicare program provides little long-term healthcare assistance.

What Does Medicaid Provide?

Medicaid – a combined federal and state medical assistance program – was established in 1965 and expanded in 2010. Medicaid provides coverage to more than 85 million elderly and disabled persons across the U.S. It offers long-term healthcare coverage that Medicare does not provide.

There is a means test, so not everyone will qualify for Medicaid, but you may not have to spend down all your assets in order to obtain the Medicaid benefits you may need. A Waco Medicaid planning lawyer can help you qualify by using one of several planning strategies

What is STAR+PLUS?

In Texas, STAR+PLUS is the state-managed Medicaid program for adults age 65 and older (and for disabled adults). Benefits include Medicaid healthcare and long-term services and support through a plan you choose. STAR+PLUS usually pays for services including but not limited to:

  1. home healthcare, nursing home care, and hospice care
  2. annual visits to your doctor
  3. chiropractic, speech, vision, dental, hearing, and podiatry services
  4. immunizations, x-rays, and prescriptions
  5. mental health services, physical therapy, and occupational therapy
  6. surgeries, hospital care, and emergency services

Why is Advance Medicaid Planning So Important?

Everyone knows that healthcare costs are high. The average cost of a private room in a Texas nursing home, for example, is more than $7,000 a month. For a semi-private room, the cost exceeds $5,000 a month. Medicaid can help, but you need to plan for Medicaid in advance.

Along with the requirements and income levels listed above, Medicaid enforces a five-year “lookback” period. Any assets incorrectly transferred or moves in the five years before you apply will be considered when the state determines your eligibility for Medicaid benefits.

No one can know what the future may bring. That’s why, even if you’re still a relatively young adult, it’s best to begin your Medicaid planning right away with the advice and assistance of a Waco Medicaid planning attorney.

How Can You Protect Your Assets and Still Qualify for Medicaid Benefits?

If your income exceeds Medicaid’s income limit, a Texas Medicaid planning lawyer may recommend one of several options for helping you maintain your Medicaid eligibility.

Your lawyer may recommend preparing a Qualified Income Trust (also called a “Miller” Trust) or a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. With a Qualifying Income Trust, any income you earn beyond the monthly Medicaid limit is moved into the trust to maintain your Medicaid eligibility.

Giving away some of your assets – “gifting” – may also be an effective planning strategy, but your gifting must be guided by an attorney’s advice. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a situation where you’ve given away assets but you are still not eligible for Medicaid benefits.

Frankly, Medicaid’s five-year lookback period means that you should establish a trust and/or plan your donations and gifts as soon as possible. However, establishing a trust may not be the right option for you. There is no single approach to Medicaid planning that is right for everyone.

Why Should You Work With an Attorney?

A Waco Medicaid planning lawyer will discuss all of your alternatives for Medicaid planning. Your lawyer will recommend the options that are right for you and prepare a personalized Medicare plan that protects your assets and meets your healthcare needs.

Specifically, your planning attorney will work with you to prepare a plan that reorganizes the legal ownership of your assets and ensures that a significant portion of your assets will not be counted toward your eligibility for Medicaid benefits.

If you prepare a trust, your lawyer can ensure that the language of the trust is easy to understand and that the trust complies with both federal and state law. Your lawyer will also ensure that nothing is overlooked and that you have thoughtfully and thoroughly considered your options.

Who Can You Depend on for Medicaid Planning Advice?

Your Medicaid planning attorney will also help you review your plan on a regular basis and help you keep it updated. Occasionally, you may need to revise your Medicaid plan due to changes in the Medicaid regulations or due to changes in your own family, personal, or financial situation.

Peace of mind about the future starts with contacting the right planning lawyer. But how can you locate a lawyer who provides the insights and planning advice that you need? Rainey & Rainey will help you and your loved ones with every aspect of your Medicaid planning.

To learn more or to begin the Medicaid planning process now, contact the offices of Rainey & Rainey by calling 254-752-8644 (in the Waco area) or 512-598-9005
(in or near Georgetown). We work for families and clients across the state of Texas, and we are ready to work for you.

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Should You Consider Medicaid Planning?

A Waco Medicaid planning attorney works with older people and their families to preserve and protect the older person’s income, assets, and properties, and to make sure that the older person remains qualified for Medicaid benefits.

Without proper Medicaid planning, healthcare costs can rapidly take an older person’s income and assets. Proper Medicaid planning – with advice from a Waco Medicaid planning lawyer – can help you cover the costs of the long-term medical care that you may eventually require.

However, it may be difficult for some to meet Medicaid’s requirements. Your household income and assets cannot exceed certain thresholds, and you moving assets out of your name within the five-year “look-back” period can cause a penalty period delaying your qualification for benefits. 

What is a Look-Back Period?

To qualify for Medicaid, your assets and income may not exceed the established limit. Medicaid’s five-year look-back period is intended to prevent Medicaid applicants from transferring or giving away their assets in order to meet Medicaid’s asset limit.

The state will look back for five years to determine if you have transferred assets (including transfers made by your spouse). Thus, you need to begin planning for Medicaid long before you may require long-term care.

The five-year look-back period begins on the date you apply for long-term care under Medicaid. A Texas resident who applies for long-term benefits on January 1, 2024, has a look-back period extending back to December 31, 2018. All transactions between these dates may be reviewed.

What Transfers Are Violations of the Look-Back Rule?

Transactions within the five-year Medicaid look-back period could trigger penalties. Such transactions include:

  1.  cash gifted to a family member
  2. a house transferred to a family member
  3. cash or items donated to charities
  4. collectibles or properties sold for less than their market value

Even after someone is on Medicaid, if a Medicaid recipient comes into money (for example, an inheritance) and gives some or all of it away, that gifting may violate the look-back rule.

How Are Violations of the Look-Back Rule Penalized?

Let’s say you are a Texas resident who applied for long-term Medicaid care on January 1, 2024. Within the five-year look-back period, you sold a home to your son or daughter for $20,000, well below its market value of $120,000, and you gave a grandchild $15,000 for college.

This means that you have transfers amounting to $115,000. As of 2024, the “penalty divisor” in Texas is $242.13 per day, so for every $242.13 gifted (or sold below market value), you are penalized with a day of ineligibility. This comes to about one month of disqualification for every $7,339 given away.

Thus, in total, you would be penalized more than 15 months for gifts of $115,000 ($115,000 ÷ $242.13 = 474 days).

Are There Any Exceptions to the Look-Back Rule?

Several exceptions to Medicaid’s five-year look-back rule allow you to transfer particular assets without a penalty. Assets may be transferred to a spouse who is not applying for Medicaid. The following may also be transferred without penalty:

  1.  assets given away or transferred to benefit your child if that child is legally blind or permanently disabled (including a trust you may establish for the child)
  2.  your home, if it is given to your child who is under 21 years old
  3.  your home, if it is transferred to a sibling who is part owner of the home and who has resided there for at least one year prior to your admission to a nursing home
  4.  your home, if it is transferred to your adult child who has acted as your caregiver for two or more years before your admission to a nursing home

What Can You Do if You’ve Breach the Look-Back Rule?

If you have made gifts within Medicaid’s five-year look-back period, you may still be able to qualify for long-term Medicaid benefits. If you can recover your gifted assets, the penalty period will be reduced.

If you are unable to recover your gifted assets, you may apply for an Undue Hardship Waiver. To receive an Undue Hardship Waiver, you’ll have to prove that your efforts to recover your assets failed and that if you don’t receive benefits, you will face considerable financial hardship.

Can You Transfer Any Assets Without Violating the Five-Year Rule?

There are several ways that you can reduce your assets without violating the five-year look-back rule.

Medicaid Compliant Annuities also spend down assets without violating Medicaid’s look-back rule. These annuities convert a lump sum of cash into a monthly income stream for the applicant, lowering his or her assets for Medicaid eligibility.

Assets may also be reduced without breaching the look-back rule by paying off debts, spending for modifications (such as widened doorways and wheelchair ramps) to make your home more accessible, and establishing an irrevocable trust that pays funeral and burial expenses in advance.

Let Rainey & Rainey Help You Qualify for Long-Term Medicaid Benefits

In Texas, your Medicaid planning should be handled by a Waco Medicaid planning attorney who is familiar with Medicaid’s complicated eligibility requirements. The attorneys at Rainey & Rainey advise and advocate on behalf of the elderly and their families throughout the state.

The entire Rainey & Rainey legal team works tirelessly to help the elderly in this state receive the long-term Medicaid benefits they need.

To learn more about Medicaid planning or to begin the planning process, to apply for long-term Medicaid benefits, or if your application for Medicaid benefits has been denied, schedule a meeting with a Waco Medicaid planning lawyer by calling the offices of Rainey & Rainey – today – in Georgetown at 512-598-9005 or in Waco at 254-752-8644.-0987.

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How Should Your Estate Be Administered?

Probate law in the State of Texas offers two ways to settle an estate: independent administration and dependent administration. To ensure that your own estate in Texas is settled properly after your death, you’ll need the advice and legal help that a Waco probate attorney provides.

What is probate? After a person’s death, probate is the legal process that inventories and evaluates the assets and properties in the decedent’s estate, pays the estate’s taxes and debts, and then distributes what remains of the estate according to the instructions in the decedent’s will.

The way your estate in Texas will be probated depends on your circumstances. Determining which administration method is best for your estate will hinge on several factors, including the complexity and size of the estate.

How Does Independent Estate Administration Work?

With independent administration, an estate’s executor is authorized to make decisions about the estate and is not required to consult a judge while settling the estate. Independent administration must be specified by the decedent’s will, or all of the decedent’s beneficiaries must agree to it.

Because the probate court does not interfere with the executor’s duties, independent administration of an estate is usually faster and easier than dependent administration. An estate’s executor, for example, may sell off properties and settle claims without obtaining court approval.

In the State of Texas, an estate’s executor has considerable legal responsibilities. If you are named as the executor of an estate that will be administered independently, when that time comes, you should be advised by a Waco probate lawyer who will ensure that you understand what the law requires and help you avoid costly mistakes.

How Does Dependent Estate Administration Work?

An estate with dependent administration is supervised by a Texas probate court. The executor of an estate with dependent administration must have the probate court’s approval in order to settle claims, sell off properties and distribute the estate.

If someone dies without a will in Texas, state law provides that the estate will be dependently
administered unless all of the decedent’s legal beneficiaries agree to the independent administration of the estate.
Because dependent administration involves the approval of the probate court, it takes substantially more time than independent administration, and there is more work for the executor of the estate.

Does Dependent Administration Offer Any Advantages?

However, dependent administration does offer some practical advantages to executors and beneficiaries. If an estate is in debt, for instance, dependent administration helps to ensure that the estate’s creditors will receive payment.

Dependent administration of an estate requires an executor’s actions to be approved by the probate court, so if the executor’s actions are challenged, dependent administration gives an executor additional legal protection that independent administration does not provide.

Also with dependent administration, the requirements for documentation and the heightened scrutiny help to protect an estate from disputes and unsubstantiated claims. However, getting a probate court’s approval for every transaction may be quite challenging and time-consuming.

Because there’s so much more work for the executors of estates with dependent administration, the executors of those estates should also have the legal services and advice that a Texas probate attorney can provide.

Have You Prepared a Will?

If you’re an adult in Texas, and if you haven’t prepared a last will and testament, the time to do so is now. Have a Waco probate lawyer help you prepare your last will and testament, and discuss with your lawyer if your estate should be administered dependently or independently.

If you already have a valid last will and testament in place, you may need to revise that document to address the administration of your estate. A probate lawyer in Waco can advise you regarding dependent vs. independent administration and help you make the necessary revisions.

A probate attorney can also help you protect your assets from the probate process. One option is establishing a revocable living trust. Assets that are legally owned by your living trust are transferred directly to your beneficiaries without probate court interference. Your attorney can prepare a revocable living trust and explain your other options for avoiding the probate process.

What Else Should Executors and Beneficiaries Know?

When an estate is large and complicated, or if there’s a dispute among the beneficiaries, probate courts in Texas have the power to impose dependent administration on an estate even if independent administration has been specified in the will and agreed upon by the beneficiaries.

Whether you are the executor of an estate with independent administration or with dependent administration, you may find that your duties and responsibilities can be overwhelming. Do not wait to obtain the legal advice you need from a Waco probate attorney.

Should You Have a Comprehensive Estate Plan?

A revocable living trust or a last will and testament is only one element of a comprehensive estate plan that can protect your properties and assets and provide financial security to your loved ones for years to come.

No one can predict tomorrow, but you can be prepared for whatever tomorrow may bring. Every estate plan is unique, but your own comprehensive estate plan should include a will and/or a trust, a durable power of attorney for financial matters, and a power of attorney for healthcare.

If you have a family, own a business, or have any significant properties and/or assets, you need to begin planning your estate now. The right Texas estate planning attorney can help you begin the process and provide you with the key insights and advice you may need.

Rainey & Rainey – Helping Texans Prepare for the Future

For over fifteen years, the award-winning legal team at Rainey & Rainey has been proud to serve families throughout Central Texas with reliable probate and estate planning advice and services.

An attorney with Rainey & Rainey can also discuss guardianships, living wills, and long-term healthcare planning. We will answer your planning questions, address your concerns, and prepare the legal documents that you need to protect yourself, your estate, and the people you love.

To learn more, to begin the estate planning process, or to obtain the probate, estate administration, or estate planning help and advice you need right now, contact the offices of Rainey & Rainey in Waco at 254-752-8644 or in Georgetown at 512-598-9005.

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Should a Medicaid Plan Be Part of Your Estate Plan?

A Waco estate planning attorney can prepare the legal and financial documents that will ensure your instructions and wishes are followed and honored at the time of your death. An estate planning attorney can also see to it that your properties and assets will be rightly divided and properly distributed at that time.

A Medicaid planning lawyer is an estate planning lawyer who also works with older persons and their loved ones to protect and preserve the older person’s assets, properties, and income and to ensure that an older person does not lose his or her eligibility to receive Medicaid benefits.

Without the right planning, long-term healthcare costs can quickly consume almost anyone’s assets and savings. Estate planning can ensure that your estate goes to your loved ones after your death, and Medicaid planning can help you avoid financial troubles if you require long-term care.

Furthermore, the right estate planning attorney can join your Medicaid plan to your estate plan to provide you with maximum benefits and to provide your family with long-term financial security.

What Can Long-Term Care Cost?

If you are over 50, the cost of medical care is the number one threat to your long-term financial security. In the U.S., seventy percent of those who are age 65 and over will require long-term care at some point, but without the right planning, many will find long-term care unaffordable.

Here in Texas, the average monthly cost for nursing home care in 2021 was $5,125 a month (for a semi-private room). The cost of at-home care in Texas in 2021 averaged $4,576 a month. Those costs are high, but the cost of long-term care in Texas is actually below the national average.

After a thorough review of your personal circumstances and your financial situation, a Waco Medicaid planning attorney can help you safeguard and preserve your assets and savings. Your attorney will help you prepare financially for the long-term care that you may eventually need.

What Does Medicaid Provide? Who May Receive Medicaid Benefits?

Medicaid provides free or low-cost healthcare coverage not only to the elderly but also to low-income individuals and persons with disabilities. The federal government provides part of the funding and establishes guidelines for the program, which is then managed by the states.

In order to qualify for Medicaid benefits in Texas, you must be a resident of Texas, a United States national or a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or an immigrant who is legally in the United States, and you must meet at least one of the following requirements:

  1.  You are at least 65 years of age.
  2.  You are pregnant, or you are legally responsible for a child who is 18 or below.
  3.  You are blind or disabled, or a family member living in your household is disabled.

The knowledgeable Medicaid and Estate Planning attorneys at Rainey & Rainey focus their planning on Medicaid for Long-Term Care (Nursing Home Medicaid).

Why Should You Have a Planning Attorney’s Help?

This cannot be emphasized strongly enough: You should not try to qualify for Texas Medicaid by simply giving away your properties, your savings, or any of your other assets. A Waco Medicaid planning attorney can suggest a number of alternatives that will be less risky and more effective.

The right planning attorney will help you establish a comprehensive Medicaid plan that restructures the legal ownership of your assets and strategically transfers your assets so that a considerable portion of your resources is not counted when you apply for Medicaid benefits.

Your Medicaid planning lawyer will also be familiar with a number of specific Medicaid planning strategies and will help you decide on the planning strategy that works best for you.

Should You Establish an Irrevocable Trust?

Several different types of irrevocable trusts are useful for Medicaid planning. Depending on your personal circumstances, your attorney may recommend establishing a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) or a Qualified Income Trust or QIT (also known as a “Miller” Trust).

The MAPT can protect your home from being counted against you when your eligibility for Medicaid is determined, while a QIT transfers part of your monthly income into the trust so that you can continue to have a monthly household income that qualifies you for Medicaid benefits.

Should You Give Away or Spend a Portion of Your Assets?

Get your lawyer’s advice about transferring and liquidating any of your resources to reduce your net worth. Incorrectly handled, transferring or “gifting” assets will disqualify you from receiving Medicaid benefits, or cause you to incur a “penalty period” where do not receive Medicaid benefits. Done thoughtfully and strategically, transferring and liquidating certain assets can qualify you for Medicaid benefits, but you must be aware of Medicaid’s five-year look-back rule.

Any assets that you gift, transfer, or liquidate within the five-year period before you apply for Medicaid benefits will still be counted as yours for the purposes of Medicaid eligibility. This is why it’s smart to begin Medicaid planning early, years before you may require long-term care.

Other Medicaid planning strategies may involve annuities, a long-term care insurance policy, or other legal and financial tools. Your Waco Medicaid planning lawyer will help you determine the exact details of the Medicaid planning strategy that is right for you and your family.

Rainey & Rainey is Ready to Serve You

Effective Medicaid planning requires the services and guidance of an estate planning lawyer who makes your needs and your concerns the top priority. The legal team at Rainey & Rainey will help you with the Medicaid planning and estate planning that you and your loved ones need.

A planning attorney at Rainey & Rainey will discuss your needs, your finances, and your options. We will help you with every aspect of Medicaid planning and estate planning. With more than two decades of estate planning experience, Rainey & Rainey provides estate planning and Medicaid planning services to families and individuals throughout the State of Texas.

To find out more about Medicaid planning in Texas, to begin the process, or to prepare a comprehensive estate plan for yourself and your loved ones, contact the offices of Rainey & Rainey today by calling 512-598-9005 (in Georgetown) or 254-752-8644 (in Waco).

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Who Can Help You With Long-Term Care Planning?

In Texas, to start planning for an elderly family member’s long-term care needs, or to begin long-term care planning for yourself, you can find out more or start the planning process by arranging to speak with a Waco healthcare planning lawyer.

Texas estate planning lawyers often help the elderly and their families prepare for long-term care and retirement. Depending on your specific personal needs, an estate planning lawyer may help you plan for home healthcare, assisted living, or long-term nursing home care.

A knowledgeable Waco elder law attorney can assist you with preparing a personalized plan that protects your assets, reduces your out-of-pocket medical costs, and maximizes your savings for long-term care and retirement.

What is the Cost of Long-Term Care?

Today in the United States, many older people are struggling with serious debt. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the average borrower who is 65 years old has substantially more mortgage debt and more vehicle debt than the average 65-year-old had in 2003.

Many adults will need long-term care later in their lives, but sadly, many elderly adults in Texas cannot afford that care. In 2021, the average cost of assisted living in this state was $3,998 per month.

The cost of long-term medical care is a daunting financial challenge for many of the elderly in Texas and throughout the nation. In fact, medical debt is among the top reasons why so many older people file for bankruptcy in Texas and across the United States.

How Will an Attorney Help You?

After reviewing your circumstances and needs, a Waco healthcare planning lawyer can provide you with answers to these long-term planning questions:

  1. How can I know that my long-term care requirements will be affordable?
  2. Will any of my assets remain available for my loved ones?
  3. What risks to my assets can be avoided with long-term care planning?
  4. What resources are available for long-term care planning?

A Texas estate planning attorney can offer guidance and sound advice to you and your loved ones about the financial and legal aspects of aging, including:

  1. estate and tax planning, trust management and administration, and the probate process
  2. preserving your resources for long-term healthcare
  3. guardianships and conservatorships
  4. financial and medical powers of attorney

How Does Long-Term Planning Benefit You?

Without proper planning, long-term assisted living care, nursing home care, or home healthcare can rapidly devour your family’s savings. On the other hand, effective healthcare planning can substantially enhance your ability to pay for your medical expenses in the years to come.

Whether you are planning ahead for an elderly loved one or facing an imminent health crisis with that loved one, your first move should be consulting a Waco elder law attorney who can offer you the right planning advice and ensure that you are taking the right steps.

After a review of your assets, liabilities, and your current financial circumstances – or your elderly loved one’s circumstances – a Texas estate planning lawyer can recommend ways to preserve and protect your assets so that the long-term care you need will be available.

What Other Challenges Do the Elderly Face?

Another challenge that older adults must face is the possibility of becoming incapacitated due to a sudden or unexpected illness or injury. If you are incapacitated, and if you cannot make your own financial or medical decisions, you must have an incapacity plan already in place.

If you have not prepared an incapacity plan, a Texas judge conceivably could name a stranger to make your medical and financial decisions. It’s even conceivable that members of your family could have no say or influence about the choices that are made in your name.

What Should an Incapacity Plan Include?

Your own incapacity plan should be prepared by a Waco estate planning lawyer as soon as possible, while there is still no doubt regarding your mental capacities. An incapacity plan may include a revocable trust, financial and medical powers of attorney, and a HIPAA authorization:

  1. A revocable trust authorizes a “trustee” that you have named to manage your estate. A revocable trust can reduce your tax burden, and upon your death, it lets your loved ones avoid the cost of probate. You may cancel or change a revocable trust at any time. A trust is not necessary for everyone, but can be a very helpful and beneficial tool, if used properly.
  2. Your financial power of attorney provides your “agent” – the person you name – with the authority to make choices that protect your financial interests. Select someone you completely trust who has some knowledge about finances.
  3. Your medical power of attorney lets your agent make medical decisions for you when you are not able to make those choices, including choices about CPR, respirators, consent for surgeries, tube feeding, blood transfusions, and other important medical decisions.
  4. As part of your incapacity plan, your HIPAA authorization determines who may access your medical records and who may consult with your healthcare providers.

How Should You Choose a Planning Attorney?

Long-term planning services and advice about elder law are provided by a number of Texas attorneys, but before you choose an attorney to prepare a long-term care and asset protection plan for yourself or for someone you love, ask your prospective attorney these questions:

  1. How long have you focused on asset protection and long-term care planning?
  2. How much of your practice focuses on the elderly?
  3. Which documents and other information are needed for an initial legal consultation?
  4. What fees will be required and how are those fees determined?

Rainey & Rainey Will Help You Plan for the Future

Finding the right attorney to prepare your long-term healthcare and asset protection plan doesn’t require an extensive search. A Texas elder law attorney at Rainey & Rainey can prepare the long-term plan you need.

An attorney at Rainey & Rainey can also discuss and prepare for you a will or a trust, a declaration of guardianship, a living will, or a comprehensive estate plan that will provide your loved ones with long-term financial security after your death or if you become incapacitated.

None of us can know what the future may bring, but Rainey & Rainey can help you prepare for tomorrow. To find out more, to set up a long-term healthcare plan, or to prepare a comprehensive estate plan, contact the legal team at Rainey & Rainey now by calling 254-752-8644.

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Can You Ensure Security for a Special Needs Child?

If your child is a special needs child (including an adult or a minor who has a physical or mental disability), it’s right to be concerned about what will happen to that child when you can no longer be a caretaker and parent, but you can ask a Waco special needs planning attorney to help.

If your child has special needs, you should consider setting up a special needs trust with a planning attorney’s help and advice. In Texas, your special needs trust can ensure that your special needs child is cared for properly after your death or if you become incapacitated.

Without a special needs trust (also called a “supplemental needs” trust), your child could become disqualified for public benefits, lose any money that you leave, or even end up being exploited by others. What are the specific benefits of setting up a special needs trust? How does it work?

How Will a Special Needs Trust Benefit Your Family?

Trusts are legal documents that spell out how a trustee of your choice will manage assets for another person. The trustee you choose for your special needs trust should be a knowledgeable and trustworthy individual who is good with details.

Under federal law, you are allowed to keep assets for your special needs child in a special needs or supplemental trust without losing the child’s eligibility for government benefits, provided that the trust satisfies several legal requirements.

If you give or leave assets directly to your special needs child, your child could lose his or her eligibility for public assistance. But if you transfer those assets to a supplemental or special needs trust, your child will receive appropriate care and remain eligible for public benefits.

If your special needs child counts on your financial support, a Waco estate planning lawyer will help you set up your special needs trust and ensure that it is compliant with all federal and state requirements.

What Public Benefits Are Available to Special Needs Children?

In Texas, many people with disabilities or special needs qualify for government benefits. A special needs child may be eligible for programs including but not limited to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid.

What can these programs provide? Medicaid pays a variety of healthcare costs for those who are qualified. Supplemental Security Income is available to adults with little or no assets or income. SNAP helps qualified families and individuals with food purchases.

If a special needs child qualifies now for Medicaid, SNAP, or SSI, leaving an inheritance directly to that child could make the child ineligible. Special needs persons are eligible for these programs only when their financial resources and incomes are limited.

How Does a Special Needs Trust Work?

Special needs trusts in Texas provide for special needs children without risking their eligibility for public benefits. The child will not have control over the funds in the trust, which will be owned by the trust and will be managed by the trustee you have named.

As long as you are alive, you can name yourself as the trustee and manage the trust, but you also must designate someone to be your successor trustee and manage the trust after your death or should you become incapacitated.

When a special needs child needs professional, full-time medical care, a Waco special needs planning attorney can establish a trust that maximizes your family’s savings, reduces your family’s costs, and maintains your child’s eligibility for government assistance.

If your own special needs child is a minor, you should also name a guardian for the worst-case scenario – if you and/or the other parent unexpectedly and suddenly pass away. If you don’t name a guardian, a court will name one in that circumstance, but that choice should be yours.

What Else Should You Know About Special Needs Trusts?

Every special needs trust is different. Here are some of the facts you should know when you ask a Waco estate planning lawyer to set up your special needs trust:

  1. A trust for a special needs individual must be precisely written. It must clearly state that the trust has been set up for your child’s extra and supplemental care beyond what government benefits provide.
  2. Trusts for special needs individuals cannot directly transfer cash to that person. The trustee you name will manage the trust’s spending, and that trustee will pay directly – for example – for your child’s utilities, housing, and healthcare providers.
  3. Trusts for special needs individuals are irrevocable, so you can’t cancel or modify the trust without court approval. Special needs trust funds can’t be seized by creditors, aren’t subject to liens, and can’t be lost through lawsuits.

Should You Consider a “Pooled” Trust?

A pooled trust may be the right option for you and your special needs child. With a pooled trust, rather than designating an individual as your trustee, you choose a non-profit that will pool, invest, and manage the special needs trust.

These non-profits maintain individual trust accounts and assign an account manager to work with the special needs individual.

Pooled trusts ensure that special needs funds are managed capably, that your special needs child will receive the proper care, and that the child will remain eligible for government benefits. You should discuss with your planning lawyer whether a pooled trust is right for you and your child.

How Will a Planning Attorney Help You?

Your special needs planning attorney should be an experienced estate planning professional who understands your concerns about your child and your child’s needs. A lawyer can offer guidance and insights, but the final choices about a special needs trust for your child are yours alone.

You and your attorney will review your child’s personal situation, identify the child’s needs, and set up a personalized trust that meets your child’s needs and provides peace of mind about that child’s future.

Choose Rainey & Rainey for All of Your Planning Needs

In order to set up a special needs trust, you’ll need to work with a Texas trust attorney who will help you plan for your loved one’s future. The estate planning attorneys at Rainey & Rainey will provide the help that you and your family need.

Special needs planning is more than merely writing a trust document. Your attorney may suggest options that you’re not aware of. At Rainey & Rainey, our attorneys assist and guide Texas families with every aspect of estate planning and special needs planning.

To set up a special needs trust, to create a comprehensive estate plan, or if you would simply like to learn more, call the offices of Rainey & Rainey now at 254-752-8644 (in Waco) or 512-598-9005 (in Georgetown). Rainey & Rainey works with families throughout the State of Texas.

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Do You Receive Aid and Attendance Payments?

If you served in this nation’s armed forces during a time of war, you may qualify to receive Aid and Attendance payments from the Veterans Affairs Department (VA). If you are eligible for Aid and Attendance, a Waco VA Aid and Attendance lawyer can help you receive those payments.

As of 2023, a private room in a Texas nursing home can cost over $7,000 a month. The cost for a semi-private room may surpass $5,000 a month. How can a veteran of modest means pay for this type of long-term care? For many veterans in Texas, VA Aid and Attendance is the solution.

A deceased veteran’s surviving wife or husband may also qualify. But if you’re already receiving Aid and Attendance, could you lose your eligibility and your monthly payments? How often should you reevaluate – with your lawyer’s help – your eligibility for VA Aid and Attendance?

Are You Eligible to Receive Aid and Attendance?

In order to qualify for Aid and Attendance payments, a veteran will need a minimum of ninety days active service, and one of the days must have been during a war: the Second World War, Korea or Vietnam, or the Gulf War.

To receive Aid and Attendance, a veteran need not have seen combat and cannot have a dishonorable discharge. If a veteran is deceased, the surviving wife or husband may be eligible to receive Aid and Attendance payments if that veteran would have been eligible while still alive.

To receive Aid and Attendance, a veteran need not have seen combat and cannot have a dishonorable discharge.

Veterans under age 65 must have a 100 percent disability rating to qualify, but the disability need not be service-related. Applications must include proof of the 100 percent disability rating. A surviving spouse also must prove a medical necessity for Aid and Attendance.

Aid and Attendance applicants must also meet one or more of these requirements: be bedridden or in bed most of the day; need assistance with eating, dressing, and bathing; reside in a nursing home facility due to a disability; or have eyesight of 5/200 or less in both eyes.

Are There Asset and Income Requirements?

Why should you reevaluate your eligibility for Aid and Attendance – with the guidance of a Waco VA Aid and Attendance attorney – on an annual basis? One reason is because asset and income limits and Aid and Attendance payment amounts are adjusted every year.

To receive Aid and Attendance, a recipient’s annual income cannot exceed his or her Maximum Annual Pension Rate as set by the Department of Veterans Affairs. As for assets, in 2023, a recipient’s assets cannot exceed $150,537, although some assets may be exempt.

Processing and approval times for initial applications vary, but for most applicants, approval takes about nine months. The first Aid and Attendance payment is a lump sum to pay you for the time from the application date to the approval date.

These are the standard payment amounts for 2023: A veteran who is single and is paid Aid and Attendance receives $2,229 a month. Surviving spouses are paid $1,432 per month. Married veterans get $2,642 a month, and two veterans married to each other receive $3,536 per month.

How Are Your Assets and Income Calculated?

In order to reevaluate accurately your eligibility for Aid and Attendance each year, it is important to understand how your assets and income are calculated by the VA. For example, the income rules aren’t based on a veteran’s gross income. A portion of a veteran’s assets may also be exempt.

Your car and home, for example, usually are not considered assets. However, when you apply for Aid and Attendance, there’s a lookback period of three years to determine whether you’ve transferred assets during the previous three years to satisfy the financial requirements for Aid and Attendance.

To ensure that Aid and Attendance is there when you need it, you should have the guidance and advice of a Waco VA Aid and Attendance attorney.

Veterans who made asset transfers during the lookback period must disclose these transactions when applying for Aid and Attendance. To ensure that Aid and Attendance is there when you need it, you should have the guidance and advice of a Waco VA Aid and Attendance attorney.

What Does Aid and Attendance Cover?

Aid and Attendance helps veterans cover the cost of in-home care or the costs of living in a nursing home facility or an assisted living community. This may include rent as well as other services and care provided by the community or caregiver.

However, Aid and Attendance does not pay medical bills or cover prescription drugs or normal housing costs unrelated to long-term care. Because Aid and Attendance is for veterans who are disabled, it does not pay for the costs of independent living facilities.

How Will an Attorney Help You?

You should review your eligibility at least annually to make sure that you are still qualified for Aid and Attendance and compliant with current Department of Veterans Affairs regulations. You also may need to review your eligibility due to changes in your own personal or financial situation.

A Waco VA Aid and Attendance lawyer can help you identify your exemptions, protect your assets, and maintain your Aid and Attendance eligibility. The rules can be complicated and confusing, but your lawyer will help you maintain your eligibility for Aid and Attendance.

The rules can be complicated and confusing, but your lawyer will help you maintain your eligibility for Aid and Attendance.

If you choose, after a discussion and review of your needs, options, and financial situation, your lawyer can also help you prepare a personalized, long-term healthcare plan that protects your assets – and your loved ones – and meets your long-term healthcare needs.

If You’ve Served Our Nation, Let Rainey & Rainey Serve You

If you are entitled to Aid and Attendance, but you have not applied for payments, consult an attorney at Rainey & Rainey. We have a wealth of experience working with our nation’s veterans, and we will help you acquire the Aid and Attendance payments that you are entitled to.

James Rainey, a founding lawyer at Rainey & Rainey, served as an Army Reserve JAG officer. He is committed to fighting for veterans and their rights. Backed by the experienced team at Rainey & Rainey, he will work aggressively and effectively to obtain your Aid and Attendance payments.

If you’ve served your country honorably, let Rainey & Rainey serve you. Our offices are located in Waco and Georgetown, and we advise veterans throughout the state. To learn more, to reevaluate your Aid and Attendance eligibility, or if you have been denied Aid and Attendance payments, contact Rainey & Rainey at once by calling our law offices at 254-457-5083.

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Do You Have a Long-Term Healthcare Plan?

Since April 2023, more than 900,000 people in the State of Texas have lost Medicaid coverage. Could your own eligibility for Medicaid be at risk? To ensure that Medicaid is there when you need it, you should have the advice and services of a Waco Medicaid planning attorney.

If you’ve prepared to ensure that you qualify for Medicaid benefits, you should probably review and/or update that plan on a regular basis – once a year, for example – to ensure that the plan is up-to-date and compliant with current Medicaid regulations.

Texas requires you to renew your Medicaid coverage every year in order to continue receiving your Medicaid services and benefits. That’s also a good time to review your plan with the advice and guidance of your Waco Medicaid planning lawyer.

How Did So Many Lose Their Medicaid Coverage?

Medicaid operates under federal guidelines, but the program is managed by state governments. In March 2020, due to the pandemic, the federal government prohibited states from dropping anyone’s Medicaid coverage. The federal government lifted those protections in April 2023, and since then, states are seeking to determine who still qualifies for Medicaid and who does not.

When the State of Texas cannot confirm whether someone is still eligible for Medicaid or if someone's income now exceeds the Medicaid limits, the state drops that person's coverage.

When the State of Texas cannot confirm whether someone is still eligible for Medicaid or if someone’s income now exceeds the Medicaid limits, the state drops that person’s coverage. Since April 2023, about 900,000 people have been dropped from the state’s Medicaid rolls.

Many families in Texas have lost Medicaid coverage for reasons that include missed deadlines, lost paperwork, and a system that processes applications far too slowly. However, most people who lost Medicaid coverage for these reasons did not actually lose their Medicaid eligibility.

How Important is Medicaid Planning?

On average, the cost for a private room at a Texas nursing home exceeds $7,000 a month. The average cost of a semi-private room exceeds $5,000 a month. How can anyone of average means in Texas afford this kind of care and still protect their assets for their loved ones?

For many people in Texas, Medicaid planning is the answer, but it’s best to begin your Medicaid planning now. When you apply for benefits, Medicaid imposes a five-year “lookback” period.

This means that even the assets you’ve tried to protect and the assets you have given away during the previous five years are counted as yours when the state determines your Medicaid eligibility.

How Will a Medicaid Planning Attorney Help You?

A Waco Medicaid planning attorney can provide you with specific, personalized Medicaid planning advice and help you plan and protect your future. But if you need nursing home or long-term care now, you may still be eligible for Medicaid benefits.

Your attorney can help you protect your assets, create a trust, or find other ways to maintain your Medicaid eligibility.

Your attorney can help you protect your assets, create a trust, or find other ways to maintain your Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid’s requirements and rules can be convoluted and complex, but your attorney will help you obtain the Medicaid benefits that you are entitled to.

How Does Medicaid Planning Work?

You may think that you don’t qualify for Medicaid because your income exceeds the Medicaid income limit. However, an experienced Medicaid planning attorney can usually apply one of several planning strategies to maintain your eligibility for Medicaid benefits.

What’s Right for You?

There’s no single long-term healthcare or Medicaid planning strategy that is best for everyone. After a review and discussion of your options, needs, and finances, your Waco Medicaid planning lawyer will set up a personalized plan that guards your assets and satisfies your needs.

Your Medicaid planning lawyer will also help you review your plan and keep it up-to-date. Occasionally, you may need to revise your long-term healthcare planning because of changes to the Medicaid regulations or because of changes in your own financial or personal circumstances.

For many in Texas, long-term healthcare planning is just one part of a comprehensive estate plan that can protect your assets and provide your loved ones with financial security.

Rainey & Rainey Will Help You Plan for Tomorrow

When you become our client at Rainey & Rainey, we will help you maximize the Medicaid benefits you are entitled to. We review your situation, determine what benefits you are eligible to receive, and develop a plan to help you qualify for Medicaid while protecting your assets.

We review your situation, determine what benefits you are eligible to receive, and develop a plan to help you qualify for Medicaid while protecting your assets.

The particular details of your healthcare plan will hinge on your finances and family situation, but whatever your situation is, the time to begin Medicaid planning is now.

Rainey & Rainey Also Provides Elder Law and Estate Planning Services

Rainey & Rainey also offers comprehensive estate planning and elder law services to individuals and families across the State of Texas. An effective estate plan is a must for those who want to be prepared for the future and those who want to provide for their loved ones.

We can’t know what may happen tomorrow, but we can prepare for it today with good healthcare and estate planning. To find out more about Medicaid planning and our other legal services, call Rainey & Rainey in Waco or Georgetown – today – at 254-457-5083 to schedule a consultation.