Agenda / Content Covered

1. Qualifying for Medicaid: Eligibility Criteria
   9:00 - 9:50, Stephen B. Keogh
   
   1. Top Misconceptions on What Medicaid and Medicare Cover
   2. Who Actually Needs Medicaid?
   3. Quality of Care and Patient Protections Concerns
   4. Is it Too Late to Plan for Medicaid Once You're in the Nursing Home?
   5. Medicaid Criteria
      1. Medical Eligibility
      2. Resource Eligibility
      3. Income Eligibility
      4. The Lookback Rule
      5. The Gifting Rule
   6. Transfer Eligibility
   7. Myths About Medicaid Estate Recovery
2. Planning Ahead: Gifts, Exempt Purchases and Asset Transfers
   9:50 - 10:30, Ann L. Fowler-Cruz
   
   1. Purchasing Excluded Assets
   2. Converting to Excluded Assets
   3. Prepaying for Services, Expenses, Taxes
   4. What Counts as a Gift for Purposes of Medicaid Planning?
   5. Qualifying Asset Transfers
   6. Transferring Real Property Without Jeopardizing Medicaid Eligibility
   7. Private Annuities and Promissory Notes
   8. Treatment of IRAs and Retirement Accounts
3. Medicaid Qualifying Income Trusts
   10:45 - 11:35, Jordan M. Richards
   
   1. When to Use Income-Only Trusts
   2. Can Self-Settled Trusts Harm Medicaid Eligibility?
   3. Taxation of Medicaid Qualifying Trusts
   4. Drafting Key Trust Provisions (With a Review of a Sample Trust)
   5. Are IOTs Subject to Medicaid Estate Recovery?
   6. Funding the Trust
4. Special Needs Trusts: Protecting Benefits While Providing for Beneficiary Expenses
   12:35 - 1:25, Ann L. Fowler-Cruz
   
   1. SNTs vs. ABLE Accounts: Estate Recovery and Other Considerations
   2. First-Party vs. Third-Party SNTs: Which One to Use?
   3. Which Assets to Use for Funding the Trust
   4. Choosing the Right Trustee
   5. Drafting Key SNT Provisions (With Sample Trust Language)
5. Ensuring Spousal Protections
   1:25 - 2:15, Ann L. Fowler-Cruz
   
   1. Maximizing Monthly Maintenance Need Allowance for Community Spouse
   2. Community Spouse Resource Allowance and CSRA Appeal
   3. Using Homestead Exceptions
   4. Obtaining Hardship Waivers
   5. Is Divorce a Prudent Option?
6. Asset Transfers in Crisis Planning
   2:30 - 3:30, Stephen B. Keogh
   
   1. Using Asset Purchases and Asset Conversions from Countable to Excluded
   2. Asset Transfers and the Reverse Half-Loaf Method
   3. Crafting Caregiver Agreements Between Parent and Child
   4. Residence Transfer Options
   5. Calculating and Contesting the Penalty Period
   6. Dealing with Partial Months of Ineligibility
   7. What to Do with Unexpected Cash Inflows
7. Maintaining an Ethical Practice
   3:30 - 4:30, Jordan M. Richards
   
   1. Who is the Client?
   2. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest When Representing Couples
   3. Setting Reasonable Attorney Fees
   4. Guarding Confidentiality
   5. Verifying Client Capacity
   6. Dealing with Third Parties: Who's Present and Talking in Meetings with Clients?
   7. Scope of Representation
   8. Client with a Disability: What are Your Duties?

Accreditation Details:

ANN L. FOWLER-CRUZ is a principal in Cohen and Wolf, P.C.'s trusts and estates, and elder law groups. Her elder law practice focuses on long-term care planning, asset preservation strategies, Medicaid applications, disability planning, utilizing conservatorships/guardianship, and special needs trusts. Ms. Fowler-Cruz's estate planning practice includes the creation of wills, trusts, and advance directives. She also handles probate administration. Ms. Fowler-Cruz has been a staunch advocate for the elderly and the disabled for more than 20 years. She has the distinction of being a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation for more than 15 years and is accredited to practice before the Department of Veterans Affairs. Certified elder law attorney (CELA) is recognized by the American Bar Association, but not by the Rules Committee of the Connecticut Superior Court. Ms. Fowler-Cruz's extensive knowledge in the area of elder law enables her to assist the elderly and the disabled in realizing the very best quality of life. Prior to joining Cohen and Wolf, P.C., Ms. Fowler-Cruz was a founding partner of the Law Firm of Hersh & Fowler-Cruz, with offices in Connecticut and New York. She continues to be well versed in the laws of both states and has the ability to serve clients in both Connecticut and New York. Ms. Fowler-Cruz is admitted to practice in Connecticut, New York and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA), the Connecticut Bar Association sections on Elder Law and Probate & Trusts, the Fairfield County Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Fowler-Cruz is an active speaker in the community. She is a frequent guest speaker before organizations such: as the Alzheimer’s Association, the Financial Planning Association of Connecticut, the Connecticut and New York bar associations, as well as local organizations. Ms. Fowler-Cruz earned her J.D. degree from Quinnipiac College School of Law and her B.A. degree from Smith College.

STEPHEN B. KEOGH is a partner in the Norwalk law firm of Keogh, Burkhart & Vetter, practicing primarily in elder law and probate law. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale College, Mr. Keogh earned his J.D. degree from Columbia University. He is a member of the Fairfield County, Connecticut and American bar associations; and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Keogh is a member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a member of the Executive Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, and a past co-chair of the Elder Law Section of the Fairfield County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Community Bioethics Forum, which is sponsored by the Program for Biomedical Ethics at the Yale School of Medicine, and was the first recipient of the Glenn E. Knierim Pro Bono Award, given by the Connecticut Probate Assembly, in April 2012.

JORDAN M. RICHARDS is an elder law attorney at Seabourne & Malley, Attorneys at Law, where he practices in the areas of Medicaid qualification, estate planning, special needs planning, trust and estate administration, and probate litigation. He is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys and the Connecticut Bar Association. Mr. Richards is approved to create pooled special needs trusts with the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Connecticut. He received his B.S. degree from Cornell University and his J.D. degree from the Quinnipiac University School of Law.