Agenda / Content Covered

All times are shown in Eastern time.

1. Ensuring Medicaid Eligibility While Preserving Assets
   9:00 - 9:45, Ralph J. Conrad
   1. Medicaid LTC Eligibility Criteria: Excluded and Countable Assets
   2. Spousal Protections
   3. Asset Transfers, Gifts, Promissory Notes
   4. Prepayment of Qualified Expenses
   5. "Medicaid Pending" and Nursing Homes
   6. Trusts in Medicaid Planning
   7. Lookback Period Requirements
2. Medicaid Application, Appeals, and Fair Hearings
   9:45 - 10:30, Ralph J. Conrad
   1. Filing Medicaid Application: Forms and Procedures Update
   2. Hearings and Appeals Process
   3. Requests for Reconsideration and Fair Hearing Practice
   4. Correcting the Damage Done Before You and Reflecting Life Changes
   5. What Can be Done About Penalty Periods of Ineligibility
   6. Home and Community-Based Medicaid Waivers
   7. Other State and Local Benefits
3. Legal Ethics of Representing the Elderly and the Disabled
   10:45 - 11:45, Ralph J. Conrad
   1. Conflicts of Interest
   2. Attorney Fees
   3. Capacity Determinations
   4. Client Confidentiality
4. Social Security Disability Application, Appeals, Briefing, and Hearing Process
   12:45 - 1:45, Amanda Pirt Meyer
   1. SSI vs. SSDI Benefits and Application Overview
   2. SSDI 5-Step Evaluation Process and Application: Forms and Procedures
   3. SSDI Claim Briefing and Hearings
   4. Leveraging Medical and Vocational Data
   5. Effect of SSDI on Medicaid Eligibility
   6. SSDI Appeals and Protecting Benefits
   7. Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) Fees
5. Post-Eligibility and Estate Planning Issues
   1:45 - 2:30, Amanda Pirt Meyer
   1. Coordinating Multiple Benefits
   2. Benefits Overpayment
   3. Loss and Restoration of Benefits
   4. Estate Recovery and Other Probate Issues Associated with Medicaid
   5. Survivor Benefits
   6. Tax Implications of Benefits Planning
6. Veterans Benefits, Claims, and Appeals Under the Current Rules
   2:45 - 3:45, James L. Koewler Jr.
   1. Types of Veterans Benefits: VA Aid and Attendance, Disability, etc.
   2. Eligibility Update
   3. The Modernized Claims and Appeals System
   4. Forms and Procedures Update
   5. Discharge Issues
   6. Addressing Prior Transfers
7. Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts
   3:45 - 4:30, James L. Koewler Jr.
   1. SNTs vs. ABLE Accounts: Structure, Uses, Benefits, Eligibility, and More
   2. Types of SNTs
   3. Preserving Benefits Eligibility
   4. Qualified Expenses and Other SNT Trust Administration Issues
   5. Tax Considerations
   6. Key Provisions: Sample SNT Document Review
   7. Recent POMS Updates

Accreditation Details:

RALPH J. CONRAD is the principal of Conrad Law Office, where he assists clients with estate planning, trust, probate, and Medicaid planning issues. He is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by The Ohio State Bar Association. Mr. Conrad has previously lectured for National Business Institute and various financial institutions and business groups on estate planning, Medicaid planning, and ethics. He is a member of the Cincinnati, American, Butler County, and Ohio State bar associations. Mr. Conrad earned his B.S.B.A. degree, with distinction, from Ohio Northern University; and his M.A. degree and J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Akron.

JAMES L. KOEWLER JR. is the founder of The Koewler Law Firm, where his main areas of practice include elder law, special needs and Medicaid planning, and Veterans disability. He is a member of the Ohio State, American, Cleveland Metropolitan, and Akron bar associations. Mr. Koewler is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He earned his B.S. degree from Purdue University and his J.D. degree from Indiana University.

AMANDA PIRT MEYER is an attorney with Haskins Short & Brindley LLC, where she focuses her practice on Social Security disability law, probate law, guardianship law, trust administration, and special needs trusts. Ms. Pirt Meyer has a background in health insurance and science, and began her legal career by practicing personal injury law. She has previously presented on the intersection of probate and personal injury law. She is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Dane County Bar Association. Ms. Pirt Meyer earned her B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her J.D. degree from Marquette University Law School.