Medicaid Planning: The Complete Toolkit for Attorneys

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Medicaid Planning Overview: Myths vs. Reality
   11:00 - 11:45, Jacqueline M. Reardon
   1. Top Medicaid Myths Dispelled
   2. What Medicaid Covers That Medicare Doesn’t
   3. Categorical Eligibility and Citizenship, Residency, etc.
   4. “Money Follows the Person” (MFP) Home and Community-Based Options
   5. Claimant and Agency Responsibilities
   6. Is Medicaid the Right Option for Your Client? Clarifying Needs
2. Asset/Resource Eligibility
   11:45 - 12:30, Eva Schwechter
   1. Countable vs. Excluded
   2. Limits on Specific Types of Assets
   3. Protecting the Family Home, Intent to Return Home
   4. Valuation of Assets for Eligibility Purposes
   5. Asset Conversion Methods and Tactics
3. Income Eligibility and MMNA for the Community Spouse
   12:45 - 1:15, Eva Schwechter
4. Transfer Eligibility and the Lookback Period
   1:15 - 2:00, Eva Schwechter
   1. Lookback Period and Transfer Penalty
   2. What Transfers Often Trigger the Penalty Period
   3. Protecting the Community Spouse
   4. Exempt Transfers
5. Annuities and Trusts in Medicaid Planning: What Helps and What Actually Ruins Eligibility
   2:30 - 3:15, Catherine E. Lenert
6. Application, Appeals, and Hearing Tips
   3:15 - 4:00, Catherine E. Lenert
   1. Application and Appeals Process
   2. Fair Hearing Procedures and Tactics
7. Post-Eligibility Considerations: Tax Consequences, Estate Recovery, Sudden Windfall, Hardship Waivers, etc.
   4:15 - 5:00, Jacqueline M. Reardon
8. Legal Ethics of Medicaid Planning
   5:00 - 6:00, Michael W. Nalli
   1. Guarding Confidentiality
   2. Attorney Fees and Engagement Agreements
   3. Representing Spouses
   4. Client Capacity and Working With Proxies
   5. Top Client Complaints and How to Avoid Them

Accreditation Details:

Catherine E. Lenert is a partner at the Elder Law Center and the Law firm of Mickey, Wilson, Weiler, Renzi, Lenert & Julien, P.C. in Sugar Grove, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A., magna cum laude, 2005), and obtained her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D., 2008). She is a member of the Kane County and Illinois State Bar Associations, and she is a past president of the Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and a current member of the Board of Directors. She has served as a continuing legal education presenter for National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Illinois Chapter, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Kane County Bar Association, the DuPage County Bar Association, the National Business Institute, and the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Catherine began her career by working as a Staff Attorney for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit. She now focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, long-term care/Medicaid planning, Probate, and Guardianships, and has more than a decade of experience assisting clients and their families in navigating these important and often complex matters.

Michael W. Nalli is the firm founder of Nalli, Elias & Associates, P.C., concentrating his law practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration and related tax matters, elder law, guardianship, and real estate. He is a member of the Beaver County Bar Association (Mock Trial Committee), Pennsylvania Bar Association and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Nalli earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Geneva College and his J.D. degree from Duquesne University.

Jacqueline M. Reardon is the principal attorney of the Windsor, Connecticut law office of Jacqueline Reardon Attorney. Since 1990, her practice areas have included estate planning, special needs planning, probate, elder law and conservatorships. Ms. Reardon is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), American Bar Association and a member of PLAN of Connecticut. She earned her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, at Stonehill College and her J.D. degree, cum laude, at Suffolk University Law School.

Eva Schwechter is an attorney with Ronald Fatoullah & Associates where she practices in the areas of Medicaid planning, creating wills and trusts, drafting documents for probate proceedings and Article 81 guardianship petitions. Ms. Schwechter earned her B.A. degree from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women and her J.D. degree from Hofstra University's Maurice A. Dean School of Law.