Trust Me. I’m a Lawyer.
Lawyers are among the most reviled service professionals in American culture. We’re so disliked that even lawyers don’t have a lot of friends who are
Ethan Huizenga April 16, 2019
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Most People Focus on Estate Plan Documents. Instead, Focus on Goals
So often, we meet with clients who want to “get a will” or “talk about trusts.” And we’re more than happy to talk about those
Ethan Huizenga January 15, 2019
Watch Your Language: Trust
One of the most common questions I hear during our Mutual Interviews is, “Do I need a trust?” And the typical lawyer answer is, “It depends.” In order to answer that question, we need to start by defining what a trust actually is. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga August 14, 2018
Watch Your Language: Snapshot Date
When you first submit a Medicaid application for nursing facility care (and Elderly Waiver, in Iowa), DHS takes a “snapshot” of your financial status as of the date you first moved into the nursing home. This is called the “snapshot date.” [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga August 7, 2018
Watch Your Language: Asset
In the Medicaid world, the term “asset” is used when discussing Medicaid’s transfer penalty rules. As a result, “asset” includes both income and resources. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga July 31, 2018
Watch Your Language: Penalty Divisor
If you’ve transferred assets within the lookback period, the state is going to assess an eligibility penalty period based on the value of all the transfers you made within that 60-month window. The penalty period can be calculated by dividing the value of that gift by the penalty divisor. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga July 26, 2016
Watch Your Language: Lookback Period
If you’ve heard anything about Medicaid, you’ve probably heard about the lookback period. In Iowa, the lookback period is the period of time starting with the day you apply for Medicaid and extending back through time for sixty months. We break that definition down after the jump. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga July 19, 2016
Devils, Details, and Deadlines: Calculating the Penalty Period
If you can’t prove you didn’t make a transfer to get on Medicaid, that transfer becomes a disallowed transfer. And that’s bad because a disallowed transfer means a penalty period will be imposed, delaying the time you are allowed to receive Medicaid coverage for the nursing home. The real question becomes: how do you calculate the penalty period? [Read More]
The length of the penalty period depends on the value of the assets transferred.
Ethan Huizenga July 14, 2016
Watch Your Language: Transfer
Seems obvious, right? In daily life, a transfer happens when property changes hands. You can transfer money between bank accounts or transfer germs between school children. In grilling and smoking, “transfer” means removing food from the grill or smoker. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple in the Medicaid world. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga July 7, 2016
You Need a Medicaid Guidebook – and an Expert Guide, too
Iowa Medicaid – sometimes called Title XIX (Title 19) – is a mashup of federal statutes and regulations, state-specific rule tweaks, and both formal and informal agency policies. The system itself is intricate enough, but then the individual case workers who process Medicaid applications don’t always apply the rules in the same way. It’s virtually impossible to navigate the maze without a guide. [Read More]
Ethan Huizenga July 5, 2016
