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ASHEBORO, NC — Jan. 27, 2021: Elder law and special needs law attorney Robert A. Mason has been named as one of just seven North Carolina elder law attorneys to the 2021 edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers. Mason has been named in every edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers since 2009.

Mason was also listed in the 27rd annual edition of The Best Lawyers in America under Elder Law.

Inclusion in both depends upon a strict peer review process. Mason also maintains an “AV – Preeminent” rating through the nation’s oldest attorney peer review rating service Martindale.com.

Mason owns Mason Law, PC, Charlotte and Asheboro, NC, a firm devoted to meeting the legal challenges of seniors, the disabled and their families, using an array of sophisticated legal techniques.

Mason is a Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law by the NC State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, twice past Chairman of the Elder Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and past Chair of the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization. He is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorney Council of Advanced Practitioners, a group of less than 100 senior elder law attorneys nationwide, and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Mason has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and a Juris Doctor cum laude from Mercer University School of Law, Macon, Georgia.

Filed Under: News / Press

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Mason on Computer ScreenThis afternoon (Saturday, May 2) the North Carolina General Assembly passed (unanimously!) a number of emergency bills in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The bills have been presented to Governor Cooper and will be signed at any time.

Among the many provisions are procedures for notarizing and witnessing various documents via video conferencing software (such as Zoom, FaceTime, GoToMeeting). That will make document signing much easier for my colleagues (and their clients) in real estate or general estate planning practices.

And, of course, it will be a boon to Mason Law, PC. We ARE open and I am conducting client meetings via Zoom (and getting pretty good at it, if I do say so). Yesterday, we conducted a document signing through an assisted living facility window. Zoom would have been a bit easier.

In fact, we’ll see how the video witnessing goes (it expires August 1). If it works well, we can argue that the genie is out of the bottle and we ought to keep it around.

Take care. Wash your hands!

 

Filed Under: COVID-19, Reader Favorites

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UPDATED April 16, 2020

Coronavirus pictureIf you or someone you know is on Medicaid (Nursing Home) or Special Assistance (Assisted Living Facility): READ THIS. This article has very important information about the effects of the $1,200 stimulus payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

In this update, I will explain why Medicaid and Special Assistance recipients have no immediate cause for alarm. I earlier raised concerns that have since been resolved. It’s been a fluid situation, to say the least. I will, however, continue to bring any issues I see to reader attention (with followup as they are hopefully resolved).

Soon stimulus checks under the recently passed CARES Act will be going out to Social Security recipients. That means that these folks will be receiving $1,200 in the same manner as their Social Security checks (direct deposit or paper check).

Great! But wait! If the Social Security recipient is also a Medicaid beneficiary (in a nursing home) or a Special Assistance recipient (in an assisted living facility), he or she has a $2,000 asset limit as of the last day of the month.

If Mom is in the nursing home and has $800 or less in her account, then there will be no problem. If Mom has more than that, the stimulus check could put her over the $2,000 limit unless something is done.

If Dad is home, then it may be as simple as Mom transferring the excess funds to Dad. But if Mom is a widow, it could be a different story.

If Mom is in a skilled nursing home and on Medicaid, this will NOT be a problem — at least for awhile.

If Mom is in an assisted living facility and on Special Assistance (it’s not Medicaid even though they call it that) it will not be a problem for a year.

I’ll explain each.

Medicaid in a Skilled Nursing Home

No problem — for now. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020, increased the percentage of a state’s Medicaid expense that the feds normally kicked in by 6.2 extra percent (translation: That’s A LOT of money).

One of the requirements that a state has to meet, however, is that it will NOT terminate Medicaid benefits for anyone on Medicaid on or after March 18, 2020, and for so long as the Coronavirus Declared Emergency lasts.

On March 20, 2020, the NC Division of Health Benefits (the outfit that administers Medicaid in North Carolina) published Admin. Letter No. 01-20 that provides, among a number of interesting things, that pursuant to the FFCRA no one will have Medicaid benefits terminated for as long as the Declared Emergency lasts (Someone would have needed to have been on Medicaid on March 18 or thereafter).

I say, “no problem for now” — even if it puts Mom over $2,000 because she can’t be terminated. But, as we all do, I pray this medical Coronavirus Emergency will not last forever.

If you are a child caregiver or “business manager” for Mom, keep an eye on that checking account and have some plan for spending it down during the emergency period. In other words, come the end of April, 2020 . . . and probably for a month or two thereafter, DON’T PANIC.

Special Assistance in an Assisted Living Facility

As I have explained before, Special Assistance is NOT Medicaid. Special Assistance is based on rules for the Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

I had been concerned that the $1,200 stimulus payment could pose potential problems for Mom if it puts her account over $2,000 on the end of the month.

Fortunately, the Commissioner of Social Security recently made the following announcement:

“We are working closely with Treasury to address outstanding questions about our SSI recipients in an attempt to make the issuance of economic impact payments as quick and efficient as possible. We realize people are concerned, and the IRS will provide additional information on their web page when available. Please note that we will not consider economic impact payments as income for SSI recipients, and the payments are excluded from resources for 12 months.”

So there you have it. Those $1,200 stimulus checks will have no impact on Medicaid nursing home residents for at least the duration of the emergency. Further, the checks will have no impact on Special Assistance assisted living facility residents for a year (remember, the Special Assistance rules track the SSI rules).

I hope this helps. Wash your hands.

Filed Under: Assisted living, COVID-19, Medicaid, Reader Favorites, Social Security, Uncategorized

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Mom is in an assisted living facility.  Mom and Dad both receive Social Security (total is about $20,000).  Dad receives a federal retirement system pension of $35,000.

Because the assisted living facility costs about $3,800 monthly ($45,600 annually) and they have other unreimbursed medical expenses (mostly drugs) of $3,000, Dad has liquidated half of a $100,000 IRA and plans to liquidate the other half next year (because he read one of Bob’s blog posts that it would be cheaper to liquidate an IRA over time rather than in one year).  Unless Dad can figure out some tax deductions, Mom’s and Dad’s taxes are going to hurt.

He just might be in luck, however. Depending upon Mom’s condition (and with a bit of planning) the assisted living facility costs might be tax deductible.

The Deductibility of Medical Expenses

Granddad with laptopSection 213 of the Internal Revenue Code provides a tax deduction for medical expenses to the extent medical expenses exceed 10% of adjusted gross income.

Example:  If a married couple over age 65 had gross income of $50,000 and adjusted gross income of $45,000, they would be able to deduct some of their medical expenses not paid for from other source like insurance if the medical expenses exceed 10% of $45,000 (which is $4,500). If they have medical expenses of $20,000, then they would be able to deduct $15,500 ($20,000 – $4,500).

How Assisted Living Expenses Become Tax Deductibile

Back to Mom and Dad and their potential whopping tax bill. The trick is to determine if Mom’s assisted living facility costs qualify as expenses for “medical care.” Clearly nursing home expenses are deductible, but assisted living is a bit less certain.

Section 213 says that “medical care” includes “qualified long-term care services.” Hmmm. What assisted living expenses might be “qualified long-term care services” for purposes of the tax deduction?

Qualified long-term care services (according to Code section 7702B if you happen to be a Tax Code Junky) include diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, maintenance, and other care services required by a “chronically ill individual” pursuant to a care plan prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner.

Is Mom Chronically Ill?

The key is to determine if Mom is “chronically ill” and to make sure you have a written plan of care prescribed by a physician, nurse, or other licensed medical practitioner.

To be “chronically ill” Mom must either (i) be unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (called ADLs) for at least 90 days, or (ii) require substantial supervision in order to protect her health or safety due to cognitive impairment (in other words . . . dementia). ADLs include eating, toileting, transferring (in and out of wheel chairs and beds), bathing, dressing and continence.

So, if Mom is unable to perform at least two of the ADLs for more than 90 days OR she has dementia and requires close supervision, she qualifies as “chronically ill.” Make sure to get the written plan!

If Mom is in the assisted living facility because she needs a “little help” Dad could have some problems. On the other hand, if Mom cannot get in and out of bed, bath and eat by herself, or if she is perhaps in the locked Alzheimer’s unit, Dad will be able to use the assisted living facility costs as a potential medical deduction.

Deductible Assisted Living Facility Costs

To return to Mom’s and Dad’s situation above, they have $48,600 of medical expenses (the assisted living facility costs and the unreimbursed drug expenses). If Dad figures adjusted gross income of, say, $90,000, then he can deduct the expenses over 10% of $90,000 ($9,000).

The deduction of $39,600 ($48,600 – $9,000) should help out a great deal!

 

Note: This article is a heavily edited version of an article I originally posted/updated in 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2020. It is still an interesting and timely topic around “tax time.” I left some of the older, original comments below because they continue to be relevant.

Filed Under: Assisted living, Nursing Homes, Reader Favorites, Tax Issues Tagged With: , ,

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Introducing Zoom: An Easy Remote Conference Solution

Zoom logoThe past week or two I have been looking for a user-friendly video conferencing app. I settled on ZOOM after trying it out on a number of family, friends, and clients. I have been very happy with how easy it is to install and use.

Zoom works on just about any sort of machine: Windows, Mac, IOS. You’ll want a decent screen (to see my lovely face) and good sound (to hear my dulcet tones).

You may want to go to www.zoom.us and download a free version. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends and family (especially in these rather difficult times).

Mason on Computer Screen

Talk to me!

When we schedule an appointment, we will send you an email invitation. The email will have a number of links to walk you through installation if you don’t have it installed already. It wouldn’t hurt to install Zoom ahead of time and test the audio and video (it will walk you through each of those steps).

In fact, here’s a one minute video showing how easy it is.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Reader Favorites, Uncategorized