Links to Service Descriptions

• Positive Planning Strategies

• General Estate Planning

• Nursing Home Care & Home Health Care

• Medical Assistance

• Gift & Asset Protection

• Trusts

• Estate Administration

• Strategies for Avoiding Probate

• Veterans Benefits

• Guardianship / Conservatorship

For those with disabilities or those planning ahead for possible incapacity, I work to develop positive strategies for achieving and maintaining an independent lifestyle. The goal? To live as independently as possible, for as long as possible.

I am an estate planner with a turbo charged knowledge of government benefits. For those in good health, I can provide you with general estate planning services. For those who need to understand the impact of potentially significant out of pocket health care costs, I am able to overlay long term care planning within your estate planning goals.

For those receiving an adverse medical diagnosis, I will present options to avoid costly court-supervised proceedings during life and probate after death.

I tailor estate plans to your individual needs that allow for flexibility in estate management for the unpredictable future. It’s important to have some one experienced and qualified to assist you with powers of attorney, health care directives, deeds, wills, trusts, and the more technical aspects of tax and estate planning.

For those in either immediate or future need of nursing facility placement or community-based home health care, I can help you avoid costly mistakes in choosing an appropriate care facility based upon your income and assets. I address issues such as payment for care, prescription drug coverage, Medicare and Medical Assistance issues, resource protection, housing options, and eligibility for government benefits in relation to immediate and future placement needs. The end goal is to access care, preserve assets and ensure the most independent living possible.

I will guide you through the Medical Assistance planning process, and my team will assist you or the person you care for to apply for Medical Assistance when the time is right, and will ease your anxieties throughout the application process.

Providing assistance for you in the following areas:

• Gathering information for the Medical Assistance application

• Preparing the application and completing all necessary forms for you

• Meeting with the county financial worker on your behalf to make sure the application is appropriately processed

• Reviewing all notices from the county and responding to them in a timely fashion

• Post-eligibility planning

• Preparing annual trust accountings for those with qualifying trusts

• Respond to Medical Assistance liens

• Prepare Medical Assistance clearance certificates

• Resolve county claims to recover Medical Assistance benefits from an estate

• Elective share and statutory share planning for the surviving spouse of the Medical Assistance recipient

My team and I will keep you informed throughout the process, and you will have direct and ongoing access to answer your questions and concerns.

Transfers of Assets and Asset Protection

Maintain assets and ensure eligibility for receipt of government benefits.

For those who anticipate receiving benefits for skilled care in either the community or a nursing home, I assist with obtaining eligibility through compliance with the ever-changing federal, state, and administrative laws that govern transfers, while maximizing asset protection. Some of the tools I use are first and third party special needs trusts, qualifying single premium annuities, asset reallocation planning and asset protection through gifting plans.

Trusts for Adults of All Ages with Disabilities:

• Special Needs Trusts

• Supplemental Needs Trusts

• Pooled Trusts

Protect assets for persons with disabilities of any age using special needs trusts, supplemental needs trusts, and pooled trusts.

For current and prospective recipients of needs-based public benefits such as Medical Assistance, public housing, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), I help place assets (such as inheritance, personal injury settlement, or gift) into an appropriate trust so as not to jeopardize the continued receipt of government benefits. We also prepare and submit to the State the annual trust accountings now required by Minnesota law.

Entrust complex fiduciary estate matters to the professionals.

For the family or surviving spouse following the death of a loved one, handling the administration of the estate can be overwhelming. This is particularly true when the decedent or the surviving spouse received Medical Assistance benefits. There may be unresolved issues pertaining to Medical Assistance liens, elective share claims, and estate recovery claims. Because of my deep knowledge of the Medical Assistance laws, I can assist you in these matters.  I provide full representation of fiduciaries administering estates in probate court. Estate administration includes filing the petition for appointment of a personal representative, preparing and filing the inventory of estate assets, paying the decedent’s debts, distributing assets, and preparing and filing a final account and closing documentation.

I strive to avoid the eventual expense and delay of probate if possible and appropriate, given your circumstances. I assist you with any issues that might arise in the estate if the decedent received Medical Assistance benefits, and can guide you through the procedures that have to be followed to make sure that the estate is taken care of appropriately.

One of the strategies that can be followed is the “transfer on death deed,” a way of transferring real estate to your intended beneficiaries without having to use the probate process. I will advise you about the pros and cons of this option and other strategies that will help your loved ones to take care of your estate after your death.

I am accredited as an advisor through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and will assist you in identifying federal benefits related to your military service. I can also assist you in comparing the Minnesota Veterans Homes eligibility requirements with those of Medical Assistance and help you navigate the admission and application process to maximize asset protection as part of Veterans Homes planning.

When a person is unable to manage their own financial affairs or health care decisions — a child with a disability who is turning 18, an aging parent suffering from dementia, a vulnerable adult being exploited, or an adult injured in an accident — a substitute decision-maker may be needed. If the individual does not have proper planning in place, a guardianship or conservatorship may be required. Guardianship deals with health care and other decisions related to the person. Conservatorship addresses financial management. Not everyone needs a supervised court process to manage developing or special needs I will help you determine the most cost-effective and least restrictive options.