Connecticut Estate Planning Attorneys Blog

March 28, 2023

Making Sensory Inclusion More of a Mainstream Movement

If you have never experienced it yourself, it can be difficult to understand what it’s like to feel deep anxiety and even physical pain as the result of being exposed to sensory stimuli like sounds, scents, lights, and crowds.

For people with sensory sensitivity, the intensity of these experiences ranges on a scale from mere inconvenience to completely incapacitating.

This issue is not nearly as rare as most people assume. In fact, 1 in 6 people living in the United States have either a sensory need or an invisible disability that makes them more prone to sensory needs. This group includes people with PTSD, autism, and dementia, as well as people who have had strokes.

March 20, 2023

Multigenerational Vacations: 6 Steps For Planning a Trip Together

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

There are few experiences more transformational than travel. Visiting new places, whether near or far, has a way of opening our hearts and minds.

And when we travel with people we love, there is the added benefit of being able to share those memorable experiences. From a simple weekend road trip to a month-long journey exploring another country, travel can change your life and your relationships for the better.

Two of the things people missed most during the first two years of Covid were spending time with family and travel. Knowing this, it’s not that surprising that as Covid-related travel restrictions lifted more and more people started booking trips that included extended family. Multigenerational travel was a growing trend prior to Covid, and it has become even more popular now that—hopefully—the worst of the pandemic is over.

March 7, 2023

When Estate Planning Goes Wrong – Three Lessons from Graceland

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

Even the most well-resourced and well-known people can get estate planning wrong.

The recent headlines about the dispute over the validity of Lisa Marie Presley’s Will is just the latest in a long list of stories involving celebrities in the entertainment industry whose last wishes have created a lot of contention amongst their families.

The short version of the story is that Lisa’s mother, Priscilla Presley, is contesting her daughter’s living trust (which is standing in for a Will since Lisa Marie did not file a separate Will).

March 1, 2023

The Importance of Legal Planning for Children with Brain Injuries

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and according to the Brain Injury Alliance, there are currently over 5 million Americans living with brain injuries, a number that increases by about 5,000 injuries per day.

So for us, it’s a perfect time to raise awareness of the impact that brain injuries can have on individuals and families.

An acquired brain injury (ABI) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) can drastically change the lives of not only the individual with the injury, but also their loved ones. And when the person with the injury is a minor child, the whole family faces unexpected challenges and uncertainty.

February 20, 2023

Green Burial: An Environmentally Friendly Funeral Option

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

Death planning is a very personal topic, and one which most people find discomfiting. It’s hard enough to consider your own mortality as an abstract concept. It’s even harder to think in very specific—even graphic—terms about what will happen to your remains after you’ve shuffled off this mortal coil.

A growing number of people are seeking alternatives to the traditional burial, which typically involves embalming, concrete vaults, and other processes and products that are not friendly to the environment. An article in Scientific American put some astonishing numbers to the resource costs of this type of burial:

According to National Geographic, American funerals are responsible each year for the felling of 30 million board feet of casket wood (some of which comes from tropical hardwoods), 90,000 tons of steel, 1.6 million tons of concrete for burial vaults, and 800,000 gallons of embalming fluid. Even cremation is an environmental horror story, with the incineration process emitting many a noxious substance, including dioxin, hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and climate-changing carbon dioxide.

February 13, 2023

Beware: Changes That Could Affect Your Medicaid Eligibility if You Don’t Act

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

On March 31^st, a change to Medicaid eligibility that was brought about by the onset of COVID-19, is scheduled to come to an end.

A federal policy that had allowed states to temporarily suspend redetermination – the process by which renewal of Medicaid benefits for recipients is reconfirmed – will stop.

Further, the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement will no longer be contingent to the end date of the COVID public health emergency.

February 7, 2023

Big News for Special Needs Trusts! Charities May Now Be Named as SNT Remainder Beneficiaries

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

A special needs trust (also referred to as a supplemental needs trust) enables assets to be left to a disabled or chronically ill individual without disqualifying them from certain public benefits such as Medicaid.

For the special needs planning community, the passage of the SECURE Act 2.0 offers the advantage of enabling certain types of charitable organizations to now be named as remainder beneficiaries of SNTs funded with retirement accounts, but without compromising the favorable “stretch” payout timeframe available to individuals with disabilities who are the primary beneficiaries.

This is a huge win for families who had previously sought to name a beloved non-profit as a remainder beneficiary in a special needs trust only to be told that it wasn’t possible to do so.

January 17, 2023

7 Podcast Recommendations: Health, Wealth, Nostalgia and More

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

It seems like everyone has a podcast these days. From famous actors to world renowned chefs to journalists from every possible outlet to your neighbor from down the street, people from all walks of life have taken up their digital microphones and started broadcasting.

The best podcasts feel like sitting down for a cup of coffee with one or more friends who tell fascinating stories, make you laugh, teach you new things, or are just good company.

The problem is, there are so many options to choose from that it can feel overwhelming!

January 10, 2023

Paying Your Family to Care for You May Not Impact Your Medicaid Eligibility

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

Transfers of assets generally raise a red flag when it comes to applying for Medicaid. They can trigger a penalty period, or a period of ineligibility.

The good news is the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) will allow certain types of Medicaid asset transfers. For example, a family caregiver can be compensated for providing care to a loved one if the care they provide is necessary.

The rationale is this: DSS recognizes that when family members pitch in and provide needed care for a loved one, they are helping that person delay or avoid placement in a nursing home.

Making a caregiver agreement

Although your loved one can’t just give away his or her money to qualify for Medicaid, he or she can pay a family member who is providing care without jeopardizing eligibility for Medicaid. An individual must demonstrate a functional need for assistance with one or more activities of daily living. The type of care provided must be spelled out in a caregiver agreement, and certain conditions must be met. Continue reading

January 3, 2023

Recipients of Social Security and SSI Benefits Get a Raise

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

In 2023, Americans with disabilities will receive a significant raise in their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and in other Social Security benefits.

According to the Social Security Administration, monthly SSI payments are going up 8.7% – an average increase of more than $140 per month beginning this January.

This cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2023 and began on December 30, 2022 with increased payments to more than 7 million SSI beneficiaries. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits).

Smart Planner Blog

Making a caregiver agreement