Estate Planning

May 26, 2021

Annuities as Asset Protection for Couples: Smart Move if You Do it Right

Purchasing annuities is a good way for married couples to protect assets, but doing it wrong could mean huge penalties. Here is what you need to know about annuities as it relates to Medicaid planning in Connecticut:

If your spouse is residing in a nursing home or is in need of home care, chances are you’ve read our blogs about the ways to protect your assets and qualify your spouse for Medicaid benefits. But not all strategies apply to all couples.

Just as a refresher, under the Medicaid rules, the Institutionalized Spouse (IS) may only have a maximum of $1,600 in assets in his name. The Community Spouse (CS) may have a house, a car and up to half of a maximum of $130,380, called the Community Spouse Protected Amount (CSPA). While there are income requirements for the IS, the CS may have as much income as she receives with no limit.

May 14, 2021

Does Power of Attorney Allow You to Manage Someone Else’s Social Security?

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

If a loved one has named you as their POA (Power of Attorney), you now have written permission to help manage that loved one’s financial decisions during his or her lifetime.

It’s a powerful document. It puts complete trust and authority in you to handle the financial matters of the person who has named you as their agent.

Depending on how the document is constructed, as POA, you may have the authority to oversee transactions such as changing beneficiary designations, accessing a safe deposit box, dealing with the IRS and the State on tax matters, or creating, funding, and requesting distributions from trusts.

April 15, 2021

Your Retirement Accounts & The SECURE Act: What You Should Know

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

(Note: this post has been updated due to potential IRS changes)

Do you know about the new changes that could affect your retirement accounts? Some are positive, others may require you to make some new planning decisions.

Either way, the goal of this new legislation is to improve retirement security for many Americans. And that’s a good thing.

March 24, 2021

How to Transfer a Car After a Death

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

When you die, someone is going to benefit from the use of your car. Wouldn’t it be nice to decide now exactly who that person should be?

You can do that today – it’s easy! When registering a vehicle, you can designate a transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary, not unlike what you can do with a bank account.

How to designate a beneficiary

Simply complete the area reserved for this purpose on the reverse side of your registration certificate. If you do not have a registration certificate, or if you are registering a new vehicle, complete the Official Registration, Form H-13, and designate the Owner in Box 1 as “John Doe, Transfer on Death to Jane Doe.”

When you die, the transfer-on-death beneficiary need only bring a certified copy of your death certificate to the nearest Department of Vehicles office to have the registration transferred. Continue reading

March 18, 2021

Trusts and the Probate Process: What You Should Know

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

If you’re confused, or unfamiliar with trusts as part of an estate plan, you’re not alone! Some people need to have a trust, others do not.

Then there’s the probate process. Does having a trust impact the probate process? Should you have a trust to avoid the probate process?

To answer your questions about trusts and probate, read on!

February 4, 2021

What is a Conservatorship?

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

When you are putting your estate plan together, one of the advance directives you will want to create is a Designation of Conservator. It is probably something you haven’t thought about, or maybe even knew it existed! But it is really important.

What is this Designation of Conservator? It’s where you decide ahead of time who will manage your affairs – and under what certain circumstances – if you become incapacitated.

So what is a conservator?

A conservator is a person appointed by the probate court to oversee the financial and/or personal affairs of an adult who is determined by the probate court to be incapable of Continue reading

February 3, 2021

10 Things You Must Ask When Choosing a Trustee for a Special Needs Trust

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

There are many ways a trustee of a special needs trust could cause harm to a beneficiary, however unintentionally. This is why many people choose to have a disability planning attorney take on this critical role.

Here are 10 things to consider when deciding who should administer a special needs trust:

1. SSI, SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid… sound confusing? It can feel like alphabet soup to the uninitiated. Does the prospective trustee understand the differences between these public benefit programs and the rules that govern them? A trustee with limited understanding could unwittingly jeopardize a beneficiary’s eligibility.

January 30, 2021

Should You Worry About Connecticut Gift Tax?

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

Do you have to pay tax on all gifts that you give? For the majority of Americans, the answer is a resounding NO!

So, we all know that the federal government imposes a gift tax, but did you know that only Connecticut imposes a gift tax? Luckily, if you understand how the federal government’s gift tax works, you will understand the Connecticut gift tax, but just in case you don’t, the following is a brief overview.

What is a gift?

A gift occurs whenever you transfer something to another person or certain trusts for less than the item’s fair market value. Continue reading

January 28, 2021

What Assets Belong in a Trust?

by Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC

When you create a revocable trust, also known as a living trust, one major benefit is probate avoidance, meaning assets in your revocable trust can be distributed to your beneficiaries without going through probate.