The following is a guest blog by Bob Mason.
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the blog owner.)
Scraping up extra money to pay for an assisted living facility is a priority for many. And, of course, assisted living facilities have a great incentive for wanting to help families find extra money. It could be the difference between comfort in an assisted living facility or extreme hardship in some other setting. Unfortunately, in all the anxiousness folks are getting ripped off.
Veterans (and widows of veterans) are being duped into funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into totally inappropriate (even disastrous) annuities. The come on? ÛÏI can qualify Mom for another $1,094 a month in veterans benefits and youÛªll be able to afford the assisted living facility.Û
Often a seminar is hosted by an assisted living facility and led by a ÛÏveteransÛª benefits specialistÛ who is nothing more than annuity salesman (and often from out of town). Occasionally the family of someone recently admitted to a facility will receive a telephone call with the enticement of another $1,094 or more monthly.
A Few Plain Facts About Veterans Benefits
- Veterans benefits impose NO transfer penalties like Medicaid does.
- A veteran must not have assets in excess of certain levels.
- A veteran can actually transfer the excess assets to another person and instantly qualify for benefits.
- Transferring to another person might not be too smart, though.
- What if that person dies, divorces, gets sued, goes bankrupt?
- What if the veteran later needs Medicaid (which DOES impose transfer sanctions)?
- There are a number of different strategies involving how assets are titled, or perhaps involving the use of a trust, that do NOT involve an inappropriate annuity!
You can find out more by going to VeteransÛª Aid & Attendance: The Missing Puzzle Piece.åÊ The latest VA benefit numbers are also posted.
The worst cases involve the veteran (or widow) being counseled to transfer most of his or her money to a child (at this point the veteran is qualified for benefits, but he or she wonÛªt be told that) and THEN having the child purchase the ÛÏspecialÛ annuity. Buried in the fine print, the annuity will have huge surrender charges for many years.
I have nothing against appropriate use of annuities. I have everything against the use of a totally unnecessary annuity that will tie up a great deal of a veteranÛªs money (nearly all, in fact) for many years, and pay an annuity sales person tens of thousands of dollars in commissions.
I am also bothered by assisted living facilities that host these seminars and give sales people access to their residents. I hope that the involvement of the assisted living facility is simply misguided, but well-meaning. In any event, there are plenty of knowledgeable sources who would be happy to present at a facility without trying to steer the attendees into an expensive and unnecessary annuity.
AARP has an excellent article on this called Taking Aim At Old Soldiers. I donÛªt always agree with ÛÏEverything AARP,Û but I agree with almost everything they have written regarding veterans annuity scams in assisted living facilities. I take some exception to the articleÛªs condemnation of trusts, because the use of a trust might be totally appropriate. Their point about a trust causing potential Medicaid problems is very well taken, however. The important take away is to make sure that anyone recommending and preparing a trust understands the complex trust rules of BOTH the VA and Medicaid.
Again, I have nothing against wise use of annuities. If you are thinking of buying one, buy from someone locally you know and trust. YouÛªll know where to find them if things go wrong, because if things do go wrong the presenter who sells the annuities as part of the traveling road show will be back in Vegas!
Bob Mason is owner of Mason Law, PC, a law practice devoted exclusively to solving problems for elders, the disabled, and their families throughout North Carolina and to helping lawyers help others anywhere.åÊ Bob, a Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law, is a past Chairman of the Elder Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and incoming Chairman of the Elder Law Specialization Committee of the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization.åÊ Follow Mason Law, PC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/masonlawpc