Medicare No Longer to Reimburse Hospitals for Errors

The Washington Post reports that as of October 1st Medicare will no longer be reimbursing hospitals for costs related to certain treatment errors such as bed sores, infections, and items left inside after surgery. This is supposed to save the government some $21 million per year. Read the full story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/20/AR2008102002772.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter. Still, it would seem that hospitals will have to recoup these expenses somehow. Maybe this is an idea that private health insurers should also be looking at, otherwise their customers will be paying for all the errors. On the other hand, many health insurers are owned by or affiliated with hospitals and basically unregulated. So, in the long run, who is really going to pay for these mistakes?

The Economic Downturn and the Importance of Having Your Legal Affairs in Order

With all the uncertainties set upon us by the current recession, it is more important than ever to have your basic legal affairs in order. This would include at a minimum wills, durable powers of attorney and revocable trusts. With market conditions being such as they are, no one should risk having their portfolio or their estate hung up by probate court proceedings such as guardianship or probate of the estate for any period of time. The importance of avoiding fees and expenses involved in such proceedings cannot be overlooked either. No one should expose their loved ones to such vulnerabilities. In times of economic downturn when everyone is watching every dollar, the likelihood of disagreements over grey areas not properly dealt with in estate planning documents is also much greater. Although prosperity can be a very forgiving environment, the opposite is also true. No one should be paying any unnecessary estate taxes, and consideration should be given to protecting assets from the expenses of long term care. Call us today to set up an appointment to consider how your situation measures up.

If You Still Want to Try Your Hand at Preparing Your Own Will, Consider This     

Suppose you are in a second or subsequent marriage and have grown children from your first marriage. You want to leave your home to your current spouse, and a good portion of the rest of your estate to your children. The home has a home equity loan on it. If you die before the loan is paid off, do you or your family members know who will be responsible for paying off the mortgage? Will it be your spouse, or will the children have to pay out of their share? What about the family car with a lien on it? What if the home is jointly owned and doesn?t pass under the will? Still think you don?t need a lawyer for this?

Reminder as Year End Approaches: New Federal Income Tax Rules on Capital Gains and Sale of Principal Residence

For the tax years 2008-2010 taxpayers in the 10% and 15% tax brackets will pay NO capital gains taxes. That translates into no capital gains for married taxpayers filing jointly with taxable income of up to $65,100, or single taxpayers with taxable income of up to $32,550 for the tax year 2008. However, as with everything else about the Internal Revenue Code, there are complications. The amount of the gain is added on to see if you have exceeded the limit, and can count in other ways, such as whether your social security benefits will be subject to tax. Please check with your tax advisor.

Part of mortgage forgiveness debt relief act of 2007 which went into effect on December 20, 2007 extended the time for widows and widowers to claim the full $500,000 exemption on capital gain from the sale of principal residence for purposes of the Federal Income Tax to sales occurring no more than two years after the date of a death of a spouse occurring after December 20, 2007.  Previously the sale had to be within the calendar year of the death of the spouse. It remains to be seen if Massachusetts will follow suit on the state income tax. If you miss the limit, your maximum exclusion for a single person is $250,000.