Ask The Pros

Justin, My mother will be moving from assisted living to a nursing home later this month. When I met with the business office at the nursing home, they told me she needed Medicaid coverage to afford the facility costs but her income is over the Medicaid limit. What can I do?

Justin, I want to add my daughter to my bank account so that she can write checks for me. When I visited a branch to do that, the banker I met with didn’t think it was a good idea, but I’m not sure why. Can you help clear this up for me?

Justin, my wife and I want to make sure our home goes to our children when we die. I want to deed it to them now because that seems to be the cheapest option. I also figure that will keep the home safe if one of us ever needs a nursing home. My wife is hesitant. Is there any reason we shouldn’t go ahead with a deed now?

Justin, My father has lived in a nursing home for about a year and his funds are running low. The facility has talked to me about filing a Medicaid application, but if he isn’t approved for Medicaid, can I be forced to pay his nursing home bill?

Justin, My father needs to get his affairs in order, but he really doesn’t like attorneys. Do you have any advice on how to get his foot in the door?

Justin, My mother created a trust the year before she died. While working to wrap up her affairs, I ran across some stock. When I called the company to have the stock changed to the kids’ names, the company wrote back saying I needed to send them “Letters of Administration.” Can you help with that?

Justin, What is probate and why does everybody say I should be so concerned about it?

Justin, My financial advisor has talked to me about the importance of keeping my accounts out of probate court. He said I can accomplish that using death beneficiary forms his company provides. Are there any details I should know about before going with that plan?

Justin, I recently worked with an attorney to create an estate plan centered on a trust. Can I relax? Am I protected now?

Justin, I’m trying to close out my father’s bank account, but the bank won’t let me. I’m getting really frustrated—can you help?