Maxwell 40: Wearing Their Vests in an Apartment for Fun

[fundiefan]

23 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@usmcmom,  we lived across the street from my mom's oldest brother,  close to another of my  mom's brothers, and her baby sister lived in town when her husband was stationed overseas.  We played a lot with these cousins who were so close andm=, in turn, we've remained close as adults.  I cannot imagine it being otherwise. How sad for the Max kids that this appears not to be true for them.

We grew up with 4 of our 6 cousins (There were 8 of us grandkids total-at least here in our state). The other 2 were around, just not quite as much. They were definitely the 'extended family' among us. My mom, her sister & sister-in-law were thick as thieves while raising their kids - us. We didn't live overly close, probably a good 10-15 miles between us each. But, somehow, every single milestone of my life involved those aunts, uncles & cousins. We had sleep overs, we'd spend a week or more at a time at each other's house, we went on vacations together. We went to each other's events-dance recitals, sports games, etc. There were 6 of us - 2 boys & 4 girls; the oldest to youngest age gap was 9 years. But, that didn't mean squat as we grew up. 

To this day, as we are all in our 40's & 50's, we are very close friends. We do "cousin's weekends" and nights out (well, we did when the world wasn't upside down). We are god-parents to each others kids. Spouses have been included since they joined the family as well and there are endless "guys weedends" and "girls weekends" all year. In two weeks, the "girls" are going camping, for our 3rd annual camping weekend. Preceded by the "guys" weekend camping the week prior, just as in years past. One of the cousin's and her husband have a seasonal campsite with a really nice travel trailer, and aside from our annual big weekends, we all manage a weekend or two in the summer on our own or in smaller groups to get together there. We still do holidays, milestone birthdays, whatever. They are my best and closest friends and always have been. We are very different in so many ways and have all dealt with very different things in our lives, but have always been there for each other. 

And, their kids have continued to be close as well. My niece is god mother to my cousin's oldest son's daughter. That same niece is the one getting married and last month we did a family bachelorette party weekend - nieces, cousins, sisters/in-laws - we were all there to celebrate the soon to be bride and spend time together after lockdown lifted a bit. 

Basically, my life would pretty much suck if it weren't for my cousins. The majority of my major experiences have been shared with them, and they've been my biggest support through not so great experiences. We are bonded and life is far better for it. I can't imagine life without them. And I really, really cannot imagine what life would be like if they were always present at incessent "family time" gatherings, but there was no real relationship. I hope the Maxwell grands get to be friends with their cousins. We know the Maxwells don't like the concept of friends, but they are obsessed with the concept of family. Family can be friends and for the sake of all those Maxwell cousin's living in each other's back yards/down the street/next door, I hope they get to be friends of their own accord. 

[Bethy]

45 minutes ago, ElizaB said:

The Maxwells may do a lot of crazy stuff but I think they are a family that does follow doctors orders. They do seem to get regular medical and dental care. There is a lot of things I worry about for the Maxwells but making bad medical decisions just isn't one of them. 

They do, but getting a palate expander or a heart health scan is a far cry from cancer treatment. Yes, Mel had an awful lot of top-notch care for all those pregnancies, and aside from the fact that it was ill-advised for her to keep trying for another and another and another, she did appear to do what was recommended, but Scamaritan probably didn't blink because BAYBEEZ! I'm truly not sure Scamaritan won't limit Anna Marie's treatment options because that's just a highly aggressive female cancer and the baby was born just fine ?

[sparkles]

The Maxwells shill for Scamaritan—they’re pretty much the poster family—so I have a feeling that when it comes to what might be covered for them, everyone is equal but they’re just a little more equal. 

 

[lilith]

1 hour ago, sparkles said:

The Maxwells shill for Scamaritan—they’re pretty much the poster family—so I have a feeling that when it comes to what might be covered for them, everyone is equal but they’re just a little more equal. 

 

They’re also high profile in the fundie world, so when Scamaritan users choose where to send their contributions or feel led to send extra love offerings the Maxwells will be top of the list. 
Anonymous Joe Christian whose daughter had children out of wedlock who appear on his Facebook page in shorts and tank tops isn’t going to get that sort of support.

[moreorlessnu]

4 hours ago, Bethy said:

Could they work around that by "selling" the house and lot to one of the sisters, and then "buy" it back when everything is settled?

And to outbreed the folks of other religions and skin colors...

There's a 5 year look back period. They will also come after you if you didn't sell the house for fair market value. So if you want to sell your house to 1 of your kids for $1 and then go on Medicaid, they'll come after you for the value of the house. 

If you put your house in an irrevocable trust, then the house is no longer considered to be one of your assets, but again, there's that 5 year look back period. Meaning, if you want to go on Medicaid to enter a nursing facility, you'd have to spend down your assets, and you would have had to put the house in an irrevocable trust at least 5 years ago. I've heard rumblings that they would like to increase it to a 10 year look back period. 

[Maggie Mae]

9 minutes ago, moreorlessnu said:

There's a 5 year look back period. They will also come after you if you didn't sell the house for fair market value. So if you want to sell your house to 1 of your kids for $1 and then go on Medicaid, they'll come after you for the value of the house. 

If you put your house in an irrevocable trust, then the house is no longer considered to be one of your assets, but again, there's that 5 year look back period. Meaning, if you want to go on Medicaid to enter a nursing facility, you'd have to spend down your assets, and you would have had to put the house in an irrevocable trust at least 5 years ago. I've heard rumblings that they would like to increase it to a 10 year look back period. 

Is this nationwide or are we still talking about MA? (I can't spell it close enough for spell check to grasp it and I gave up. I hope that's the right postal code.) If my mom (70) just inherited a house and has substantial savings, how should I advise her to handle the house (should she sell it and move into an RV while she still has her health (it's something she wants to do?)) Or would it be better for her to stay in the house and try to avoid assisted living? (Like the person she inherited it from?) 

[Granwych]

On 7/8/2020 at 11:42 AM, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I tear my lettuce like a true artisan!

...sniff...culinary queen that I am, I  cut lettuce with a plastic lettuce knife to prevent the leaves turning brown.   Why have I not been invited to star in my own cooking show??

 

[CyborgKin]

19 hours ago, Mcnapple said:

"One of the greatest examples our family observed of starting to learn self-control at a young age was when our girls were asked to watch two babies about 6 or 7 months old .. When the mommies returned, the babies saw them and both started to cry for their mommies....the mommies said, “No, we won’t take them until they stop crying.” Even at that age with something so simple, these mommies were helping their children learn self-control."

"It was then that we began to suspect that the 'mommies' had been replaced by evil robots."

[Foudeb]

I thought their house was only in Chris' name, not in Anna's? Could that actually work in their favour? 

[lilith]

I can’t imagine what my teenage daughter would do if she went to hand a baby back to its mother and the mother just refused to take it til it stopped crying. It’s not some random teens job to settle your baby, Lady, even in the name of “teaching self control”. 

[moreorlessnu]

11 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Is this nationwide or are we still talking about MA? (I can't spell it close enough for spell check to grasp it and I gave up. I hope that's the right postal code.) If my mom (70) just inherited a house and has substantial savings, how should I advise her to handle the house (should she sell it and move into an RV while she still has her health (it's something she wants to do?)) Or would it be better for her to stay in the house and try to avoid assisted living? (Like the person she inherited it from?) 

I am not an elder law or trusts and estate attorney, so it might be good for your Mom to speak with one.

My understanding is if you have assets (whether that be money in the bank or a house), Medicaid expects you to spend down the cash and sell the house (if you live in it alone) to pay for the assisted living. You can hold off on selling the house if someone else lives in it, such as a spouse or dependent child, but "they" (not sure if it's Federal or State) can eventually seek restitution once the house is sold.

So, if your mother sold the house, the money she receives would be part of the assets she would have to spend down. Depending on her age and health, she could protect the house by putting it in a irrevocable trust. There are also revocable trusts, but in this situation, it would have to be an irrevocable rust. 

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Is this nationwide or are we still talking about MA? (I can't spell it close enough for spell check to grasp it and I gave up. I hope that's the right postal code.) If my mom (70) just inherited a house and has substantial savings, how should I advise her to handle the house (should she sell it and move into an RV while she still has her health (it's something she wants to do?)) Or would it be better for her to stay in the house and try to avoid assisted living? (Like the person she inherited it from?) 

Get a lawyer who specializes in this kind of thing. My mother set up a trust to protect some of her assets should she go into a nursing home. It all worked out fine. There are different options so I would get expert advice for mom. Good luck!

[HerNameIsBuffy]

6 hours ago, Foudeb said:

I thought their house was only in Chris' name, not in Anna's? Could that actually work in their favour? 

What?  Why?  I know nothing about the estate laws in Kansas but were he to predecease her I'd hope it would revert to her as a spouse.

What possible reason would they have for doing this?

[moreorlessnu]

2 hours ago, moreorlessnu said:

I am not an elder law or trusts and estate attorney, so it might be good for your Mom to speak with one.

My understanding is if you have assets (whether that be money in the bank or a house), Medicaid expects you to spend down the cash and sell the house (if you live in it alone) to pay for the assisted living. You can hold off on selling the house if someone else lives in it, such as a spouse or dependent child, but "they" (not sure if it's Federal or State) can eventually seek restitution once the house is sold.

So, if your mother sold the house, the money she receives would be part of the assets she would have to spend down. Depending on her age and health, she could protect the house by putting it in a irrevocable trust. There are also revocable trusts, but in this situation, it would have to be an irrevocable rust. 

I should clarify the bolded part. She can put the house in an irrevocable trust at any time. If she were already 90 and anticipating going into a nursing home within the next 6 to 18 months, then there wouldn't be enough time for the "5 year look back period". But, if she's 70, in good health, and just planning for her future, then it may make sense to put the house in an irrevocable trust. In 5 years, the house would not be considered as part of her assets if she needed to go on to Medicaid.

[kpmom]

An update from Anna; her platelet count was low so she will be staying an extra week to finish up her last chemo treatment.

Her oncologist gave her the option of skipping the last chemo and going home.  But, she wisely chose to stay and get the last treatment.

 

[Palimpsest]

3 hours ago, moreorlessnu said:

I am not an elder law or trusts and estate attorney, so it might be good for your Mom to speak with one.

Agreed, but I'd say it is essential.

The whole thing is intensely complicated.  That is why it is such a specialist legal area. 

I'm not a lawyer and many moons have passed since I worked for Medicaid under Romney.   And I never worked on eligibility or estate recovery, thank god.  Just a couple of sexy little pilot programs that ended up being absorbed into MassHealth or Romneycare as we used to call it.

Quote

My understanding is if you have assets (whether that be money in the bank or a house), Medicaid expects you to spend down the cash and sell the house (if you live in it alone) to pay for the assisted living. You can hold off on selling the house if someone else lives in it, such as a spouse or dependent child, but "they" (not sure if it's Federal or State) can eventually seek restitution once the house is sold

As I said earlier, Estate Recovery for Medicaid is Federal law.  The individual states do the legwork collecting the money though.  Federal Law always trumps (if you will excuse the word) individual state laws.

Quote

tate Medicaid programs must recover certain Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of a Medicaid enrollee. For individuals age 55 or older, states are required to seek recovery of payments from the individual's estate for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services. States have the option to recover payments for all other Medicaid services provided to these individuals, except Medicare cost-sharing paid on behalf of Medicare Savings Program beneficiaries.

Under certain conditions, money remaining in a trust after a Medicaid enrollee has passed away may be used to reimburse Medicaid. States may not recover from the estate of a deceased Medicaid enrollee who is survived by a spouse, child under age 21, or blind or disabled child of any age. States are also required to establish procedures for waiving estate recovery when recovery would cause an undue hardship.

States may impose liens for Medicaid benefits incorrectly paid pursuant to a court judgment. States may also impose liens on real property during the lifetime of a Medicaid enrollee who is permanently institutionalized, except when one of the following individuals resides in the home: the spouse, child under age 21, blind or disabled child of any age, or sibling who has an equity interest in the home. The states must remove the lien when the Medicaid enrollee is discharged from the facility and returns home.

https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/eligibility/estate-recovery/index.html

And another recent article:  

https://www.elderlawanswers.com/medicaids-power-to-recoup-benefits-paid-estate-recovery-and-liens-12018

Essentially Medicaid is funded by both the Federal and State governments.  What a state appropriates and spends on Medicaid (within Fed legal limits) is (at a minimum) matched dollar for dollar by the Feds.  Some states and populations can also get "enhanced match rates."  Look at figure 1. in this article for more info on individual states. 

https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-financing-how-does-it-work-and-what-are-the-implications/

And that is much more info than most people ever want on Medicaid. 

As an aside, I remember talking to a young Trump supporter back in 2016 and warning her that Trump could gut Medicaid.  She said, "That's OK, I have MassHealth."

I told her (through my teeth) that Medicaid and MassHealth are the very same thing!

[PennySycamore]

@Palimpsest, regarding that young Trump supporter, isn't it amazing how clueless some people can be?

[freejugar]

I'm glad she's wise enough to complete her treatment. Maybe she should wait a few weeks in her parents' home until she is healthier? 

[Maggie Mae]

4 hours ago, moreorlessnu said:

I should clarify the bolded part. She can put the house in an irrevocable trust at any time. If she were already 90 and anticipating going into a nursing home within the next 6 to 18 months, then there wouldn't be enough time for the "5 year look back period". But, if she's 70, in good health, and just planning for her future, then it may make sense to put the house in an irrevocable trust. In 5 years, the house would not be considered as part of her assets if she needed to go on to Medicaid.

Thanks, this is the information I was looking for, I know she needs to find an attorney, but it helps when I can explain things to her before looking for that person. 

[Lady Grass Lake]

20 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Is this nationwide or are we still talking about MA? (I can't spell it close enough for spell check to grasp it and I gave up. I hope that's the right postal code.) If my mom (70) just inherited a house and has substantial savings, how should I advise her to handle the house (should she sell it and move into an RV while she still has her health (it's something she wants to do?)) Or would it be better for her to stay in the house and try to avoid assisted living? (Like the person she inherited it from?) 

Find a good lawyer/financial planner who deals in Medicare and senior financial planning.   Nursing homes are expensive and Medicare or insurance plans only cover some of the costs so the rest comes out of a patient's savings, pension income or Soc. Sec.  There are legal ways to protect some of the assets and I recommend working with someone who knows how the whole thing works.  Hubby and I found a planner we liked at a 3 hour free dinner for listening to a lecture about Social Security.  He offered a free consultation and then for $250 once he had our information, prepared a plan and left it to us to decide if we wanted to go with him or not.  He had excellent references as well.  Everyone's situation is different, so go with experts who know the law and protect yourself and family.

 

[Palimpsest]

2 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@Palimpsest, regarding that young Trump supporter, isn't it amazing how clueless some people can be?

Why, yes.  But that young Trump supporter was (still is) the best vet tech EVER!  Has held my hand and cried with me when we have to let dogs go.

But she has also told me that she had the home-life from hell and never graduated high school. Home life  may have contributed to the never graduated bit ... and the Trump lover bit too.  

I love her.  And perhaps, just perhaps, I did get through back then.

We do not discuss politics these days, but I did hear that she checked my input on MassHealth=Medicaid back in 2016.  And got the right answer.  No idea how she voted in 2016.  No idea how she will vote in 2020.

But she still always self-selects as the primary vet tech for my pups.  So perhaps (Trump hater me) got through.

Little Guy is due for his rabies booster in August.  I plan to ask her how she is voting.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by Palimpsest

[Lady Grass Lake]

Advice from someone who waited too long, if you are past the age of say 40 or so, and in good health, look into getting long term care insurance going.  If you are taking blood pressure meds or statins, or are diabetic or have some medical conditions, it makes it more expensive to difficult to get, so do it while you can.   I started taking a statin in my 40's because I have the kind if cholesterol that is heridetary, so changing my diet doesn't make a difference, and because of that, I couldn't get the insurance in my 50's.  

[Coconut Flan]

3 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@Palimpsest, regarding that young Trump supporter, isn't it amazing how clueless some people can be?

I have a neighbor who hated "Obamacare," but loved Covered California (same thing basically).  

[fundiefan]

15 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I have a neighbor who hated "Obamacare," but loved Covered California (same thing basically).  

That reminds me of one of the late night (maybe?) talk show hosts who did street interviews. He talked to people about "ObamaCare" and "The Affordable Care Act", asking which they preferred and why. The number of people who went off on how awful Obamacare is and they want the Affordable Care Act now instead literally left me speechless. 

We have Badger Care. I used to work with a woman whose daughter & grandkids were on it. She loved it, thought it was great - we had a GOP Governor then, a devisive one, and she raved at how lucky we were to live in a state with a good healtcare system and don't have to use "that Obamacare garbage". Never mind that Badger Care was essentially Obamacare. 

I often wonder how people get through life like that. 

[VVV]

2 hours ago, Lady Grass Lake said:

Advice from someone who waited too long, if you are past the age of say 40 or so, and in good health, look into getting long term care insurance going.  If you are taking blood pressure meds or statins, or are diabetic or have some medical conditions, it makes it more expensive to difficult to get, so do it while you can.   I started taking a statin in my 40's because I have the kind if cholesterol that is heridetary, so changing my diet doesn't make a difference, and because of that, I couldn't get the insurance in my 50's.  

My husband and I got LTC insurance a few years ago when we were in our mid-fifties. We are both in good health although I have a chronic illness (ulcerative colitis) that is mostly in remission. Thanks to the UC, I am rated for life insurance—they think I might die—but I am also paying a lot for LTC because they think I’ll live forever.  ?

Combined cost for both of us is around $350/month. My father was in a nursing home for nearly four years and my mother spent ten years in assisted living followed by a year and a half in skilled nursing, so I consider this money well spent.