Page 15 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - May 2018 - 25-05
P. 15
Ask The
Senior Times - May 2018
Page 15
QUALITY CARE IN THE
COMFORT OF YOUR HOME
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• Healthcare Services • Oxygen & Medical Supplies
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Bronson at Home offers services in nine counties across southwest Michigan.
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JOINT TITLED PROPERTY
QUESTION: My family and I are fourth generation and owners of the old family home in South Haven, Michigan. We have a quit claim deed with survivor’s ben- efits since our parents passed
away. It lists all eight siblings as one-eighth owners. We have one brother who lives there solely and keeps up the house and property. He is on Medicare and Medicaid and receives benefits. How does recovery law passed in the State of Michigan in 2011 affect this prop- erty? We lost one sister so the home is owned by seven of us now.
ANSWER: First of all, I would advise you to make sure the home is titled to you and your siblings as joint tenants so that it automatically passes to the survivor by law. This is the one mistake that people make most often on a deed, especially if they prepare it themselves. They try to keep it out of probate and that is exactly where it ends up. I do not know if your deed was prepared by an attorney or not but I would double check this. You will see why it is important below.
The Estate Recovery Act, to which you are referring, currently only attaches assets in probate. For the State of Michigan to go after your
home, it must go through probate. If your deed was drafted properly and you are correct that it does pass to the survivor, then your home will not go to probate when your brother dies UNLESS he is the last surviving sib- ling. As such, the State of Michigan will not be able to get your home unless your brother is the last to die.
Further, in order for the Estate Recovery Act to apply, your brother must be in the MI Choice Waiver program. This is a program where
he would be in a nursing home but for the care he is getting at home. He can stay at home and still receive the Medicaid benefits for long term care.
Michael B. Walling is an Elder Law attorney with a Master of Laws degree. He manages The Elder Law Center and the law firm of Michael B. Walling, PLC. Mr. Walling is also a part-time Professor at Western Michigan University. Please send any questions you would like addressed to: The Elder Law Center, 4625 Beckley Road, Building 400, Suite 4003, Battle Creek, Michigan, 49015. You may also call (269) 968-1101 to set up a free initial consultation. This column is intended for general infor- mation purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice to any particular person.
ATTORNEY
Michael Walling, Special to Senior Times
Cooking
THE ELDER LAW CENTER
Helping Seniors Preserve Their Lives
Asset Protection Planning for Persons in a Nursing Home or Entering a Nursing Home Powers of Attorney • Wills • Trusts • Probate
Don't Lose Everything You Have To the Nursing Home
I can help you save up to 100% of your assets.
Michael B. Walling, J.D., LL.M.
Let me help you properly draft and fund a trust before you or your spouse enter a nursing home; it could save you over $50,000!
MICHAEL B. WALLING
Elder Law Attorney
Author of "Ask the Attorney"
Call for a free
initial consultation*.
*Except Asset Protection Planning
(269) 324-7344
Offices in Portage & Battle Creek
www.wallingplc.com
Helping Seniors preserve their lives for more than a decade.
HOT MILK CAKE
May is a great month to honor
my Grandma Stelloh. Not only is
it Mother’s Day, but her birthday was in May too. I have the honor
of having her old notebooks filled with her favorite recipes and one she made often was Hot Milk Cake. I am sharing this recipe just as it’s written including her editorial comments.
Thinking of you Grandma!
Hot Milk Cake Ingredients:
• 2 well-beaten eggs • 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 cup of hot milk (real hot)
• 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees and grease a 7- by 7-inch baking pan; set aside.
Beat eggs light and thick. Slowly add sugar and beat with a spoon 5 minutes or with mixer 2 1⁄2 minutes. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into separate bowl. Fold into egg and sugar mixture all at one time. (Work quickly – no puttering here.)
Melt butter in hot milk and add all at once. The folding in of flour and milk should only take 60 seconds. Bake in greased tin for 30 minutes. For cupcakes, bake at 370 degrees for 20 minutes.
FOR TWO
Joanna Stelloh Phelps, Special to Senior Times
Battle Creek
Comprehensive skilled nursing & rehabilitation services
Experience Makes a Difference.
200 Roosevelt Avenue E Battle Creek, MI 49037
269.965.3327
www.heartlandnursing.com