Illinois Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

A federal appeals court has ruled that those over age 65 and eligible for Social Security cannot escape their automatic entitlement to Medicare Part A benefits unless they repay all the Social Security funds paid to them.

Three retired federal workers who have reached age 65 and are receiving Social Security sued because they want to disclaim their legal entitlement to Medicare Part A coverage, which pays for care in institutions like hospitals. They want to disclaim the entitlement because their private insurance plans limit coverage for those who can get coverage from Medicare. The retirees claim they would get superior coverage from their private insurers.

A U.S. district court judge ruled against the federal workers, and they appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that while the retirees have the right to refuse Medicare payment for services, they remain legally entitled to them because they signed up for Social Security. The judges in the majority pointed out that while entitlement to Social Security is optional because an application must be filed in order to receive the program’s benefit, no such application is required for Medicare Part A.

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Serving as trustee requires responsibility. If the trustee does not perform his duties properly, he could be personally liable.

A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a trustee, holds legal title to property for another person, called a beneficiary.

A trustee’s duties include locating and protecting trust assets, investing assets prudently, distributing assets to beneficiaries, keeping track of income and expenditures and filing tax returns. A trustee has a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the trust, meaning that he has an obligation to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries at all times. It also means he will be held to a higher standard than if the trustee were dealing with his personal finances.

A trustee is entitled to hire an attorney and other professionals like an accountant to assist in the trust administration. The attorney, accountant and other professional fees will be paid from the trust funds.

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If you are caring for your mother or father, you may be able to claim your parent as a dependent on your income taxes. This would allow you to get an exemption for her or him.

There are five tests to determine if you can claim a parent as a dependent:

1) The person you are claiming as a dependent must be related to you. This should not be a problem if you are claiming a parent (in-laws are also allowed). Keep in mind that foster parents do not count at a relative. To claim a foster parent, he must live with you for a year as a member of your household.

2) Your parent must be a citizen or resident of the United States or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

3) Your parent must not file a joint return. If your parent is married, he must file separately. There is an exception if your parent is filing jointly, but has no tax liability. If your parent files a joint tax return solely to get a refund, you can claim him as a dependent.

4) Your parent must not have a gross income exceeding the allowable exemption amount for that year. Gross income does not include Social Security payments or other tax-exempt income.

5) You must provide more than half of the support for your parent during the year. Support includes amounts spent to provide food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, transportation and similar necessities. Even if you do not pay more than half of your parent’s support for the year, you may be able to claim your parent as a dependent if you pay more than 10 percent of your parent’s support for the year, and, with others, collectively contribute to more than half of your parent’s support. To receive the exemption, all those supporting your parent must agree on and sign the applicable Multiple Support Declaration (Form 2021).

If you cannot claim your parent as a dependent because he filed a joint tax return or has a gross income above the limit for that year but you have been paying for your parent’s medical expenses, you may still be able to deduct those expenses from your own taxes.

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