Babette was co-counsel in Gerkin v. Reiger/Levine.  This was a landmark civil rights class action lawsuit in Federal District Court, Middle District, Florida. As a result of this lawsuit, the State of Florida was forced to change the Medicaid policy in 2004 to provide for coverage of all uninsured medical benefits to over 45,000 Medicaid recipients residing in nursing homes.  This new benefit was funded by the Florida legislature with an appropriation of 52 million dollars in 2004.  The program has remained funded continuously since 2004.

Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law
Bach & Jacobs, P.A.
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
941.906.1231
941.954.1185 facsimile
www.bachjacobs.com

An Appeal is independent of any other IRS office.  This provides a venue for disagreements concerning tax law to be heard on a fair and impartial basis for both the taxpayer and the government. 

            Review the letter and publication that was sent to you by the IRS department making the decision.  This will instruct you on how to prepare for an appeal, where to mail the request, when it must be received and any information you need to include for your appeal request.  Filing for an appeal will not stop interest and penalties from accruing. 

            An Appeals or Settlement Advisor is appointed to evaluate your case.  Appeals can be conducted in person, by telephone or by correspondence.  The goal is to have a third party Officer work with you and the IRS department to resolve the tax dispute.

            For more information on IRS Appeals, visit www.irs.gov or contact our office to schedule an initial consultation.

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

The Veterans Administration has a 30 day respite program. This is not a new program however it is not highly publicized.  It is known as the “respite” program primarily to assist caregivers of veterans.  It provides the caregiver some personal time away.  It can vary in the hours, but can provide up to 6 hours per day, for a maximum of 30 days.  If the Veteran is already receiving services from a homemaker or home health program, the maximum time allowance still remains 6 hours per day. 

Planning 6-8 weeks in advance for these services is highly recommended.

The primary V.A. physician or the V.A. social worker has to refer the Veteran for this program.  Upon receipt of the referral, they will process the request for services.

For non-service connected disability, there is $15 co-pay per day.

The alternate program in this category is the “on campus” program at the Bay Pines V.A. Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, which offers up to two 15 day in-house stays in a year with a minimum of 5 day stay.  This program is available as long as the Veteran does not have dementia and does not wander.  The two 15 day stays can not be taken all together. Skilled nursing is not provided with the on campus program.

You can qualify for both the on campus stay and the at home respite services. 

For more information on these programs, please call (727) 398-6661.

If you need legal advice for Medicaid planning, VA planning or estate planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

IRS Appeals.  Are you ready to File? Appeals is for you if you received an IRS correspondence explaining you have the right to an Appeal and you do not agree and will not sign the agreement form that was sent to you.

Appeals are not for you if the correspondence was a bill with no mention of the right to appeal or your only concern is that you cannot afford to pay the amount owed.

If you think you are ready to file an appeal, consider the following:

• If you need help in deciding whether the IRS made an incorrect decision due to misinterpreting the law, check the publications discussing your issue(s) for additional information, or refer to Tax Topics located  on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/index.html
• If you believe the IRS did not properly apply the law due to a misunderstanding of the facts, be prepared to clarify and support your position refer to the Examination page located  on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=160728,00.html
• If you believe the IRS is taking an inappropriate collection action against you, or you do not agree with Collection's denial of your offer in compromise, refer to the Collections page located on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=160743,00.html 

If you believe the facts used by the IRS are incorrect, then you should have records or other support available to back up your position.  You are ready to request an Appeals conference or hearing if you can explain why you disagree with the IRS decision.

For legal advice, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

There are some VA benefits to help with home care, assisted living benefits costs for veterans or their surviving spouse.  These benefits are for non-service connected disabilities.  There are three basic requirements.  One must be a wartime veteran (or their surviving dependents) who is totally disabled and in financial need.  This program is called “Aid and Attendance”.  It will cover certain home care costs and assisted living expenses if all eligibility requirements are met. 

            A married veteran can receive a maximum benefit of $2,020/month,

            A single veteran can receive $1,704/month       
            A surviving spouse of a veteran can receive $1,094/month.

There is an asset test ($80,000.00 for both a couple and a single veteran) and an income test (after deducting un-reimbursed medical expenses or health care expenses) and a medical need test (needing assistance with 3 activities of daily living).

In order to apply for these benefits, one must have excellent documentation.  Remember, it is important to keep copies of honorable discharge papers, marriage licenses, death certificates and proof of medical expenses.

If you need legal advice for VA planning, Medicaid planning or estate planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

The IRS has issued several consumer warnings about the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets. Scamsters will use the regular mail, telephone, fax or email to set up their victims. When identity theft takes place over the Internet (email), it is called phishing.

Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity. Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.

The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through email. Unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, or from an IRS-related component such as EFTPS, should be reported to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

Additionally, clicking on attachments to or links within an unsolicited email claiming to come from the IRS may download a malicous computer virus onto your computer.

Go to www.irs.gov to learn more about identity theft and how to protect your personal information.

You may also report instances of IRS-related phishing attempts and fraud to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484.

For your tax advice needs, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

Simple Will vs. a Revocable Living Trust :
      

Simple Will:  A very effective tool to designate who gets what after death.  Probate is required but this is not usually a difficult process.  The average cost of probate is 3% of the probate assets and the average length of time to complete is six months.  Many assets are not part of the probate estate such as jointly titled real estate, IRAs, annuities, life insurance policies and jointly held assets.

Revocable Living Trusts;   These are more complex documents which provide for the trustee to manage assets while the settler is alive but incapacitated or deceased.  It can hold assets in trust for a variety of reasons after the settlor’s death.  Typical reasons may include, a spendthrift child, a disabled descendent, an income trust for the life of a surviving spouse, then residue to children upon death of surviving spouse, Charitable foundations, Pet trusts, generation trusts and tax planning etc.  There is still administrative work to do to administer a trust. Typical costs run about 2% of the trust estate.  It takes about the same amount of time to administer a trust as to probate a Will.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

            2011 taxes need to be postmarked by April 17, 2012.  A request for an extension must be filed by April 17, 2012 using the IRS Form 4868.  Fiscal year taxpayers file Form 4868 by the regular due date of the return.

            If you are out of the country and are a U.S. citizen or resident, you are allowed an extra two months to file your return.  For this calendar year, that date will be June 15, 2012.  You will pay interest on any tax not paid by the regular due date, even if you qualify for this two month extension.

            If you choose to file for an extension, the IRS generally cannot extend your due date past six months (October 15, 2012).  There may be an exception if you are living out of the country.  See www.irs.gov for more information. 

            There is a late penalty for any unpaid taxes.  The standard is .50 of 1% of any tax not paid by the deadline date.  It is charged for each month or part of the month that the tax goes unpaid.  The maximum penalty is 25%.

For more information on your tax return and tax filing deadlines, visit www.irs.gov.  Please contact our office for an initial consultation if you need legal advice.

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law

Bach & Jacobs, P.A. 240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

Sarasota County property owners need to remember that they may qualify for exemptions if they are disabled veterans.

• There are three types of exemptions available to Veterans:
  • Service Connected Disability Exemption - $5,000
    • You must be a permanent resident of the state of Florida and a Veteran
    • Veterans entitled must submit VA Letter #27-125 stating that they have a permanent disability to a degree of 10% or more
      • Contact Department of Veterans Affairs at (800) 827-1000 to request this form.
    • A spouse of a deceased honorably discharged Veteran who was married for a minimum of 5 years is also eligible
  • Total and Permanent Disability Exemption (Service Connected) - Ad Valorem Taxes Waived
    • Available to any honorably discharged veteran and deemed totally and permanently disabled, surviving spouse of the disabled veteran, and spouse of the veteran who died from service connected causes while on duty.
    • Veteran must be a permanent resident of State of Florida or have been so at the time of death and veteran or surviving spouse must own and occupy property in Sarasota County as their permanent residences as of January 1st of the year for which the exemption is being filed.
  • Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Discount - % Discount
    • Available to any honorably discharged veteran who is at least 65 years old and is deemed to be totally and permanently disabled to a degree of 10% or more. 
    • All or portion of such disability must have been combat related and the veteran must have been a resident of Florida at the time of entering the military.
    • Veteran must own and occupy property in Sarasota County as their permanent residence as of January 1st of the year for which the exemption is being filed.
• See www.sc-pa.com/content/veterans.asp for additional requirements and for complete explanation of each exemption or contact the Sarasota County Property Appraiser's office at (941) 861-8200.

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.
Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law
Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 906-1231
www.bachjacobs.com

    There are substantial tax deductions for long-term care insurance premiums paid in 2011.  When preparing your 2011 tax returns remember that:

             Premiums for "qualified" long-term care policies will be treated as a medical expense and will be deductible to the extent that they, along with other unreimbursed medical expenses (including "Medigap" insurance premiums), exceed 7.5 percent of the insured's adjusted gross income. If you are self-employed, the rules are a little different. You can take the amount of the premium as a deduction as long as it does not exceed your net income derived from the self employment minus the deduction for 50% of the self employment tax and any deductions for contributions to qualified retirement plans or SEPS. Your medical expenses do not have to exceed 7.5 percent of your income if you are employed.

     The deductibility of premiums is limited by the age of the taxpayer at the end of the year, as follows (the limits will be adjusted annually with inflation):

Bach & Jacobs, P.A.
Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law
Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 906-1231
www.bachjacobs.com

  Often family members are given copies of wills for safekeeping, but trouble arises when someone dies and the original will is lost.  In Florida, when an original will is known to have existed but can not be located, there is a presumption that the person destroyed the will with the intent to revoke it.  Therefore, a party probating a lost will must present evidence at a hearing to overcome this presumption.  Don’t panic, as it is possible in most cases to overcome this presumption.

     Florida courts will allow testimony at a hearing from a disinterested witness to prove the execution and contents of a lost will.  If there is an exact copy of the lost original will, the testimony of only one witness to the will execution is required.  However, an unsigned draft of a will does not constitute an exact copy.  If there is no exact copy of a signed will, then the testimony of two disinterested witnesses are required to prove the execution and content of the document.  In every case, a hearing is required in order to satisfy the requirements of Florida Statute 733.207 and relevant Florida case law.  

Contact the law firm of Bach & Jacobs, P.A. for an initial consultation. 
Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law
Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 906-1231
www.bachjacobs.com

                                           Government launched a new Health Care website

On July 1, 2010, a new website was launched to help Americans understand new health care laws, to evaluate and compare all of their health insurance options, private and public, in a single place.

Barack Obama released a video giving a tour of this new healthcare.gov website. To see the video click here.

The main draw of this “one stop shop” website is a searchable database of not only the private but also public health insurance coverage options available based on your location, age, employment, health status and ability to afford insurance.

By inputting your state of residence and answering several questions about your age and health condition you will receive a list of ways to access insurance: Medicaid, COBRA plans, high risk insurance pool program, private-market individual insurance plans, etc.

By entering your zip code, you will get a list of all of the private insurance plans offered in your area, with links to the plans’ benefits and insurance companies’ contact information. Unfortunately, the website does not provide how much the plans cost (premiums and deductibles). Price estimates will be available on the website by October 2010.

For more information see http://healthcare.gov