What is a Miller Trust and Why Do I Need One?
Video Summary
What is a Miller Trust? Well a Miller Trust is also known as a Qualified Income Trust, also known as a d4a trust. A lot of times people have confusion as to whether or not a Miller Trust is a viable planning tool for them when it comes to estate planning. However, a Miller Trust is only specifically utilized for one thing and that is with respect to qualifying for Medicaid coverage for skilled nursing care, within the State of Florida. Well why would I potentially need a Miller Trust in the event that I needed Medicaid for skilled nursing care?
Well, the whole purpose of a Miller Trust is to divert excess income that the recipient is receiving on a monthly basis. Let me explain how this works. Right now the allowable threshold for income on a monthly basis from Medicaid for skilled nursing care is $2,205 per month. Let’s say you have a situation … I want to be very clear here, this is the gross monthly income. There’s a lot of misnomers where people … 2,205 net within my bank account each month from my social security. Unfortunately, Medicaid does not consider what your net income is. Medicaid only considers what your gross monthly income is. Let’s use the hypothetical example that you have an individual whose gross monthly income is $2,206 per month, so $1 over the allowable threshold for Medicaid. In that situation, if you just applied for Medicaid based upon what your income was, you would be denied, and a lot of people say, “Well, a dollar, that’s not very much at all,” but that’s the requirement.
In order to essentially divert that excess money, that dollar each month, a Miller trust is created and funded in the same month that you are trying to attain Medicaid coverage, in order to divert that excess income. A Miller trust is only a viable planning tool in the event that you do have more than $2,205 on a monthly basis as far as your gross monthly income, in order to qualify for Medicaid for skilled nursing care. If you have any other questions regarding a Miller trust or if a Miller trust is a viable planning tool for you, please give me a call here at the law firm of Waller & Mitchell at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Medicaid Planning, Videos
May Homestead Exemption Be Kept While in College in Another State?
Video Summary
May Florida homestead exemption be kept while I’m away at college in another state? The answer is yes, and that as long as this is your home and where you reside, other than when you’re temporarily away, you can retain your homestead exemption. Another example of this is folks that own their home here in Florida. However, they get their motor coach and they tour the United States and they may only come back for a couple of weeks out of each year. They feel this is their permanent residence. They intend on residing here permanently and they don’t claim homestead in any other state. They’re entitled to homestead exemption for their ad valorem taxes. Another example of people being able to retain their homestead exemption is in the event that a property owner has to go into to skilled nursing care. Just because they’re absent from the home as a result of illness or being in a nursing home, they still have the intent to return home, and therefore are able to continue to claim or receive homestead exemption.
However, if the property is rented, under any of these circumstances, well that would then jeopardize the homestead exemption and it is not being held for your permanent residence, but is held for rental property. If you have some other question about homestead exemptions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Videos
What is the Required Notice I Must Give My Tenant Before Stopping By?
Video Summary
What is the required notice that I must give my tenant that are running my house to do an inspection or come by. The landlord/tenant statute does give you the right to inspect your property that the tenant are residing there. You need to give them reasonable notice. What is reasonable notice? That’s like beauty, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. I would suggest that you should probably give them at least 24 hours notice. How do you give them the notice? How do you usually communicate to them? Do you text them? Do you call them? Leave a message? Do you call them or whatever? It’s just a matter of courtesy as far as doing that to let them know you run into problems.
However, the tenent says, “No, you can’t come by. I’ve got pets. I don’t want you there. If I’m not there, all these are problematic.” What your right is and and what actually happens are two different things [inaudible 00:01:19] can be. The last thing you want to do is wind up having to confer with an attorney to be able to go in and inspect the property. If I’m advising tenants, I suggest that they do let the landlord come in. If I’m advising the landlords, I suggest that they go ahead and reach out to the tenant and try and coordinate a time in which they can go by and go into the property.
If the landlord does go into property while the tenant is not there, I suggest that they possibly take someone with them so that they have a witness in the event the tenant then says, “Well, I’m missing this or I’m missing that,” so just as a precautionary measure if the landlord enters the premises while the tenant is not there to have a witness as for as when and also what they observed as far as that’s concerned, and also take pictures or video whenever they make the visit.
Although the statute says the landlord has a right of inspection, and I suggest to give reasonable notice and how many days, it may be specified on the lease or some other arrangement, but just trying to extend courtesy to the tenant and respect their rights and try to work with your tenant. Hopefully, it doesn’t become an issue as far as you’re running arrangement to the point where you can terminate the lease if they don’t or send them a notice that if they don’t allow you possession or inspection within seven days then that you will terminate the lease.
If you have any other questions on that, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Videos
What is Considered Fair in Wear and Tear of Rental Property?
Video Summary
What is considered fair in cleaning, and wear and tear under the Florida law, regarding rental property, and moving out? Well, this is a very subjective matter as to what is wear and tear, and how clean do you have to leave it?
A lot of times you’re looking at leases, and they say that you have to leave it in the same condition as what it was whenever you first moved it. And as far as wear and tear is concerned, well then we need to look at what the condition of the property is.
If you could use foresight, if you’re concerned about that when you move into property, I suggest that if you could archive the information by taking pictures of the property, particularly if there’s any particular problems, or if it’s particularly dirty or there’s anything that’s damaged, the condition of the carpeting.
Whenever you move out, a lot has to do with, how long have you been in there? If you’ve been in there seven or eight years, well there’s going to be a lot more wear and tear. If you’ve only been in there one year, well what’s the wear and tear over one year? It is a very subjective test, so what a landlord can try to impose upon your security deposit … on a tenant’s security deposit, is again, somewhat subjective. However, if it’s wear and tear, they cannot do that if the cleaning is not … what standard that is. You just can’t leave debris in there, you need to leave it, as they say, broom clean. As far as carpeting’s concerned, you’ll need to probably clean them, but if the carpet’s stained, or whatever, now you’ve got some problems and the landlord’s been damaged, and can the carpet be salvaged. And if so, how much is the claim for the damaged carpet?
It’s always good to have before and after pictures, whether you’re the landlord, or the tenent, for that matter. If you could ask the landlord, or if it’s a rental [inaudible 00:02:30], go ahead, and if the [inaudible 00:02:33] those [inaudible 00:02:34] of [inaudible 00:02:37], so we can take them … have pictures of [inaudible 00:02:40] you move out [inaudible 00:02:40] and [inaudible 00:02:43] arises, and the judge is the one that would decide [inaudible 00:02:48] there’s damage, or whether [inaudible 00:02:52] and tear. He gets a look at the before and after. So I think that that would be very telling. Although I’m giving this great advice to you, I don’t think … very rarely do I see that they … or anyone, either the landlord or the tenent, has had the foresight to take pictures of the property before the tenent moved in, as far as that’s concerned. Sometimes we do have some pictures of the status, or if it was relatively new house, or a completely … just completely redone and had new carpeting, or whatever in the property. Well that’s a tell-tale sign.
That is something, if you’re concerned about this, and you’ve had problems with landlords in the past, you might, the next time you move in is go ahead and take the pictures of the property when you move in. Particularly if there’s anything damaged, or the landlord says, “I’m going to take care of fixing something.”, or the air conditioning is a problem with that. If you go ahead and take pictures of it, so when you move out, there’s some question about it, well then you’ve got your pictures to say, “Well look, this is the condition it was in when I moved in.”
Again, it’s a very subjective test. If you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Videos