Oct. 15, 2024

Medicaid in Michigan: Why You Should Remove Your Home from Your Trust (Episode # 306)

Did you know? Removing your home from your trust might be necessary for Medicaid eligibility in Michigan. Listen to our latest episode for essential tips! #Medicaid #Michigan

Did you know? Removing your home from your trust might be necessary for Medicaid eligibility in Michigan. Listen to our latest episode for essential tips! #Medicaid #Michigan

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Well, good afternoon, michiganers. It is Tuesday, October fifteen, twenty

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twenty four, and this is of course Tuesday with Tom,

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Michigan's only weekly internet show where we do answer your

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questions about estate planning and a state settlement in Michigan.

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I'm your host, Tom Doyle, a state planning attorney, lifelong

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Michigan resident, and ambassador for all things good in this

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great state of Michigan. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to today's program. Well,

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it's been a while since I've been with you. Spent

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a lot of time trying to enjoy the nice summer

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days here in Michigan. Obviously fall is now here. We

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all know that colors are changing, and we are back

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to begin another round of Tuesday with Tom episodes. Well,

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the last episode if you listen to it. If you didn't,

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I encourage you to. Does Michigan's uniform Power of Attorney

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law affect your power of attorney? I talked about the

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new law that became effective on July first, and that

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law might require everybody that's out there that already has

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an existing durable power of attorney to update that power

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of attorney. So, if you're one of those people, I

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encourage you to listen to that episode.

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Today.

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Well, today comes about because of conversations I had recently

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with a client about their deeds that we had done

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for them and whether or not they needed to change

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those deeds. So today topic is Medicaid in Michigan why

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you should remove your home from your trust. But please

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remember that what I'm about to discuss during the program is,

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as always for educational purposes only. It is not intended

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to be legal advice. You need to work with your

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attorney to determine what is appropriate for you and your

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estate plan. Medicaid in Michigan and why you should remove

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your home from your trust or talk about important topic

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today and that is whether or not you should consider

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remove your home from your trust.

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So, as part of.

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Your estate plan, many of you have a revocable living

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trust that was created for you. Oftentimes, one of the

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goals behind that living trust is to avoid probate. And

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in order to avoid probate, you should have had a

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deed prepared that would have transferred your home into the trust.

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That way, it's not in your name anymore, it's in

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the name of the trust. That way, it would not

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have to go through probate at the time of your death.

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So your goal of avoiding probate relative to the home

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is accomplished by having that deed prepared.

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But what happens.

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What happens if, however, before you die, you go into

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a nursing home and need to apply for Medicaid to

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cover the cost of your long term care.

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Well, let's start.

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Let's kind of set the stage first with a little

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bit of understanding about Medicaid. Medicaid is a state and

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federally funded program that pays for long term healthcare if

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you are poor, including long term care costs like nursing home.

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And in Michigan, nursing home can be incredibly expensive, often

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exceeding currently eight thousand dollars a month, and because of that,

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many people are going to turn to Medicaid to help

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cover those expenses. That is, they're going to fill out

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a claim or an application for Medicaid basically saying, hey,

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Medicaid has some strict income and asset eligibilary requirements, but

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I qualify under those requirements to have the government pay

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for my long term care. And one of those assets

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that you will see, which is a most significant asset

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that most people have, or many people have and will

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be able to retain if appropriately done, even in medicaid process,

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is their home. So what happens if your home is

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in a trust and you apply for medicaid, Well, if

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your home is in revocable living trust. Revocable living trust

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is the most common living trust that gets created for

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clients as part of an estate plan. Revocable meaning that

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you can change it, that you're still in charge of it,

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that you can get rid of it. So that's what

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we're talking about, is a revocable living trust. And you

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have put your home into that revocable living trust, and

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that would have been done by having a deed prepared

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for your home. Well, if your home is in a

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revocable living trust, Medicaid may treat your home as what

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they call an available asset. That means the value of

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your home could be counted against you when determining your

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medic medicaid eligibility.

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What does that really mean?

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Well, in Michigan, if what they call your countable assets,

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those are the things that Medicaid looks at as your

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countable assets. If your countable assets at seed two thousand dollars,

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you won't qualify for medicaid unless those assets are spent down,

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meaning you have too much. You have too much by

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way of assets. You have to spend your money. You

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have to get rid of it. You know, you have

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to spend down those assets, and normally it means spend

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them on the nursing home. So you're going to use

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your own assets to pay for your care in the

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nursing home until you get down to two thousand dollars.

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Where the issue here is at medicaid. If your home

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is in the trust, Medicaid is is going to look

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at that home and say, hey, that home is not

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in your name. That home is in the name of

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your vocable living trust and it has to be spent

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down or basically they're going to look at the home

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as something that you have to sell in order to

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qualify for medicaid. So that's the starting problem. You put

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your home into a trust, you're applying for medicaid, and

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now the government is saying, well, wait a minute, that

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home has to be sold in order for you to

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qualify for medicaid. So question, why should you remove your

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home from the trust. Well, let's talk about that. If

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you remove the home from the trust and again let's

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talk about exempt assets in medicaid. In Michigan, your primary

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residence is typically exempt from MEDICAIDS asset calculation as long

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as its equity value is under the federal limit, which

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is currently about six hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars

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in twenty twenty four. But that exemption only applies if

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the home is not in a revocable trust and is

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in your name. So by moving your home out of

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the trust back into your name, you should not have

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to sell it to qualify for medicaid. So the reason

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for removing the home from your trust and putting it

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back into your name is so that your home will

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not have to.

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Be sold in order to qualify for medicaid.

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Well, obviously, not having to sell your home is certainly

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especially important if you've got a spouse who still needs

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to live in the home. If you're married and your

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home has to be sold in order for you to

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qualify for medicaid, where's your spouse going to live? Also,

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it might not being the only asset that would be

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available at your death to pass on to your children.

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So many clients their estate plan is designed to pass

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assets onto their children. They're looking at their home as

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perhaps being a primary asset for that Well, if it

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has to be sold in order for you to qualify

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for medicaid, that home is not now going to be

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available to pass on to your children. So the why

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you should remove your home from the trust is so

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that the home will now be an exempt asset and

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not have to be sold. Well, question, so, how do

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you remove it from your trust? You already put it

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inside your trust. When your trust was created for you

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would have had some sort of a deed prepared. Normally,

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that deed was prepared in order to put that home

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inside your trust. That's what we tell clients, that's what

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lawyers tell their clients, so that it's in the trust

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so that it doesn't have to go through probate. Well,

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how you will go about removing the home from your

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trust is going to depend upon a couple of things. One,

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what type of deed was prepared for you, and we're

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going to talk about that about what kind of deed

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was prepared for you. And two, whether or not the

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deed that was prepared for you that transfers your home

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into your trust has been recorded with the.

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Register of Deeds Office.

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So let's go through that if the deed that was

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prepared is what is called a ladybird deed, and don't

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look for the lady bird word on it, You're never

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going to find it. I know, we prepare a lot

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of them, and clients are always asking us, where does

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this thing?

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Say?

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Ladybird? That's the general term descriptive terms.

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That lawyers have.

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But if the deed that was prepared is what is

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known as a ladybird deed, then even if the deed

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has been recorded, you don't have to do anything. So

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if your deed is a ladybird deed, and even if

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you've recorded that ladybird.

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Deed, you don't have to do anything.

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And that is because of the way that a lady

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ladybird deed works.

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The way that a ladybird deed works is.

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The ownership of the home is still yours until your

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death because it's yours.

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When you do apply for.

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Medicaid, it is considered still an exempt asset. But because

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it's a ladybird deed, then upon your death it will

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automatically transfer into the trust without having to go through probate.

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So again, if the deed that was prepared is a

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ladybird deed, even if you recorded it, you don't have

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to do anything. What if the deed is not a

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ladybird deed, If the deed is not a ladybird deed,

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which quite often was the case with attorneys who are

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preparing these deeds, if it hasn't been recorded. So, if

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you've got a deed it's not a ladybird deed, you're

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just holding on to that deed as part of your

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state planning documents, planning on recording that later on, or

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planning on having your trustee perhaps recorded after your death,

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then you can simply destroy that deed. It's never been recorded,

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it's never become a public record. You could simply tear

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that deed up and throw it away. So if the

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deed is not a ladybird deed and it has not

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been recorded, then you can simply destroy the deed that

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was prepared for you. If, however, the deed is not

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a lady bird deed and you have already recorded the deed,

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then you will need to have a new deed prepared

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that's going to transfer the home out of the trust

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back into your name, and you should be able to

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determine if the deed's been recorded simply by looking at

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the top of it, because when it does get recorded,

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there's going to be some numbers and some tests that's

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going to be stamped or printed on the top of

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the deed from the registered deed's office indicating that the

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deed has been recorded. So if the deed is a

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lady Bird deed, doesn't matter whether it's recorded or not,

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you don't have to do anything. If the deed is

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not a Ladybird deed and has not been recorded, then

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you can simply destroy the original deed that was prepared. If, however,

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the deed is not a Ladybird deed and you have

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already recorded the deed, then you'll need to have a

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new prepared, new deed prepared that's going to transfer the

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home out of the trust back into your name, and

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just a.

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Brief brief mention on deeds.

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Usually at the top of a deed, it's going to

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have a line that tells you what kind of a

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deed it is.

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It might be what we call.

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A quit quit claim deed, or it might be a

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warranty deed. A quit claim deed or a warranty deed

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could be a Ladybird deed or might not. So whether

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it's a warranty deed or quit claim deed does not

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answer the question as to whether or not it is

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or is not a ladybird deed. So let's say you

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destroy that deed because it hasn't been recorded, or you've

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had a deed prepared putting the property back into your

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name because that deed had been recorded. Well, here's the

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next thing, though, Once the home has been removed from

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the trust and placed back in your name, there is

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still work that needs to be done.

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And here's why.

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Even though Medicaid won't count your home as an asset

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for eligibility, it might now try to recover the cost

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of care from your estate after your death. So the

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federal government requires the state of Michigan to try to

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recover the cost of Medicaid benefits that were paid for

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you from your estate after you die. That's what's known

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as Medicaid estate recovery. So in Michigan, under Michigan's Medicaid

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to State Recovery law, the state, through the Michigan Department

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of Health and Human Services, will go after your home

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to get repayment of Medicaid payments paid on your behalf.

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If it now goes through probate. Why because in Michigan,

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the state can only go after assets.

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That go through probate.

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So go back to when your trust was created and

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that deed was prepared.

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Why was it done.

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It was done to get the proper out of your

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00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.679
name so it didn't have to go through probate. Well,

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00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.480
now we've put the property back into your name, so

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00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:09.879
it will be an exempt asset for medicaid. But the

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00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:13.559
problem now is because of Michigan's A State Recovery law,

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the State of Michigan will be able to go after

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00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:20.840
that home to help pay itself back for any of

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00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.559
the expenses that it paid for you to be in.

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The nursing home. So once you remove the home.

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00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:29.399
From the trust placed it back into your name, it's

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now subject to going through probate and subject to Michigan's

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A State Recovery law. So to avoid your home having

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00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.039
to be sold in order to repay the State of

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Michigan after you die, you need a new deed prepared,

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00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:49.320
another deed prepared that will now transfer the home back

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00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:54.440
into your trust at the time of death. That deed

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00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.559
is what is going to be a Lady bird deed. Again,

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00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:02.559
Lady Birdie deed would now get prepared, so you've got

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00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.480
the property back in your name. You have the deed

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work that was done to put it back into your name,

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so it's no longer in your trust. Well now, in

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order so it won't go through probate, you need to

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have a new deed prepared, and that is what is

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called a lady bird deed, And in our practice, generally

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speaking now we simply do ladybird deeds from the beginning.

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So if you were to come in today and create

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a new living trust with our office, the deed that

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00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.039
we would prepare would be a lady bird deed, and

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that's what many attorneys are doing. So if you want

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more detailed explanation about Medicaid state recovery law, I had

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00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:51.640
a podcast on March one, twenty seventeen, titled will the

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State of Michigan Take Your Home after you receive Medicaid?

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For a more discussion about what different types of deed are.

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If you're curious what works TVs are, quit claim deeds,

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are lady beer deeds, et cetera, listen to my October second,

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twenty eighteen podcasts titled the Anatomy of a Deed. Well,

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let's just a little side note here, what if you

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have what's called an irrevocable trust, Because we've been talking

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about revocable trust, which are ones that.

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You can change.

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If you have an irrevocable trust, those are going to

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work differently normally. An irrevocable trust, if properly structured, might

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help shield assets from medicaid after certain look back period.

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00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.960
It's designed usually in the medicaid planning world, to try

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00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.279
and shield more assets so you can keep more assets

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00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:53.160
quite frankly, for your loved ones, so that they don't

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00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:55.160
have to be sold in order for you to qualify

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00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:59.480
for medicaid. Well, if you have an irrevocable trust, one

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00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:02.759
that was for you buy an attorney for medicaid planning,

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00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:08.440
then you should consult your attorney who prepared the irrevocable trust.

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If you have any questions.

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About is your home in it, is it done properly,

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00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.039
what do you need to do with it? Because the

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00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.519
general discussion that we're having today is really about the

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00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:26.160
most common trust, which is the revocable living trust. So

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the question that raises now though, is well, should you

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remove your home from the trust now or should you

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wait until you apply for medicaid. Well, some of the

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00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.559
clients that we work with decide to remove the home

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00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.160
from the trust now, even though they're not currently applying

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00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:49.799
for medicaid. So we've looked at it and have determined

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00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.079
that either the deed was a non Ladybird deed and

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00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:58.599
had been recorded, or they've thrown.

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00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.839
Away the deed that they did.

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00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:04.279
Then the question is do they do that now, throw

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00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.160
it away now, or do they wait until they apply

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00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:08.119
for medicaid.

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00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:08.480
Well.

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Again, some clients decide to take the helm out of

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00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:15.160
their trust now, even though they're not currently planning to apply.

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00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.359
That way, it's done and they don't have to worry

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00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:19.079
about it.

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It's just one more thing that is off their plate,

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00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.359
and that oftentimes is much of the concern that clients

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00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:29.519
have when they're putting their state plan together. It's getting

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00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:31.920
things off of their plate and having the peace of

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00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.799
mind from knowing that it's been done. So have the

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00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:39.680
deed taken out now, and have your new ladybrewd deed

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00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:42.119
done now so you don't have to worry about it.

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00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:45.519
They also don't have to worry though if you don't.

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00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.160
If you say, well, let me just wait until I

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00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:51.440
apply for Medicaid. Okay, Well, now they have to worry

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00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.440
about what would happen if when the time comes to

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00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:58.839
apply for Medicaid they're not able to have the deed

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00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:02.640
work done at that time. They might be incapacitated by then.

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00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.160
And if they're incapacitated by then, they're not going to

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00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:10.039
be able to execute the necessary deeds to either take

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00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:13.039
the property out and or the lady bird deed that's

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00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.759
going to be es central to avoid the Medicaid recovery law.

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00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:18.799
Other clients are going to wait.

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00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:20.640
They're just going to wait until they have to play

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00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:23.559
plan for Medicaid because they're saying, Hey, if I never

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00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:26.599
plan for Medicaid, it's never an issue, so I'm not

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00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:27.799
going to worry about it.

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00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:29.960
I will put it off another day.

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00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.119
And obviously, what they are assuming in that case is

340
00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:36.119
that they will be able to execute the deeds at

341
00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:40.599
the time. What you should do now, however, what you

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00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.759
should do now, what you should do now is review

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00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:48.200
any deed that was done as part of your estate plan,

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00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.920
whether it was done by our office or another office.

345
00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:55.839
You need to review the deeds. You need to determine

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00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:59.279
whether or not it is a lady bird deed. Or

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00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.480
whether or not it has been recorded. If you're not sure,

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00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.279
if we prepared the deed for you, contact our office.

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We'll be able to look up your file and advise

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00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:12.759
you on that. If it's another attorney that prepared it

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00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:16.759
for you, contact that attorney who prepared the deed so

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00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.440
that you can know is it a ladybird deed?

353
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.359
Is it not a deed.

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00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.799
You can have a conversation about whether or not the

355
00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:25.720
deed has been recorded, and only one.

356
00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:26.359
Should do that.

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00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.720
Can you decide if you should have new deeds prepared now?

358
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.759
So the important thing.

359
00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:38.319
To do now is to know what you have. So

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00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:41.759
the important thing to do now is to review the

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00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:44.039
deeds that was done now. It used to be pare

362
00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:48.640
fairly common practice for attorneys in Michigan not to use

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00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.200
ladybird deeds. For a long time, we didn't use ladybird

364
00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:56.799
deeds because that wasn't the common practice as in Michigan.

365
00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:00.680
Much of the time, the recommendation was simply, hey, hold

366
00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:03.880
on to the deed with your file. It can always

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00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.599
be recorded after your death. So a deed deed would

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00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.960
be prepared simply held onto with the idea being that

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00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:15.880
the clients would record it later on. That way, the

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00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:18.480
deed can simply be destroyed if the clients ever had

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00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:22.440
to apply for medicaid. But more recently, we, as many

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00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.319
other attorneys, as the use of medicaid I'm sorry, as

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00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:31.039
a use of ladybird deeds is becoming more common, and

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00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:34.920
as more and more, quite frankly, title companies out there

375
00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:39.039
seem to now be being comfortable with the way that

376
00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:44.359
ladybird deeds work. When we meet with clients who have

377
00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.519
already transferred their interest in their home to their trust,

378
00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:52.920
we will review what type of deed was prepared, will

379
00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:57.240
determine whether or not it was a ladybird deed. We

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00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:00.880
will discuss with the client deeding the property out of

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00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:03.759
the trust if it wasn't a ladybird deed and that

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00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:07.519
deed has been recorded, deeding that property out of the

383
00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:11.599
trust so it will be exempt, and then using a

384
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:16.839
ladybird deed to prevent it from having to go through probate.

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00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:41.640
Of course, amand and I, if we've already done work

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00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:44.200
for you, we'd be happy to get together with you

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00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.119
or talk to you and review your file to determine

388
00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:50.559
what sort of deed had been prepared. Anything that needs

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00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.119
to be done for you, and certainly we would be

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00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:55.720
honored to have the opportunity to help you protect your

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00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:58.799
loved ones by putting together in a state plan for you,

392
00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:02.000
perhaps a man ending a plan that you already have

393
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:08.759
that's been prepared by another law firm, or assisting you

394
00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:15.960
in settling a loved ones state Simply head on over

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00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:18.039
to our website. That's where you're going to find all

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00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:21.359
the information that you need or to contact us. That's

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00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:25.680
at DOYLELAWPC dot com. There you're going to find information

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00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:30.680
how you can schedule either a in person consultation in

399
00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:35.279
our Grand Rapids location or our East Lansing location, or

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00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:39.160
virtual consultations via zoom or telephone wherever you happen.

401
00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:40.240
To be in the state of Michigan.

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00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:43.839
And while you're there, if you're looking at simply needing

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00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:48.559
a one document prepared, check out our Legal Store at

404
00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:52.480
the website. There you can arrange to have individual not

405
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:57.039
doesn't that be an entire plan Simply individual legal documents

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00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:00.480
can be prepared through the legal Store and you'll also

407
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:06.680
find information on preparing those documents at our Facebook page.

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00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:11.359
So visit DOYLELAWPC dot com for information on all of

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00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:12.480
that and to.

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00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:14.759
Schedule your consultation.

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00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.519
Well, I think that's going to be it for today though,

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00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:30.319
as always, if you have a comment about the program,

413
00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.640
a topic that you'd like to have me discuss, questions

414
00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.480
that you'd like to have answered, head over to the

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00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:40.000
Tuesday with Tom dot com. That's the website for the podcast,

416
00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.200
and leave a voice message by clicking on the microphone

417
00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:47.880
or send me an email Tom at Tuesday with Tom

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go to DOYLEPC dot com and sign up for We

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have a monthly e newsletter that we sent out keeping

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law or topics that might be of interest to you.

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00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.319
Remember too, the program is available on many of the

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00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:46.039
thanks again for spending some of your time with us today,

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00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:49.640
and as always, I hope that you have an awesome

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00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:53.640
day and an awesome week in Michigan.

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00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:57.720
Stay safe.

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00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:01.200
Tuesday with Tom has been brought to you by the

438
00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:05.440
estate planning attorneys at Doyle Law PC. To learn how

439
00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:07.839
we can help you with your estate plan or with

440
00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:11.319
settling a loved one's estate, please call us today at

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five one seven three two three seven three sixty six.

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00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:18.319
That's five one seven three two three seven three sixty six.