Staggered Gifting by Kevin Staker

"Staggered gifting" is still allowed under California Medi-Cal law.  This state of the law allows an individual to give assets to family member or friends and not cause a period of ineligibility for Medi-Cal to pay for long term care in a nursing home. 

The key is the "average private pay rate" in a nursing home in California.  Divided the gift by the APPR and that gives you the period  Presently one rounds down.  Hence a gift of under the APPR in 2015 of under $8,092 causes a fraction under one.  Rounded down gets us to zero.  Hence, no period of ineligibility under California law. 

The APPR for 2016 should come out in late March 2016.  Go to canhr.org to discover it.  Found at http://www.canhr.org/factsheets/medi-cal_fs/html/fs_medcal_limits.htm


 By Kevin Staker

Kevin Staker Elected President of Ventura County Legal Aid, Inc. for 2016

Ventura, California

Kevin Staker, a living trust and estate planning attorney with StakerLaw Tax and Estate Planning Law Corporation in Camarillo, California, has been elected President by the Board of Directors of Ventura County Legal Aid, Inc. ("VCLA") for 2016.  VCLA dedicates its work to assist lower income individuals in Ventura County, California, with legal issues they cannot otherwise afford to pay for. 

VCLA provides services two ways:  first, VCLA finds an attorney to work pro bono to handle the case of an individual, second at its legal clinic at the Ventura County Law Library from 4 pm to 7 pm on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. 

VCLA is the public service affiliate of the Ventura County Bar Association.  Charmaine Buehner, President of the Ventura County Bar made the following nice comments about Kevin Staker's appointment:

Camarillo-based tax-and-estate planning attorney Kevin Staker has graciously agreed, after unanimous vote of the board, to serve as the president of Ventura County Legal Aid in 2016. Together with the VCLA Board and Emeritus attorneys, Kevin will continue the important work of Legal Aid’s direct representation program. Second, Legal Aid will see the launch of a new free legal clinic in Ventura at the County Law Library beginning on Feb. 2, continuing on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m. Check out our plans for the clinic, sign up to volunteer or donate at www.vclegalaid.org, or contact me or the co-chair of the clinic committee, Mark Kirwin.

 Source:  http://www.vcba.org/2015/12/presidents-column-the-butterfly-effect-by-charmaine-h-buehner/