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How to Contact the Indiana BMV When You Believe Your Loved One Should no Longer Drive How do you know when your dad should no longer drive?  The answer is obvious: when you will no longer ride with him. The sad fact is in rural Indiana losing your driver’s license is equated with the loss of your independence.  We do not want mom or dad to lose their independence, but we also do not want them to hurt themselves or others in an accident. Indiana law permits you to contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles confidentially to have mom or
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New VA Rules for Pension Benefits Effective October 18, 2018 The VA has a pension benefit to help certain financially eligible wartime veterans or spouses of deceased veterans. This pension benefit has come to be known as the Aid and Attendance Award. The VA has recently published proposed changes in determining who qualifies for this Award. The following is a brief summary of these changes. Net Worth: The rules tie the net worth asset limit to the Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment level (currently $123,600) and increase it for inflation. Annual income is added to the net worth amount to determine eligibility.
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Indiana Health Care Consent Law Changes Coming Soon (July 1, 2018) to a Hospital Near You We all make decisions about our health every day.  We take for granted our right to make these decisions.  Who will make decisions about your health when you become incompetent? Indiana law currently have health care by committee (we see how well that is working in Washington) if you do not have a written advance directive.  Your committee consists of your spouse, your adult children, adult siblings, parents and thanks to the meth problem, your grandparents and adult grandchildren.  There is currently no priority
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Medical Expense Deductions Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became effective January 1, 2018.  The good news for elderly and disabled Hoosiers is this tax bill allows them to write off qualifying medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income for 2017 and 2018, regardless of their age.  This limit increases to 10% in 2019. The standard deduction increased to $12,000 for a single person and $24,000 for a married couple as of January 1, 2018.  This means a person or couple will need high medical costs in order
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Eligible Hoosiers Can Now Open an ABLE Account — in Indiana Eligible Hoosiers can now open an ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience account) as of August 1, 2017. An “eligible” Hoosier is a person who develops a disability before the age of twenty-six (26). The person must have had this disability for at least one year or must expect their disability to last at least a year. The Indiana accounts are called INvestABLE Indiana accounts. You can view information about these accounts at https://savewithable.com/in/home.html. These accounts are 529 plans for disabled Hoosiers similar to the 529 plans for college
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Family & Social Services Administration Response to Indiana Division of Aging Update Subject:  Home and Community-Based Services Modernization The Indiana Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“INNAELA”) supports the Indiana Division of Aging in its efforts to move funds to support the Indiana plan to age in place.  We favor the shift of funds to home and community-based waiver programs so that more Hoosiers are able to receive care at home instead of in institutions. We particularly believe enhanced Consumer Directed Attendant Care Services (“CDAC”) need to be promoted in Indiana.  We understand only about 400 Hoosier
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