Medicaid Impact?
Ben Goode, aged 77, has arranged for your nonprofit to receive his entire estate at death in order to establish an endowment in memory of his late wife. Ben’s assets are mostly in CDs and, as they mature, he has been forced to accept ever lower rates. Now, in response to your gift planning newsletter, Ben has inquired about putting part of his assets in a charitable gift annuity. At first glance, the CGA would satisfy Ben’s two most important goals: 1) the establishment of the endowed fund and 2) a secure, stable income that is higher than he could earn in CDs or bonds. However, Ben is by no means wealthy, and he has pondered what might happen to him if he exhausted his assets and Medicaid is needed to pay for a nursing home. He has asked you for an opinion on the advisability of this possible gift.
Do you have an obligation to understand this issue?
Should you provide Ben with information? Advice? An opinion?
If Ben gets an attorney or financial planner to “approve” this gift, are you absolved of further responsibility?
What if Ben doesn’t want to pay for the advice of an attorney in this case?
Does the charity include in its CGA disclosures a warning concerning impact on Medicaid eligibility? Should it? And if it does, is that sufficient?
