Abandonment leads rocker to disinherit wife. That won't fly in Florida.

Rock'n’roll lost another icon on September 15 with the death of Ric Ocasek. The 75-year-old lead singer of The Cars died at his New York City townhouse from pulmonary and cardiac complications following surgery. Now, there are complications in his estate, too.

At the time of his passing Ocasek was separated but not divorced from his wife of 28 years, supermodel Paulina Porzikova. His will, signed just a month earlier, states: “I have made no provision for my wife Paulina Porzikova (“Paulina”) as we are in the process of divorcing. Even if I should die before our divorce is final … Paulina is not entitled to any elective share … because she has abandoned me.”

The word “abandonment” is key. In both New York State and in Florida, a surviving spouse is entitled to a one-third elective share of the deceased spouse’s estate. But while abandonment can be a legally valid basis for disinheriting a spouse in New York, that's not the case in Florida.

Following Ocasek’s passing, Porzikova pushed back on the notion that she had abandoned Ocasek, despite the ongoing divorce proceedings. She heaped lavish praise on him, calling him her “sun.” She noted that she was caring for him during his recuperation, had brought him cookies the night before his death, and was the one who discovered his body the next morning when she stopped to deliver coffee. She wrote on Instagram: “We still lived together… His death is the end of my world as I knew it.” The couple has two sons together.

Estimates of Ocasek’s estate, based on a list of assets filed with his will, include $100,000 in tangible personal property, just $15,000 in cash - but over $5 million in “copyright rights.” And that does not include whatever might be in trusts that are not publicly viewable. That is ample impetus for Porzikova to file suit and to pursue her elective share. That now appears likely to happen: In November, Porizkova hired a lawyer to represent her. The “abandonment” issue will surely figure prominently as the case proceeds.    

Florida residents who plan to marry are wise to remember that Florida makes it extraordinarily difficult to disinherit a spouse. It follows that if circumstances warrant it - for example, if you have children from a prior marriage or significant assets prior to a new marriage - you should consider obtaining a pre-marital waiver of elective share. A pending divorce or even what Ocasek describes as "abandonment" has no legal significance in Florida: your spouse remains your spouse, entitled to an elective share of your estate and to certain rights to homestead property, until the marriage is legally dissolved.

Breaking Up With Your High-Tax State Can Be Hard To Do

Increasing numbers of people are fleeing high tax states for lower-tax environments such as Florida. People have always moved to Florida to escape estate taxes and income taxes, of course. However, the migration has kicked into higher gear of late because of the Trump tax legislation that limits deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) to just $10,000 annually.

Just like rejecting a longtime lover for someone new, breaking off your relationship with your high-tax state can get complicated, and ugly. After all, you have been a dependable source of revenue for your state. Don't be surprised if there is clinging and crying. If the state launches a non-residency audit, you will be required to furnish evidence that you have really and truly established your domicile in Florida, and severed ties with your former state. Without such evidence, your former state's tax authorities can go after you.

That is just what happened to Robert Campaniello, whose case was described in a June 15, 2019 Financial Advisor article. Owner of high-end furniture showrooms in New York, Campaniello claimed that he had moved from New York and was a permanent Florida resident for tax and other purposes. New York State began a non-residency audit to investigate his claim. Campaniello told auditors that he owned a home in Florida, and noted that it was there he kept his Ferrari, a catamaran, and his prized souvenir guitars. In the end, New York didn't buy it. The audit found that Campaniellos's Manhattan showroom was still open and still managed by his wife. His mail was still being delivered to his New York residence. The case concluded in 2015 when New York State won a judgment and collected nearly half a million in taxes from him.


You Don't Need To Be Wealthy To Face Scrutiny

You need not be mega-wealthy to face this kind of scrutiny by your former state. Non-residency audits are becoming more common and more rigorous. As Dan Gazzle, spokesman for the New York State Department of Tax and Finance told Financial Advisor: “Ensuring taxpayers pay their fair share is a top priority, therefore, our nonresident audit program continues to be very active.” Not only active, but aggressive: an audit can delve deep into your affairs, even procuring cell phone records to determine where and when your calls originated. 

If you are thinking of moving to Florida and reaping its lower-tax advantages, you must take any and all steps necessary to demonstrate that you have established a permanent residence in Florida and made a clean break with your old state. That means more than furnishing a Florida address or parking your Ferrari in the driveway. Seemingly small, insignificant details - where your pet sees a veterinarian, for example - can bolster or belie your claim.

Steps To Take To Demonstrate Florida Residency 

Among the other steps you will want to take to prove your Florida residency include:

• Create a will or other estate plan in Florida

• Change your mailing address

• Get a Florida drivers license

• Transfer your banking and brokerage accounts to Florida-based institutions

• Purchase a safe deposit box in a Florida bank

• Join civic, religious organizations based in Florida

• Establish new relationships with Florida medical providers. Transfer your medical records to your new providers.

• Spend at least 183 days of the year here

And don't forget: document everything! That way, you'll be prepared if the auditor comes calling.

Is Probate Really A Problem?

Floridians are continuously warned about probate. Make sure your family never has to deal with probate court! It's expensive!  It's inconvenient!  

Is all this just hype? Or is probate really a problem? Should you build probate avoidance into your estate plan? 

As with most things, there is no one right answer for everyone. Determining whether to build probate avoidance into your estate plan will rest on your specific family and financial circumstances. That said, there are real downsides to probate. But before discussing them, let's step back and define probate, a process often misunderstood. 

Put most simply, probate is the court-supervised process by which your assets are transferred to your beneficiaries, and your creditors are paid, after you pass away. Many people think probate is only for estates that are large enough to be taxable, but that's not so. Taxation and probate are separate issues. Another myth is that having a will keeps an estate out of probate. That too is false.

Now to those downsides: 

Time: Some estates sail through probate in months. Others take far longer because of complications related to selling real estate, taxes, creditor claims, etc. We have handled probate cases that could not be closed for well over a year because of such circumstances, leaving beneficiaries waiting on their inheritances. When the subject comes up during the public seminars our firm conducts, attendees often share their own experiences with long, nightmarish probates. 

Lack of privacy: Probate is a public process. You may be uncomfortable knowing that anyone who is so inclined can examine your will and your dispositions to beneficiaries. Also, the public nature of the process makes it easier for any disgruntled heir to gather ammunition to launch a lawsuit against your estate. Lastly, the lack of privacy can provide a rich source of information for scam artists. 

Expense: Most probate proceedings require hiring a lawyer, so probate will incur legal fees. (This undercuts the cynics who claim lawyers promote living trusts as an alternative to wills because they are a “moneymaker.” The initial fees to set up a living trust are indeed greater than setting up a will, but the truth is, many lawyers make more money probating an estate than planning for probate avoidance with a living trust.) Your estate will also incur court filing and other administrative costs - all money that will be siphoned away from your loved ones. And while it's true that there are usually legal fees associated with administering a trust post-mortem, those fees tend to be significantly less because probate court requirements are not a factor. 

But In Some Cases, An Upside:
Some people may have logical reasons to want their estate to go through probate. For example, a client may not want to do the work of switching assets into a living trust. If a client lacks complete confidence in the individual(s) being considered as successor trustee, the client may actually prefer court supervision. Also, the nature and extent of the client's assets may simply not justify the initial expense of establishing a trust.  



Bottom line, probate avoidance makes good sense for most people – but it is by no means a hard and fast rule. There can be mitigating issues. Talk to your estate planning attorney to select the estate plan that’s right for you and your family. There is only one set rule to follow: What is best for you and your loved ones.

Beneficiary Designations: So Much Can Go So Wrong If They're Not Right

I was contacted some months ago by  "Patricia." She had read my Palm Beach Post article about 401K beneficiaries and it immediately reminded her of a situation that had occurred in her own family.  She suggested my readers would benefit from hearing her story, and I agreed. Here it is:


Patricia's brother "Al" was married and lived in Florida. The couple's only child, "Jennifer," was an infant when Al and his wife divorced. Just months after the divorce, Al's ex-wife remarried. She took Jennifer and moved to Oregon with her new husband. Al remained in Florida. With the distance, the cost of travel and the heavy demands of Al's job, he and his daughter had virtually no contact as she grew up. (This all unfolded before the era of telecommunications; there was no internet , no Skype, no smart phones, etc.) 


When Jennifer was 10, Al's ex-wife called him to say her husband wanted to adopt Jennifer, and Jennifer wanted that, too. Would Al consider giving up his parental rights? Al's immediate response was no. But after some soul-searching, he concluded that for all intents and purposes, Jennifer considered her stepfather to be her real father. Believing he was making the unselfish choice, Al reluctantly agreed to give up his parental rights. Jennifer was adopted by her stepfather.


Al never remarried. He died several years ago without a will (intestate), leaving behind just one asset: a 401k worth about $600,000. It had no beneficiary designation. Jennifer was in her early 40s at the time of his death.


The personal representative named to handle Al's  estate contacted the administrator of Al's 401k plan. The 401k administrator asked the personal representative if the decedent had any children, and the personal representative replied yes, the decedent had one "adopted" daughter. The administrator interpreted this to mean that Al had adopted a daughter - not given one up for adoption.


Under Florida intestacy law, it therefore was Al's sister Patricia - then Al's only living relative - who should have inherited the 401k. Jennifer was not Al's rightful legal heir. But because of the miscommunication between the personal representative and the plan administrator, the 401k funds were released to Jennifer. 


Patricia called Jennifer to talk over the situation. Jennifer would not consider giving Patricia any of the money, saying it was "obvious" that her biological father wanted her to have it. Patricia subsequently contacted an estate litigation attorney to pursue the matter, but abandoned the effort after learning that her case was by no means a sure thing, and that the legal fees would be very steep.


Of course, it is altogether possible that Al wanted his biological child to get his 401k. On the other hand, he never took any action to make that happen, so no one will ever know what he truly had in mind.


Notwithstanding the unusual nature of this family's experience, it underscores the importance of getting your beneficiary designations right, and keeping them updated as the years go by. This is why our lawyers request that our estate planning clients inform us about all their assets and beneficiary designations in detail. It's not that we're nosy. We are on your side and want to make sure your hard-earned assets end up with whom you want!

Can You Bequeath (Or Inherit) Airline Rewards Points?

Many of our clients are frequent travelers who have accumulated significant reward points with one or more airlines. Naturally, they would like any miles that remain in their accounts at their deaths to go to loved ones.


This topic has generated increased interest this past month, following the death of Anthony Bourdain. The globe-trotting celebrity chef mentioned his airline miles in his will, requesting that his ex-wife Ottavia “dispose of them in accordance with what she believes to have been my wishes.”

This approach may work for Bourdain – after all, no airline would want negative publicity arising from refusing to honor a celebrity's wishes. But for the rest of us, it's not so simple, and bequeathing miles to loved ones in an estate plan is not a workable approach. That is because your rewards account is a contract specifically between you and the airline. It is the airline's policy that determines if, when and how miles can be left to others.


When it comes to planning to leave miles to loved ones, there is no getting around it: You will need to do your homework! Read the fine print on the airline's web site. Call customer service, too, as our clients often report there is some "wiggle room" between what the web site says and what customer service is prepared to do. Document everything you are told.


The same goes for survivors of someone who held an account: Call customer service to see if those miles can be salvaged. Some airlines may comply, regardless of written policies, after requesting certain documentation from you.


Here are the current policies of two major airlines servicing our South Florida area: 

Delta Sky Miles Program

Miles are not transferable. The website says: Restrictions on Transfer: Miles are not the property of any Member. Except as specifically authorized in the Membership Guide and Program Rules or otherwise in writing by an officer of Delta, miles may not be sold, attached, seized, levied upon, pledged, or transferred under any circumstances, including, without limitation, by operation of law, upon death, or in connection with any domestic relations dispute and/or legal proceeding.

Jet Blue True Blue Program

Jet Blue has a "family pooling program" that allows family members to transfer points to one another. But when an account holder passes away, the points die with the holder. The Jet Blue web site says:  Accrued Points and Award Travel do not constitute property of Member and are non-transferable (i) upon death, (ii) as part of a domestic relations matter, or (iii) otherwise. 


Also, remember to check back with the airline from time to time. Airline policies can change over time... sometimes in your favor. Good luck.

Veterans Shop Tax Free For Life Beginning Veterans Day 2017

If you are a military veteran, you can purchase merchandise sales-tax free beginning this Veterans Day, November 11, 2017. This is not a one-day benefit. It is a lifetime benefit! Florida sales tax is 6% so you could save a bundle over time. Eligible shoppers include honorably discharged veterans, active military, Reserves, Guard, spouses and family members. 

The benefit is offered through the online shopping service, www.shopmyexchange.com. Items available for purchase are similar to what you would find at most department stores and include clothing, furniture, electronics, jewelry, sports equipment, etc. In order to qualify to begin making tax-free purchases from the site, you must first be verified. You can start the verification process by visiting www.vetverify.org.

The Karp Law Firm advises elderly and disabled veterans about V.A. benefits for home care, nursing home care, or assisted living. For more information on our services and these benefits, click here.

Nursing Home Residents, Family Can Call On Their Ombudsman for Help

Being a resident in a long-term care facility does not mean giving up your legal rights. In fact, anyone who lives in a nursing facility gains certain rights. You can see a summary of those rights here, and read the full Florida Statutes here.


Of course, problems do arise. Justice in Aging, a nonprofit advocacy organization, has compiled a list of the 20 most common complaints. Among them: disregarding a resident's preferences; improper use of restraints; imposing visiting hours on family and friends; refusal to readmit after a hospital stay; and threatening eviction after refusing medical treatment.

If a resident's legal rights are being violated, or if a resident encounters any other quality-of-life problems with regard to staff, service, food, medication, privacy, etc., the resident, family, or any other interested person should go through staff members, then up the chain of command if necessary. If the problem cannot be resolved, the facility's ombudsman should be contacted. An ombudsman advocates for residents and investigates any issues brought to his/her attention to protect residents' legal rights, safety, health and welfare. The ombudsman is authorized to negotiate with the facility as well as to tap the resources of appropriate state agencies. Complaints are kept confidential, and the ombudsman's services are free of charge. Per the federal Older Americans Act, every facility must have an ombudsman.

Florida has seventeen local ombudsman councils. To identify the council closest to you, check out this clickable map. To locate the ombudsman's office in states other than Florida, click here.

If you'd like to consider being trained to do this important work, check out the Department of Elder Affairs' Frequently Asked Questions.

Florida Homestead Exemption Hike On the 2018 Ballot

Florida voters next year will vote on whether to raise the Florida homestead exemption. The November 2018 ballot will include a constitutional amendment to increase the exemption from $50,000 to $75,000 on homes worth $100,000 or more. If 60% of voters approve, the new rate will take effect January 1, 2019.

Available to Floridians for their primary residences, the homestead exemption reduces the value of the residence for property tax assessment purposes. According to estimates, the hike would save 4.3 million state residents about $644 million. The average homeowner would see a savings of $170 annually.

The measure has its advocates and critics. In all likelihood, homeowners will vote "yes" to putting money in their pockets. Florida municipalities and counties, on the other hand, are concerned about the amendment's impact on critical services. According to various estimates, annual lost revenue for Palm Beach County would be $62.7 million; Broward County, $73.5 million; Martin County, $8 million; and St. Lucie County, $8.2 million.  

At a recent regional meeting covered by WPTV, Indian River County Administrator Jason Brown said assisted living facilities in the western part of the county could be affected by cuts to fire services. And St. Lucie County officials said the new library, scheduled to open later this year, might lack the necessary funds to operate. 

Advocates for the amendment argue that voters deserve a chance to vote on the property tax break, particularly in light of the fact that many people's home values have yet to recover from the 2008-2009 recession. The measure is sure to get plenty of press coverage as we get closer to the 2018 election.

Florida law allows pets to be beneficiaries of your estate plan

Headlines are made when wealthy people leave outsize fortunes to their pets. One notable example is Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate who passed away in 2007. Cutting out her family, Helmsley left her entire $12 million fortune to her pet Maltese, Trouble. A judge subsequently scaled back the dog's inheritance to $2 million, but that's still an ample sum for a small dog to live on comfortably!

More recently, a Tennessee resident spread her wealth beyond her household pets. Glenda DeLawder, an avid animal lover, died in 2015 at age 72, leaving her $1.2 million estate to the county to help care for its dogs and cats.  So far, $540,000 has been given to the Carter County animal shelter to purchase a van to transport animals to veterinary care and adoption events, and to expand its cat living areas.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, over two million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized every year: That is one every 13 seconds. A number of those animals are pets whose elderly owners have died or have become too ill to care for them.

If you have a precious pet, you doubtless want to make sure it is properly cared for if you become incapacitated or pass away.  Consider formalizing arrangements so that you know it will be protected. Florida residents may establish a pet trust, which can be created while you are alive, or at your death via provisions in your will. Your trust will provide money for the care and maintenance of your pet, as well as name someone (as well as backups) to care for it. You can also name beneficiaries to receive any funds that are left in the trust when your pet passes on. 

Many of my clients derive great peace of mind from knowing that no matter what happens, their pet will be well cared for. And unlike Trouble the Maltese, it probably won't take $2 million to keep your Fifi or Fido happy.

You are invited to attend one of our free January workshops

Please Join Us!

The Karp Law Firm's January 2017 Estate Planning Workshops 

 These informative presentations are free, no obligation and you do not need a reservation - just show up!

 

You'll hear about:

Why living trusts can still benefit middle class people who have no concern about estate taxes.
 
How trusts can be created or revised to protect your children’s inheritance from divorce and creditors.
 
Why you may need to revise your existing Living Trust in light of the new estate tax laws.
 
What you may own and still be eligible for Medicaid

The truth about look-back rules…why you may still be eligible for Medicaid even if you’ve transferred money in the last 5 years

How you may still be eligible for Medicaid for nursing home care even if you earn more than $2199 per month (the income cap in Florida)

How you may provide for your spouse before you spend it all on nursing home expenses

How assets may still be preserved if you are currently in a nursing home

How an irrevocable trust may preserve and protect assets

Why your nursing home insurance may be inadequate to meet your needs Veterans Benefits:

How veterans and their widows Veterans Benefits

How veterans and their widows may receive VA benefits to assist with home care, assisted living, or nursing home care expenses.

Workshops are conducted by 

Joseph S. Karp 

Genny Bernstein 

Florida Bar Certified Elder Law Attorneys

Dates and Times:

Wednesday, January 18, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Palm Beach Gardens Marriott 

4000 RCA Blvd. 

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

or

Thursday, January 19, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Courtyard by Marriott 

1601 N. Congress Ave. 

Boynton Beach, FL

Please attend one of our free Florida Medicaid Planning and Estate Planning Workshops this week

Learn more about Florida estate planning, wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, veterans benefits, and long-term care planning at our free Senior Survival Workshop. These presentations are open to the public and free of charge. You don't even need a reservation - just show up! Attendees are eligible to receive a free, one-hour consultation from one of our attorneys (provided that we are the right law firm for your needs, of course).

 

The information you glean from the seminar will make your one-on-one consultation with us as productive as possible.  The workshop also allows you to become familiar with the members of our law firm - consider it a kind of a test drive -- with no obligation. We hope you'll join us. (We recommend that you bring a jacket or sweater, since hotel rooms can be cool.)

 

Palm Beach Gardens

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016

1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Palm Beach Gardens Marriott

4000 RCA Blvd.

(East of I-95, south of PGA Blvd.)

 

Boynton Beach

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016

1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Courtyard by Marriott

1601 N. Congress Avenue

(Between Boynton Beach Blvd. and Gateway Blvd.)

 

 

Port St. Lucie

Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016

1:30 p.m. t0 4:00 p.m.

Port St. Lucie Holiday Inn

10120 S. Federal Hightway

(North of Port St. Lucie Blvd.)

Florida Medicaid Myths

In Florida, the average annual cost of a private room at a long-term nursing facility now hovers upwards of $90,000 annually, with a semi-private room around $83,000. With the oldest Baby Boomers turning 70 and the escalating incidence of chronic and extraordinarily expensive diseases such as Alzheimer's, more and more families face financial disaster when a loved one needs long-term care. It is fair to say that this is a national crisis, but one our political leadership is not yet seriously addressing. For the foreseeable future, America's families are on their own.

If a family lacks the extensive financial resources necessary to cover long-term care costs, or if a person needing care has failed to obtain, or has not been able to qualify for or afford long-term care insurance, Medicaid is often a viable option. Securing Medicaid benefits for long-term care in a nursing home can preserve a good portion of a family's assets before virtually everything is lost to nursing home costs. Obviously, preserving assets is especially critical when the person needing care is married, so that there are sufficient funds left for the spouse to live on. 

With this in mind, below I address some of the most common myths about Florida Medicaid benefits for long-term care. The list is by no means exhaustive, but is a good starting point if you are concerned about how to pay for your own or a loved one's long-term care, whether you're planning in advance or facing an immediate crisis. 


MediCARE covers long-term nursing care. 
False! Medicare covers only skilled nursing care, and even then, only for a limited period of time following a three-day hospital stay. In contrast, long-term care is custodial care. It is not intended to make a person "better." Its goal is to help a person with activities of daily living such as bathing, eating, toileting. Medicare does not cover long-term care. If you or your loved ones are relying on Medicare to cover long-term care expenses, think again. 

Once you are in a long-term care facility, it is too late to take any steps to preserve assets and obtain Florida Medicaid. 
False! While it is always better to plan in advance, that is not how things generally unfold in the real world. Most often, we assist families with crisis planning, i.e., when a loved one is already in, or about to enter, a nursing home. Even at that point, a variety of techniques can help preserve assets.

You must spend down and become totally impoverished before applying for, let alone becoming eligible for Medicaid. 
False! Spending down is just one method of becoming Medicaid eligible. Numerous other methods may be available that do not involved dissipating one's assets. In fact, many times we are able to assist families who have been privately paying a nursing home for months or longer because they did not realize there was an alternative to spending down. 

Any transfers made within five years of applying will make you ineligible for Medicaid for five years. 
False! This myth is based on an incomplete and incorrect understanding of Florida's Medicaid rules. Any uncompensated or below-market-value transfers will be considered by the Medicaid office when it examines the application. These transfers will be used to determine a waiting period during which Medicaid benefits will not be available and the applicant will have to pay privately. But that does not mean you have to wait five years to apply. More importantly, some transfers are exempt and will cause no delay in obtaining Medicaid. 

Florida's Medicaid rules are the same as the rules in other states. 
False! Medicaid is a federal program, but because each state also participates financially in Medicaid funding, there are many areas in which the rules vary from state to state. A friend's experience in another state does not necessarily apply to Florida. And even in Florida, you can't assume a rule that applied last year is true this year, because the rules change from time to time. 

Long-term care facility residents on Medicaid receive inferior care compared to private pay residents. 
False! Federal law prohibits nursing facilities from discriminating against a patient based on source of payment. In all my years working with clients who have loved ones residing in nursing homes, I have never come across a situation where this has occurred. In fact, many of my clients' families have been able to provide a greater quality of care for their loved one by using preserved assets to pay for part-time private duty care to supplement regular nursing home care, as well as other "extras." 

Medicaid rules let me give away $14,000 a year without impacting eligibility. 
False! This common misconception arises when Medicaid rules are confused with federal estate and gift tax rules. Under federal law, you can give away $14,000 per year to as many people as you like without it affecting your lifetime unified estate and gift tax exemption. However, this rule is completely unrelated to Medicaid rules. As far as Medicaid is concerned, any transfer for less than fair market value is examined when the application is submitted, and may be used to compute a penalty period during which the applicant will be ineligible for benefits. 

My spouse's assets and income won't matter if I apply for Medicaid. 
False! The assets and income of both spouses are considered. However,  there are steps that may be taken to protect the assets of the well spouse. In Florida there is currently "spousal refusal" whereby a spouse has the right to refuse to pay for a spouse's long -term care costs. My law firm has assisted numerous families with this strategy. 

If I am incapacitated, my agent under my Durable Power of Attorney can do Medicaid planning for me in order to preserve assets. 
Not necessarily!  Your Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) would have to give the agent certain powers, including the power to make gifts. If a DPOA does not confer these powers or is not executed properly and does not meet all Florida legal standards, your agent will not be able to perform these actions. You would have to create and execute a new DPOA - which obviously would not be possible if, at that point, you lacked the requisite mental capacity. That is why it is always advisable to have a Florida Bar Certified Elder Law Attorney review your DPOA while you are competent, so that you can change it if necessary.

Assets in a living trust are protected from nursing home costs. 
False! However, there are certain kinds of trusts - for example, a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust which, if done in advance and properly structured, may preserve assets. 

I can just "hide" assets so Medicaid doesn't know they exist.  
False! This is a crime. You could be charged with fraud. Any "advisor" who suggests hiding assets is giving you bad advice. There are many perfectly legal ways to restructure and move assets that can hasten Medicaid eligibility and preserve a good portion of assets. No other approaches should be taken. 

I will lose my house if I get Medicaid benefits.  
False! Under Florida law, your homestead is a protected asset if the equity is under $552,000. It cannot be taken away during your lifetime. Nor is it subject to Medicaid recovery upon your passing, if it is left to your constitutional heirs at law. 

I don't need an attorney to help with Medicaid planning. 
False! Florida Medicaid law is complicated. Any mistakes you make with regard to transfers and assets can be costly ones. Rely on a Florida Bar Certified Elder Law Attorney such as myself to guide you through the process.