The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning that nursing homes in several states are trying to require their Medicaid residents to sign over their stimulus checks. However, according to the CARES Act, these payments are tax credits, and tax credits do not count as “resources” for the purposes of federal benefits programs like Medicaid. Individuals who reside in long term care facilities typically manage their own money or appoint another person to handle their financial affairs. The stimulus funds are to be handled as any other resident benefits. Since stimulus payments do not count as income, they do not affect Medicaid eligibility or qualify as a Medicaid resource. The FTC…
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NORTH CAROLINA AUTHORIZES TEMPORARY EMERGENCY VIDEO NOTARIZATIONS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Effective May 4, 2020 through August 1, 2020, Notaries Public are permitted to notarize documents via video conferencing so as not to impede crucial business transactions, real estate transactions, estate planning necessities, medical documents, court documents, and most other important notarizations. In order to be valid, video notarizations must: Be conducted during a real time interaction between the principal signer and the notary; Involve audio-video technology quality that allow for clear video observation of the face of the signer and any acceptable form of identification; and The signer must indicate which county in North Carolina they are in when signing the documents, identify the documents they are singing, and allow…
