by Roy D. Brown

1. Longevity: The Styrofoam and polyurethane crown moldings have a tendency to break down over a period of time. Galvanize & Tin crown molding have been on city buildings for 80 years and more. Copper crown moldings last well over 100 years, other metals are also strong and Durable.

2. Water Absorption: The Foams have been known to absorb moisture. Under cold and freezing conditions areas where the foam crown moldings were installed may have retained dampness and moisture then freeze. This can crack causing costly damage. Crown Molding was originally designed to allow water to repel off the building. Metal Crown moldings are a perfect option.

3. Color: If you are looking for color it will not be found in the foams or plastics, they are only offered in White. To some having the up keep and maintenance in painting every few years is not a favorable outlook. Galvanize and Tin crown moldings would have to be painted in the past. Copper does Patina in time and even today there is a new love for it. Aluminum is a perfect option for color selections of many kinds. Kynar baked on enamel gives the color you desire and it will last for years to come.

4. Sizes: The foam trims come in fixed sizes so you are limited as to the size the manufacturer has to offer. Custom orders, though some times offered, can become extended periods of waiting and a expensive. Roll formed metal crown Molding is manufactured in many profiles. An extremely Popular style is conveniently formed without 90 degree bends. This gives the Installer the opportunity to decide where the bends should be to fit over an existing wood crown or to fit on the size wood used on new construction

5. Installation Tips: With every crown molding installation is so important to think ahead. What are the products extra positive amenities? Foam, plastic, polyurethane are missing one thing. Today metal crown molding has the option with their bends to create a Blind Nailing Method. Metal crown molding can be nailed under the roof shingle and against the wall for added strength.

Crown Moldings can be custom formed in a variety of crown sizes. Cornice systems can be designed to fit the existing style returning a broken down building into a Beautifully Distinct Restoration that truly captures what was first borne in its original form

About the Author:

For Information About Copper Crown Molding, then visit American Colonial Crown Molding’s site for all your custom Aluminum Crown Molding Needs.

According to NYDailyNews.com “It was the Lutz family that scored the big home run Sunday at The Stadium.

Just before the start of the game, they learned their heart-warming tale had earned them a fully rebuilt home in East Setauket, L.I. courtesy of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

“It’s amazing,” Kathleen Lutz, 39, told fans at Yankee Stadium before the start of the 4-0 Yankees win against the Mets.

News of the desperately needed new house for her family, which includes six adopted siblings with Down syndrome, came as a shock. Lutz – who’s living with an inoperable brain tumor that’s in remission – didn’t realize her family had been picked when they were invited to the game.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/21/2010-06-21_extreme_case_of_thanks.html#ixzz0rbRjCKpf

By David R. Okrent, CPA, Esq.

Elder Law focuses on planning for Long Term Care and includes such things as how your medical and financial decisions will be made if you can’t, how to minimize taxes, reduced estate administration burdens and costs, and, if you need long term care, how could it be paid for without losing everything you have worked hard for. Every Elder Law plan should start out and end up with its primary goal being to protect your independence, dignity, and control.

Since the primary focus of Elder Law is Long Term Care, let’s define it, review what it costs and how it can be paid for. Long term care is the care we receive when we need help with the activities of daily living, such as hygiene (bathing, grooming, shaving and oral care), continence, dressing, eating (the ability to feed oneself), toileting (the ability to use a restroom), transferring (actions such as going from a seated to a standing position and getting in and out of bed). The care can be provided at your home, in a social or medical model daycare, in an Assisted Living Facility or in a Nursing Home. Where and how the care is received usually depends upon many factors. Home care on Long Island typically costs about $20.00 to $25.00 an hour with 24 hour companion care, (which is typically the least expensive), being about $1,500.00 a week for live in care. From there the cost of care increases up to the most expensive, generally being the nursing home, which, on Long Island, is about $15,000.00 a month.

There are four typical payment sources to cover these costs: Private Pay, Medicare, Long term Care Insurance and Medicaid. Medicare will pay if an individual has received 3 days of skilled care in a hospital and is admitted to a nursing home within 30 days, where they are receiving skilled, rehabilitative care. Then Medicare will pay for the first 20 days paid in full. From day 21-100 a co-insurance payment of $137.50 per day in 2010 is required. However, if the individual has the right Medigap insurance it will pay the co-insurance payment. Both Medicare and most Medigap insurance stops paying after day 100.

The next payment source is Long Term Care Insurance, which is designed to specifically pay for these types of care. There are many types of policies with new ones being developed every day. Generally, these policies provide you with a pool of money that can be used for the cost of this care. The premiums vary greatly depending on your health and the benefits you select. Purchasing Long Term Care insurance is typically a good idea. However, in order to buy it, you must be healthy enough and be able to afford it. For people who do not qualify for Long Term Care insurance, Medicaid eligibility is important. In many cases, even where Long Term Care Insurance is purchased, planning to become Medicaid eligible is a good fall back. There is always the possibility that the purchased coverage will not be enough in the future, you may not be able to keep paying the premiums or a host of other reasons may come up, so including planning for Medicaid is always worth considering.

Medicaid. There are two basic types of Medicaid we discuss with our clients; we refer to them as “Community Medicaid” and “Institutional Medicaid. Community Medicaid generally pays for care at home and medical model day care. Institutional Medicaid generally pays for Nursing Home Care and Social Model Day Care. At the time of writing this article, a single person can have no more than $13,800.00, a home they are living in with equity equal to, or less than, $750,000, and a prepaid funeral. There are exceptions and special rules for certain assets, like retirement assets, i.e. IRAs, 401k plans, and annuities. The special rules are beyond the scope of this article and will be topics for future articles. Note, the home exemption is very limited since a person is not living in their home if they are in a Nursing Home. In addition, if the applicant dies and the home is part of their probate estate any Medicaid paid out for their care can be recovered. With respect to income, an individual is permitted to have $50 a month if they are in a nursing home and $787 a month if they are at home. There are methods available to keep more income for a person living at home, for example the use of an “income protection trust”.

For married couples the numbers change. If one spouse is in a nursing home while the other is at home, the spouse at home can have a home of any value and between $74,820 and $109,560 in assets. In addition, the spouse at home is permitted to have $2,789 a month in income. There are exceptions to these limits, such as spousal refusal, and some assets have their own special rules, like retirement assets, i.e. IRAs, 401k plans, and annuities. Again, there is a special rule for spouses, referred to as spousal refusal, where the community spouse has more than the exempt amount and refuses to make it available for the institutionalized spouse’s care. This is a crisis-planning tool because Medicaid does have a right to recover the excess should they choose to. In order for a spouse to use the spousal protections, the assets need to be transferred to the community spouse. If the institutionalized spouse is now incompetent, hopefully they executed a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy. The Power of Attorney allows a named person to handle financial transactions for the principal, which if the Power of Attorney was properly prepared, would allow the transfer of the assets to the community spouse. The Health Care proxy and Living Will allows someone to make medical decisions. Without these documents a guardian needs to be appointed by a Court and permission must be granted to make any transfers, even to a spouse. These proceedings take months and costs thousands of dollars.

The 5 year rule. A lot of people talk about the 5 year rule and Medicaid. What is it? If a person has more assets than permitted and wishes to protect them they typically consider gifting or transferring them. Any transfer made after February 8, 2006 is governed under the rules under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, otherwise known as “DRA”. Under the 5 year rule, every non-exempt gift draws a 5 year window. For example, if a person applies for institutional Medicaid, the government will ask for records going back 5 years from the date the person is institutionalized and has applied for Medicaid. If there have been any gifts during that time period the government will then calculate and impose a “penalty period” which is the amount of time that the applicant will not be eligible for Medicaid. There are many exceptions to the transfer penalty rule, like Community Medicaid, which has no 5 year rule. For planning purposes, it is simply good to keep in mind that you might need 5 years. In the event you don’t have 5 years there are still things we can do, but they generally result in protecting a lot less of your estate.

Ok, so how do we protect the home? There are three general methods used to protect the home: outright transfer of your home, transfer while retaining the right to live in it for life, and a “Life Estate Deed”, or a “Special Irrevocable Trust”. All of these will get you eligible for Medicaid subject to the Medicaid rules discussed above. So what makes them different? The difference is the tax consequences, sale consequences and your control of your home, independence and dignity.

Outright transfer of home. We very rarely use this. We never want to transfer a home in a way where it can be taken from you while you need it. If you transfer your home outright, for example to a child(dren) and something happens to them, (i.e. lawsuit, divorce, death or their own illness), the home would be exposed to their creditors and preditors. It has no protection and you may have no place to live. In addition, the outright transfer has some significant tax issues.

The tax issues we must evaluate with every transfer of a home are: estate and gift tax, income tax, and property tax. Under the current federal law, (as of June 2010) there is no Federal Estate Tax. There is a Federal Gift tax, with an exemption of $1,000,000.00, plus gifts of up to $13,000.00, per donee, per year. As long as the home is worth less than this amount there will not be a gift tax. With respect to income taxes, we need to look at the capital gain exclusion for a primary residence and a donee’s basis in the asset they receive. While you are alive, and generally if you have owned and lived in your primary residence for 2 out of 5 years, you may be entitled to a $250,000 capital gain exclusion ($500,000 for married couples) when it is sold. If you outright gift the home you may lose it. In addition, upon your death if the home is sold your beneficiaries’ basis will be your cost basis (generally equal to your purchase price plus improvements). This cost basis must be compared to the basis a beneficiary may receive if they inherited the property instead. An inherited basis is generally the fair market value of the property at your date of death, which usually is more then the cost basis and thereby eliminates any capital gain (please note: for the year 2010 there are some special basis rules in place which could alter this rule). The last tax we typically consider is property tax and your exemptions, i.e. veterans and star. Any property tax exemptions you may be entitled to as the owner and resident of the property you may lose if you no longer own the home.

In an attempt to address the negative aspects of the outright transfer, two techniques were developed, the “Life Estate Deed” and the “Special Irrevocable Trust”. The Life Estate Deed is a technique whereby the owner of a home transfers to an individual(s), who is then referred to as the “remainderman”, while retaining the right to live in it for life. The transfer is subject to the Medicaid transfer rules discussed above. When the waiting period is over, the life estate in the property cannot be touched by Medicaid. Also, with this technique, you keep your property tax exemptions and upon your death the property will pass outside probate and the remainderman will receive the fair market value basis. Ok, so that’s the good, now for the bad. If you need to sell the property during your lifetime it will be a mess! This is because both you and the remainderman own the property. Upon the sale you will get part of the proceeds and the remainderman will get the other part. The parts are actuarially determined. You may be entitled to the capital gain exclusion for your part, but the remainderman’s part usually is not, so a hefty tax has to be paid. Furthermore, the part you get is no longer Medicaid protected. A Life Estate in the real property is exempt, but the proceeds from the sale are not. This means you may have to start a new 5 year period for Medicaid eligibility. Sale of a home happens frequently when the life tenant enters a Nursing Home and the remainderman can’t continue to pay the expenses associated with it. In summary, more than half the value of the property may be lost if the property is sold during the life tenant’s lifetime. But that’s not all, there is one more draw back; your right to live there may not be asset protected from the remainderman’s creditors or preditors. As you can tell this technique has its own unique issues and because of them it is not one of my favorite options. I prefer the “Special Irrevocable Trust”.

“Special Irrevocable Trust.” Generally, our Special Irrevocable Trust allows you to name anyone you trust, typically a child(ren), friend or an institution as a Trustee. In the trust you can retain the right to live in your home, the right to any ordinary income the trust generates, and the power to change the beneficiaries (again referred to as the remainderman) of the trust. The assets can be easily removed from the trust for any reason. The Trustee is given the power, upon the consent of another person you designate, to distribute to the remainderman, who can then give the assets back to you or use them for you (there may be a Medicaid impact on which method you use, so please consult with us first). This trust is an asset protection trust, not only for Medicaid but for all purposes. Because you cannot revoke this trust by yourself, it is a gift. However, because of your retained rights, the tax law classifies it as a “Grantor” trust under the Internal Revenue Code which causes you to remain the taxpayer for all purposes. In fact, the trust can use your social security number and does not even have to file its own tax return. This tool maintains all the benefits of the life estate, namely protecting the property tax exemptions, capital gain exclusion and fair market value basis at death and eliminates the other problems. No matter what happens to a beneficiary of the trust your home is protected. If you or one of your beneficiaries is sued, divorced, dies or becomes disabled it is of no affect to your safety as to your home. In fact, because you have the power to change remainderman you could eliminate, alter or change any remainderman’s interest any time you want without their knowledge or consent. This indirectly can work really well in controlling your kids and the Trustee’s authority. (If your Trustee/child does not follow your wishes you can threaten to take away their inheritance and they will certainly think twice.) If the home is sold during your lifetime, the proceeds belong to the trust, not to the individuals involved, eliminating the tax and Medicaid problems as described with the “Life Estate Deed”.

Trusts are great tools and work very well in the right situation when they are properly prepared. Every Elder Law plan should consider having a Trust, a Last Will and Testament, a Power of Attorney, a Healthcare Proxy and a Living Will. Are Trusts appropriate for everyone? No, but they should be considered. In the almost 20 years I have been doing this, I have not created the same Elder Law plan twice. Everyone’s Elder Law plan is specific to them and the tools we have available should be considered in light of each person’s circumstances and wishes. I am pleased to offer your membership the opportunity to have a consult with me, for no charge, to see what your Elder Law plan should look like.

*David R. Okrent, CPA, Esq. Managing Attorney of The Law Offices of David R. Okrent have been handling Tax, elder law, estate planning and administration, special needs and veterans benefits for over 26 years. Mr. Okrent was designated one of Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation’s “Angels of Spirit” and is a recipient of the Long Island Coalition on Aging “Man of Spirit.” He is the NY State Bar Association’s Elder Law Section Co-Chief Editor of the Elder Law Attorney (it’s members quarterly publication), Vice Chairman of its Estate tax & Planning Committee and the Tenth District (long Island) delegate. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Suffolk County Bar Association Legislation Review Committee and as an advisory member to its Academy of Law. He has served as the Co-Chair of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee and Chairman of its Tax Committee. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is also a past long time Chairman of the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation’s Legal Advisory Board, is a former IRS Agent and holds a CPA. For more information visit http://www.davidrokrentlaw.com or call (631)427-4600. The firm is gratefully to have an opportunity to serve your membership.

By Chelsea Furlong

Bidformaterials.com proudly celebrates a major stride being made in an effort to stimulate the construction and related manufacturing industries. After a vote of 246 to 161 in the United States House of Representatives, the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) has passed. This act has been developed to rapidly stimulate job formation in the construction and manufacturing industries by increasing the need for residential energy efficiency.

Frederick Cann, founder and partner of Bidformaterials.com, is eager to witness and be apart of this monumental bill. “The Home Star Act will create thousands of valuable jobs for Americans,” praised Cann. “It will also allow homeowners to create efficient homes and save a great deal of money on energy.

The bill still needs to be reviewed by the Senate and followed up with an appropriations bill to allot funds for the program, which costs 6 billion dollars. While the Home Star Act has not been put into effect yet, Cann is ever so confident in its future. “This is a monumental bill that will change the lives of thousands of Americans in a time where they truly need it,” said Cann.

Results of an independent survey of 1,000 construction workers and building material suppliers reveal the pricing of construction material is heading in a positive direction. The survey has revealed that the direction for pricing construction materials is now easier for the industry. The survey included direct questions about how contractors price their materials and how often. The study showed that three in ten contractors price their material list regularly. Eight in ten confessed that they do not have the time to make phone calls and get quotes; however they would do it if the process were streamlined. Overall, eight in ten contractors agreed that a service to help them get quotes would improve their bottom line.

BidForMaterials.com is a website that connects contractors and their materials lists to construction materials suppliers with real time quotes. This B-2-B network was launched in October of 2009. The overwhelming positive response to this site proves to the market that there is a need for a service that gives contractors the resource to acquire material pricing from a vast amount of suppliers nationwide. Every consumer wants what is perceived as the best price available for all products. This service provides a vast source of new suppliers for pricing their material needs. It also gives contractors the opportunity to establish new working relations guided by either price or relationship.

The construction industry’s foundation is based on personal relationships. Many of these relationships have grown into friendships, but competition has always been a factor in business and business relationships. When Frederick Cann, Founder of www.bidformaterials.com, was asked, “Is competition something suppliers should be concerned about when joining your network?” Cann replied, “No.” Cann revealed “there is no more competition then when a contractor calls up two suppliers and asks them both for a quote on the same material list. What we have done is streamlined the process. It doesn’t make sense why a supplier would not want to join a network where they can get unlimited free leads”.

One supplier explained that he was initially hesitant to join the network due to fear of losing his loyal contractor base. However, he soon realized that his sales people focus solely on his contractor base and have little time to generate new business. This new service gave him the edge to help his business grow without cost or time taken away from his core business, his loyal contractors. If he was able to give competitive pricing to his existing customers, why not give it to new customers?

After joining he received 22 job leads for roofing, masonry and drywall supplies, secured 3 new jobs and now, one of the jobs is an ongoing relationship. At the end of the day, the three jobs generated approximately $4,300 in net profit. But what was more valuable was the relationship that developed with one contractor who was building a subdivision and agreed to let the supplier bid on all 27 homes, generating a healthy cushion for the upcoming season. Looking at both sides of this pendulum it appears that this industry has a new valuable tool at their fingertips. The research attained from this survey, as well as from others, indicates that there is no other website currently on the market providing such a valuable tool without the hassle of a typical auction site.

By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

We encounter aches and pains throughout our lives due to different factors. These factors range from sports to on-site construction work. The most common pain-related issue I have come across is lower back and neck pain. The current remedies for such problems have been things like pain killers, cortisone injections, and the R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) protocol. However, acupuncture and herbal medicine have much more to offer in terms of pain relief.

Acupuncture helps treat muscle and joint pain by influencing the body’s natural pain killers known as endorphins and reduce inflammation once needles are inserted into different key points that lie along pathways that run through the body. Once the needles are inserted into the areas that are in pain, the needles are manipulated either manually or with electric-stimulation to reduce inflammation and eliminate stagnant proteins within the muscles that lead to aches and pains. Other adjunctive techniques with acupuncture are moxabustion, cupping, and tui na (Chinese medical massage).

Moxabustion is the burning of an herb known as ‘mugwort’ onto different points along the body. Once the mugwort is burnt 2/3’s before it reaches the skin, the heat emitted from the burning mugwort penetrates deep into the pathways, connective tissue, and muscles. The heat increases blood flow and relieves pain by causing a dispersive effect into the painful areas of the body. In essence, it helps increase the effects of one’s acupuncture treatment by causing a natural reorganization of the body into its normal components.

The next adjunctive technique that is used with one’s acupuncture treatment for pain relief is cupping. Cupping is a technique where a heat vacuum is created along the skin with the use of glass jars. By doing this, stagnant blood, fluids and lymph are pulled up into the surface of the skin which are blocking normal circulation into the muscles and joints.

Lastly is tui na (Chinese medical massage). It is a form of massage that helps not only helps to relieve pain but also seeks to bring about structural alignment. The way I would describe this massage style would be a combination of deep-tissue massage, physical therapy, and chiropractic rolled into one.

In conjunction with acupuncture and its adjunctive techniques, I also incorporate herbal medicine to aid in ones current treatment. There different herbal formulas that help with treating pain are liniments such as Die Da Jiu (“Hit Fall Wine”) which contain herbs that are used in relieving pain resulting in muscle strains and sprains, and muscle pulls. These herbs act on relieving these problems because of their anti-inflammatory and circulation promoting properties. It is a lot more effective than using ice for injuries because even though ice relieves pain by numbing the pain receptors, it slows down the flow of blood to the injured area thus causing a condition known as blood stasis which results in sharp-stabbing pain after an injury has subsided.

When an injury is not taken care of it leads to other problems that Western medical doctors would not think of otherwise. For example, let us say we are in pain because of a traumatic accident resulting in shoulder pain. The pain is relieved with pain killers and other conventional methods. Over time, the pain comes and goes but the concussive force remains, therefore leading to impeded blood flow to the connective tissues and muscles. In a great amount of time, impeded blood flow in this case leads to lack of oxygen to the surrounding tissues, which is known as ischemia. Ischemia leads to another process known as cell death, because no oxygenated blood is going to the tissues. Eventually, the severity of cell death turns into necrosis because cell death has now spread into other tissues surrounding those affected by the concussive force. Over time, the surrounding necrotized tissues go into a cellular process known as cytotoxicity, which is much more severe than necrosis. Toxins build up in the surrounding and localized muscle tissue, which later leads to cancer, which spreads into tissues. In conclusion, I would highly recommend acupuncture and herbal medicine for the treatment of injuries related to on-site construction among many other factors. It is not only helps with treating the problem, but it also helps with preventing other health problems associated with those injuries.