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M

MA

Medical Assistance.

MA Plans

Medicare Advantage Plans.

MAGI

Modified Adjusted Gross Income.  As it relates to premium supports from the government for ACA health insurance.

MAI

Member of the Appraisal Instutute.

Major Medical

Broader than basic hospital, basic medical and basic surgical.  Covers all of these under one policy, and includes nursing services, blood, prosthetic devices, ambulance services, etc.

Managed Care

The term managed care is used to describe a variety of techniques intended to reduce the cost of providing health benefits and improve quality of care.  Common managed care plans include HMOs, PPOs, and EPOs.

Managed Care Indemnity Plan

A plan where you select a provider (managed part) and submit your own claim form (indemnity part.)

MAP

Market Access Program.

Marital Deduction

A federal tax deduction that allows one spouse to leave the other spouse all of his/her assets estate tax free, regardless of their value.

Marital Deduction Trust

The Marital Deduction Trust protects the marital deduction on the first death. As a result of the Unlimited Marital Deduction, the tax benefits of this tax free deduction are lost if not protected in trust.

Marital Exemption

A deduction allowed from the gross estate of the value of all property passing to decedent’s spouse, provided the spouse is a U.S. citizen.  Exemption does not apply to domestic partners.

Marital Property

Roughly the equivalent of community property.  Used under the Uniform Marital Property Act to describe what would be community property in a community property state.

Marital Trust

A fiduciary relationship between a trustor and trustee for the benefit of a surviving spouse and the married couple’s heirs. Also called an “A” trust, a marital trust goes into effect when the first spouse dies. Assets are moved into the trust upon death and the income generated by the assets goes to the surviving spouse. Under some arrangements, the surviving spouse can also receive principal payments. When the second spouse dies, the trust passes to its designated heirs.  There are three types of marital trusts: a general power of appointment, a QTIP trust and an estate trust. A marital trust allows the couple’s heirs to avoid probate and take less of a hit from estate taxes by taking full advantage of the unlimited marital deduction, which allows spouses to pass assets to each other without tax consequences. However, when the surviving spouse dies, the remaining trust assets will be subject to estate taxes. To further avoid estate taxes when the surviving spouse dies, a marital trust is sometimes used in conjunction with a credit shelter trust (also called a “B” trust).

An example of when a marital trust might be used is when a couple has children from a previous marriage and wants to pass all property to the surviving spouse upon death but provide for their individual children upon the surviving spouse’s death. In case the surviving spouse remarries, the deceased spouse’s assets will go to his or her children instead of to the new spouse.

Market Value

Price at which an assets would sell within a reasonable period of time between buyer and seller, neither under duress, both possessing all pertinent facts and in an arms length transaction.

Marriage

Status of a couple conferred by the state.  In California marriage requires a marriage ceremony conducted by an authorized individual, and the filing of documents with a county clerk.

Marshaling

The technique by which a blending exercise of a power of appointment as to which a portion is valid will direct appointive assets to the valid portions to the extent possible, such as to avoid violation of the Rule Against Perpetuities.

MAST

Michigan Alcohol Screening Test.

Master Policy

Also known as the Master contract.  It is issued to the employer under a group plan; contains all the insuring clauses defining employee benefits.  Individual employees participating in the group plan receive individual certificates that outline highlights of the coverage.

MBA

Masters of Business Administration.

MC

MediCal.

McCord v. Commissioner, 461 F.3d 614 (5th Cir. 2006)

Fifth Circuit ruled that the taxpayers’ use of a defined value formula clause for gift and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes was valid.  Allows offsetting gift value by contingent assumed liability for estate tax if donor dies within 3 years.

MCLE

Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.

MCO

Managed Care Organization.

MDB

Monthly Disability Benefit.

MDRO

Multi-Drug Resistant Organism.

MDQ

Mood Disorder Questrionnaire.

MDRT

Million Dollar Round Table.

MEC

Modified Endowment Contract.

Medi-Cal

California’s version of Medicaid.

Medicaid Trust

A trust intended to meet the special needs of a beneficiary without disqualifying the beneficiary for Medicaid.

Medical

Refers to doctor’s non-surgical fees.

Medical Directive

See Durable Power Of Attorney.

Medical Savings Account

Generally associated with self-employed individuals or small employers, in which tax-deferred deposits can be made for medical expenses.  Withdrawals from the MSA are tax-free if used to pay for qualified medical expenses.  Funds from an MSA may be used to pay the deductible on a HDHP.

At the end of the year funds may be removed (and taxed) or rolled over into the following year’s account.

These have been replaced by Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

Medicare

Part A – Hospital

Part B – Medical Insurance

Part C – Medicare Advantage

Part D – Drugs

Mental Capacity or Mentality

Usually is referred to as “of sound mind” for will or other document execution validty.

Merger

Is the legal combination of titles, either life estate or term of years with the remainder or legal and equitable titles, resulting usually in a fee simple entitlement and potentially causing a trust to terminate because the combination of legal and equitable titles destroys the nature of a trust.

MET

Multiple Employer Trusts.

MEWA

Multi-Employer Welfare Arrangement.

MFJ

Married Filing Jointly.

MFLA

Master Farm and Land Appraiser of the National Association of Master Appraisers.

MFO

Multi-Family Office.

MFP

Mandatory Provident Fund.  Money Follows the Person.

MGA

Managing General Agent.

Any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation that manages all or part of an insurer’s business.

MIB

Medical Information Bureau.

MIDGiT

Medicaid Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust.

MIDRO

Same as MDRO – MultI-Drug Resistant Organism.

Miller Trust

A “safe harbor” trust under the Medicaid rules, allowing a trust to be funded with the income of a Medicaid beneficiary in an “income-cap” state, so that the beneficiary may qualify for Medicaid.  Sometimes referred to as Qualifying Income Trusts, or Qualified Income Trusts, they are used when a Medicaid applicant has too much income to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to pay for nursing home care or other long-term care costs.

Minimum Premium Plan

MMP: Designed to support a self-insured plan, a minimum premium plan helps insure against large, unpredictable losses that exceed the self-insured level.  This is sometimes referred to as a Stop Loss Plan.

Minor

Any person under 18 years of age, [unless emancipated].

Misdescription

Is a latent ambiguity that is an inaccurate description that could apply to more than one asset, person, event, etc., and creates controversy because it is not clear which is the intended reference.  See Equivocation and Inaccuracy.

Mistake

Is an issue in execution, revocation, or understanding the law or facts as they relate to a document.  Mistake of this last variety comes in four varieties: mistakes of law, of fact, in the inducement, and of omission.  Under the common law, it was said there was no remedy for mistake.  See Ambiguity.

MIT

Minimum Income Tax.

MIT Trust

Minimum Income Tax Trust.

MLP

Master Limited Partnership.

MMLLC

Multi-Member Limited Liability Company.

MMMNA

Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance.

MMNA

Same as MMMNA.

MMP

Minimum Premium Plan.

MN

Medically Needy.

Moral Hazard

Arise from people’s habits and values.  Filing a false claim is an example.

Morale Hazard

Arise out of human carelessness or irresponsibility.

Morbidity

The probability or frequency of accident or sickness within a given group of people.

Morbidity Table

is more fully defined as the number of individuals exposed to the risk of illness, sickness, and disease at each age, and the actual number of individuals who have incurred an illness, sickness, and disease at various ages.  This table is based on the law of large numbers and is used to establish premiums for health, accident, sickness, and disability income products.

Mortmain

Statutes that restrict gifts to charity by will.  Usually held unconstitutional.

MPT

Modern Portfolio Theory.

MQIT

Medicaid Qualified Income Trust.

MQT

Medicaid Qualifying Trust.

MRA

Master Residential Appraiser of the National Association of Master Appraisers.

MRD

Minimum Required Distribution.  They apply to Qualified Retirement Plans and to IRAs, 403(b) plans, and 457 plans.  These requirements also apply to Roth IRA’s but only after death.

MRL

Medical Loss Ratio.

MRMIB

Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board.

MRMIP

Major Risk Medical Insurance Plan/Program.

For information call (800) 289-6574 or visit www.mrmib.ca.gov.

MSA

Medical Savings Account.  Medicare Set Aside.  Master Senior Appraiser of the National Association of Master Appraisers.

MSC

Mandatory Settlement Conference.

MSN

Medicare Summary Notice.

MST

Master of Science in Taxation.

MT

Marital Trust

Multiple Employee Welfare Arrangement

Similar to a MET, but the plan self-insures.  By self-insuring they come under ERISA regulation.

Multiple Employer Trust

METs are groups formed by insurers, agents, brokers, or TPA who are called sponsors.  The sponsor develops the plan, sets up the underwriting rules, and administers the plan.  The purpose of a MET is so small employers of the same industry can band together and purchase as a large group.

MUTC

Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code.

Mutilation

Is one form of physical revocatory act to a will that affects the paper on which the will is written.

Mutual Wills

Wills executed by two persons, usually spouses, with reciprocal provisions.  Sometimes called “mirror-image wills.”

MVA

Market Value Adjusted annuities.