Question: Help – we need to get on the right financial path before it is too late! My husband and I are in our early 60s and find ourselves wrestling with a host of financial issues, including elder care and estate planning as well as retirement planning. Can you provide us with some financial tips? Answer: I think […]
Imbedded in today’s nursing home culture is a practice that has been notoriously associated with elder abuse in nursing homes. Nationwide, many nursing home residents with advanced cognitive impairment are tube fed (35% according to some studies), despite no demonstrable benefits of this intervention in this population. Studies suggest that organizational features of nursing homes […]
The best thing you can do is seek assistance from a qualified Elder Law attorney who is accredited by the VA. A knowledgeable Elder Law Attorney can help you plan so that your parent’s facts and circumstances meet all of the VA program’s requirements. Although VA Aid & Attendance considers net worth when determining eligibility, there […]
An AARP survey found that 85% of all Americans over the age of 65 would prefer to stay in their own homes and communities as they age, and that most seniors would prefer to receive their elder care assistance in their home rather than have to move to an institutional setting like a nursing home. […]
Applying for Medicaid benefits can be a daunting process. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 increased the look-back period for nursing home applications from three years to five years (36 months to 60 months). This means that five years of financial documentation must be provided to the Medicaid agency in order for the application to […]
When offering legal advice, one of the first things we recommend to our clients is that they must have a well-drafted power of attorney. A power of attorney is a document whereby the person signing the power (the “principal”) authorizes another person or persons (the “agent(s)”) to sign and act on his or her behalf […]
Medicare has provisions that if you are in the hospital and you are transferred out of the hospital directly to a nursing home facility to receive rehabilitation for whatever medical condition you have that Medicare will pay for the nursing home care up to a limited number of days as long as you are making […]
There are a variety of scams that people perpetrate on seniors. Most are geared towards draining them financially or to secure their information for identity theft. Below are some of the most common types of Senior Scams: Medicare and Healthcare Scams: Also known as a Medicare discount-drug card scam, these people will call, email, or […]
Long-term care is not cheap. The cost of employing a home care attendant in the New York City area ranges from $15 to $25 an hour and a nursing home bed runs from approximately $12,000 to $15,000 per month. Finding the right solution to help pay for long-term care is critical. While Medicare gets most […]
The distinction between mild cognitive impairment and dementia can get a bit blurry. In California, Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) facilities can accept people with varying degrees of memory loss. Once a person is diagnosed with dementia, there are additional licensing requirements a facility in California must meet. The definitions that follow are from […]
Make Caregiving a Two-Way Street Family caregivers play a major role in maximizing the health and quality of life individuals with acute and chronic illness in the United States. Recipients of care depend on family caregivers for assistance with daily activities, managing complex care, navigating the overwhelming health and health insurance systems and communicating with […]
Planning for long-term care involves the consideration of many factors. There are a number of reasons that trusts can be used as part of an individual’s long-term care plan. Sometimes an individual may place assets inside of a revocable living trust. If the individual becomes incapacitated, the trustee will have the ability to manage the […]
Medicaid benefits are going to be different in every state. The first thing you need to determine is what benefits you seek. For instance, in Pennsylvania, if you are seeking benefits for home and community based services, you will start with the local area agency on aging. If you are seeking benefits for nursing services […]
Once assets are transferred to the trustee, the trustmaker no longer holds legal title to them. If the trustmaker dies, the trust continues, and the successor trustee (who is named in the trust instrument) takes over administering the trust. Since a trust can’t die the same way a person can, the trust assets will not […]
A reverse mortgage is not a financial solution for everyone, in fact, for most people, because there are specific rules that must be followed and very often the funds received are not ultimately worth the cost. If however, a couple who owns their home outright, are over 62 years of age and at least one […]
A living trust is simply a trust that is created during your lifetime as opposed to a testamentary trust that is created after your death. And trusts, living or testamentary, can be as different as the various models of automobiles available to your parents today. Whether your elderly parents should set up a living trust […]
Every state has an Intestate law but very few people understand it or even know that it exists. It is usually used when a person dies without a will. But it can also be used when a person dies with a will, but the named beneficiaries have all predeceased the will maker. In its simplest […]
MEDICAID FACTS & MYTHS MEDICAID FACTS Proper Medicaid planning allows your loved one to qualify for Medicaid and preserve their life savings. Through proper planning, money can be set aside to be used by the nursing home resident to purchase items not covered by Medicaid, such as clothing, barber or beauty salon services, perhaps a […]
When would it make financial sense to place our assets in a Trust? A trust is an estate planning document that allows assets and other property that has a title or deed to be re-named in the trust so when the person creating the trust dies, the assets and property in the trust are distributed […]
No one, including your husband (or wife) is automatically your agent under a Power of Attorney. The person who you wish to be your agent must be appointed in an instrument with the specific wording required in your particular State and must be executed with the formality of other estate planning documents such as a […]
Everyone should have a Life Transition Plan! What is a Life Transition Plan and why is it important? It is a user’s guide to the end of your life that is laid out and specified by you in advance. It is a “road map”, a compilation of all the important information that those whom you […]
Not necessarily. The issue of whether an individual has the capacity to execute a document, whether it is a contract, a Last Will or Durable Powers of Attorney is a legal issue not a medical issue. Proper execution of a legal instrument requires that the person signing have sufficient mental “capacity” to understand the implications […]
There are basically three requirements to be eligible for Medicaid. First, skilled nursing care must be recommended for that person and the state agency must approve that recommendation of the need for skilled nursing home care. Second, there is an asset limit which will vary from state to state as each state. This asset limit […]
While the majority of the clients we see love their children equally and wish to treat them equally when they die, there are circumstances where this is not a good idea. One of those circumstances is where a child has “issues”. Issues, in this context, usually mean that he or she has a developmental disability […]