Personal Services Agreements
Four in ten U.S. adults are now caring for a sick or elderly family member as more people develop chronic illnesses and the population ages (Reuters). These caregiving responsibilities can take both a physical and financial toll on the family members. Spending time...
DOGS…..A Good Friend For Someone Suffering From Dementia
George Elliot once penned, "Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms". Therapy dogs and other animals often can stimulate interactions between someone with dementia and another person or even with the animal itself. A person...
Penalty Divisor to Increase September 1, 2015
When a person applies for Florida's Medicaid's Institutional Care Program (skilled nursing home care, Home and Community Based Waiver, and the PACE) he or she must report any amounts transferred within 60 months. Non-exempt transfers are subjected to an ineligibility...
The Role of the Successor Trustee
All too often I hear stories of family members who are named successor trustee in a loved one's trust who do not seek legal advice about their role as trustee and never trigger the mechanism in the trust in order for them to take over as trustee. They instead help...
Notification Needed for Observation Status
On August 6, 2015 President Obama signed a bill that requires hospitals to notify Medicare patients if they are in the hospital under “observation status.” The bill is meant to rectify the problem that Medicare beneficiaries face when they learn that Medicare will not...
Change in Florida’s Health Care Surrogate Law
As of October 1, 2015 an Advance Directive for Healthcare can include language that would make it possible for a health care surrogate to make decisions immediately. Previously, before a health care surrogate could act, a physician had to determine that the patient...
Is My Will Valid in Florida if it was Drafted in Another State?
We are often asked this question. The quick answer is that if your will is valid where it was drafted, it will be valid in Florida. So despite the popular belief that you need to update your documents when moving to Florida in order for them to be valid, you do not...
Senior Advisors and the Unlicensed Practice of Law
As the population ages, more and more people are specializing in the senior market. Home care agencies, real estate agents, insurance salespeople and more are calling themselves “Experts” in senior planning. We encourage people to deal with people who have expertise...
Some Trusts Limit Asset Protection Planning
We have had the unfortunate situation with some married clients over the past year of finding that the revocable living trusts prepared in the past severely limited the possibility of asset protection planning when facing long term care. Many people have been sold...
Advocacy Requires Persistence
Our Life Care Planning service includes advocacy issues that some never contemplate when considering our services. For instance, around six months ago we were hired by a 78 year old woman who was living independently in her home. Several months later, she fell and...
Aid and Attendance
By Daniel A. Burzynski Many Veterans are not aware of the benefits they have access to by virtue of their service. Specifically, Veterans who served during war-time may be entitled to a monthly pension amount to help pay for their unreimbursed medical expenses. The...
Death of a Loved One
The passing of a loved one is a very difficult time for family members. Many things will need to be accomplished in this difficult time of grief. Some things should be accomplished by family members; others may require the assistance of professionals including a CPA...
Gifts Impact Medicaid Eligibility
An individual can gift $14,000 per beneficiary per year without incurring gift tax liability. Seniors often gift $14,000 or less because they think that amount is "legal." However, such gifts can eliminate or delay potential eligibility for Medicaid. The annual...
Gifting Real Property
We often meet with prospective clients who have decided to convey real property to their children or other beneficiaries for various reasons. Sometimes we hear that the goal is “avoiding probate.” Other times we hear that the purpose is to prevent the government from...
Estate Planning for the Caregiver Spouse
Obtaining Medicaid eligibility for a married person can often be done preserving all of the couples’ collective resources. When this planning is done, it is critical that the caregiver spouse’s estate plan be carefully considered so that, should the well spouse die...
Establishing Caregiver Contracts
According to the National Alliance for Caregiving Report, Caring in the U.S. 2009 about 48.9 million Americans spend an average of 20 hours a week caring for a loved one 50 years old or older. Generally this care is provided free of charge by the family caregiver. The...
Visitation Rights at Nursing Homes
On occasion, family members have advised that a nursing home tells them that they cannot visit their relatives at any time, but can only visit during “visiting hours.” However, pursuant to Federal law, nursing homes cannot restrict a family member from visiting a...
Discharge from Nursing Homes
Families often worry that a loved one will be involuntarily discharged from a nursing home, leaving family in a position of trying to care for someone with too many needs for family to be able to provide adequate care. Families particularly worry about loved ones who...
Residents’ Needs Must Be Foremost
One of our new clients recently told us that before he retained our services, a nursing home was requiring his father to get up at 5 a.m. for his bath in order to balance the day and night shift. His father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, wanted to sleep until 8:30 or...
Physical Restraints
Both Federal and Florida law restrict the use of physical restraints for nursing home residents. Under the Federal Nursing Home Reform Law, a physical restraint can be utilized only to treat a resident’s medical conditions or symptoms. Restraints never can be used...
Nursing Home Admission and Discharge
The holiday season brings families together. Sometimes when family members arrive in Naples to see their aging parents, they are surprised to find their parents in need of critical medical care. Hospitalizations may lead to nursing home admissions. Family members...
The Montessori Method and Alzheimer’s Disease
The Montessori teaching method holds promise for the care of patients afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease. Developed for small children just learning about their environment, Montessori uses tactile (hands-on) training to manipulate simple, every-day objects to reach a...
Out the Door…Now! Planning for a Hospital Stay
By Barbara Miller, RN Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to go somewhere at the drop of a hat? In most situations you can manage, perhaps a little flustered, but you can get there and do what is necessary. Now think of being at the ready in a true...
Admission to the Hospital
When a loved one goes into the hospital, our concerns are focused on his or her health and making sure that he or she gets better. However, admission to the hospital carries with it legal and financial obligations which are difficult to think about in the midst of a...