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2015 Guardianship Law Changes

2015 Guardianship Law Changes

Guardianship law changed significantly in 2015.  I'm going to discuss the biggest changes in this blog post, but I intend to cover all of the changes in the coming weeks in future posts. One of the most important guardianship law changes involves F.S. 744.3031 which...

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Open Enrollment for Medicare

Open Enrollment for Medicare

Medicare beneficiaries should explore their options annually about their coverage. Between October 15-December 7, Medicare beneficiaries who do not have a Part D plan may enroll in one and those who do have a Part D plan can change it. Beneficiaries can also opt out...

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Personal Services Agreements

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...

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DOGS…..A Good Friend For Someone Suffering From Dementia

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...

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Aid and Attendance

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...

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Death of a Loved One

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...

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Gifts Impact Medicaid Eligibility

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...

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Gifting Real Property

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...

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Estate Planning for the Caregiver Spouse

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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