by Jill Burzynski | Sep 11, 2015 | Blog
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...
by Jill Burzynski | Aug 31, 2015 | Blog, Medicaid, Uncategorized
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...
by Jill Burzynski | Aug 27, 2015 | Blog, Caregiver Issues, Estate Planning, Financing Long Term Care, Probate and Trust Administration
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...
by Jill Burzynski | Aug 24, 2015 | Blog, Caregiver Issues, Health Care Advocacy
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...
by Jill Burzynski | Aug 14, 2015 | Blog, Caregiver Issues, Health Care Advocacy
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...
by Jill Burzynski | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog, Estate Planning, Financing Long Term Care
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...