Resources
- Alzheimers and Dementia
- Caregiver Issues
- End of Life Planning
- Estate Planning
- Financial Products and Issues
- Financing Long Term Care
- Health Care Advocacy
- Medicaid
- Probate & Trust Administration
- Veterans' Benefits
Avoiding Scams
In my work as an elder law attorney, I have heard of many situations of vulnerable elders falling prey to scam artists. Vulnerable elders and their families need to be aware of techniques that scam artists use to gain information. One scheme that the scam artists use...
Legal Implications of the Type of Dementia Diagnosed
A diagnosis of dementia should trigger family action on a number of fronts. First and foremost, medical evaluation and testing should be initiated to rule out reversible causes. Even if no reversible causes are found, early treatment may prolong cognitive functioning....
Caregiver Risks
Caring for an elderly person with dementia can be very taxing. Often family members undertake the role of caregiver gradually, without a realization of how difficult the task can become. However, those providing care need to understand that by undertaking the role,...
Respite Care
Providing care is a tremendous responsibility that family members often undertake. Family caregivers must find ways to take breaks from their caregiving responsibilities. No one can continue to expend all available energy giving to someone else, without...
Standards for a Health Care Surrogate to Make Decisions
We recommend that our clients consider who they would want to be health care surrogate for them in the event that they are not able to make health care decisions for themselves. Once they have made the decision, it is documented in an Advance Directive for Healthcare...
Do Not Resuscitate Orders
Do Not Resuscitate Orders also known as DNROs are important to consider in long term care planning. Clients often request “DNRO”s when doing estate planning. A “Do Not Resuscitate Order” in Florida must be on a Department of Health Form, (DH 1896) and must be signed...
The Expanded Role of the Elder Law Attorney
Elder law attorneys have long played the role of helping clients pay for nursing home care through the use of the Medicaid program. While this is important work, particularly when spouses are concerned about becoming impoverished by the health care needs of the sick...
Navigating the Long Term Care Maze
Dear Jill: My aging parents moved to an assisted living facility in Naples two and a half years ago. When they first entered the facility, both were very independent and the cost for the facility was approximately $3,500 per month for the two of them. At that time,...
Home for the Holiday
The annual trek to the family homestead for the holiday can bring more stress than joy for adults with elderly, disabled or chronically-ill parents. Mom’s chronic condition is getting worse. Dad can barely take care of himself, let alone manage mom’s needs. The bills...
Poor Nutrition in the Elderly
It’s an old saying most of us have heard and practiced while growing up, “eat everything on your plate.” As we age, there are many factors in which proper nutrition is not met. Poor nutrition and malnutrition occur in 15 to 50 percent of the elderly population....
Filial Responsibility
Filial responsibility is the legal concept that a family member may be liable for another’s debts merely based upon the family relationship. While these laws have not been enforced very frequently, the concept could have devastating effects for families taking care of...
Happy New Year from Burzynski Elder Law
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year. It has been our honor and pleasure to serve our clients during 2017 and we look forward to helping our clients face whatever challenges the new year presents. We want to remind all of our Life Care...
Dementia and Driving
Driving is often one of the first obstacle that families face when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia. In the very early stages of dementia, many people maintain the ability to drive. Since dementia is a progressive illness, this ability will eventually wane....
Pending Elder Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon be considering legislation including the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act S. 178, which was recently passed by the Senate. It has now been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and to the Committee on Energy...
Lessons from Irma
As we begin our slow recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma in Naples, we have been reflecting on the delivery of care to the elder population. Hurricane Irma has brought into focus the vulnerability of seniors in our community. If you have an elderly...
Jimmo Website Launched by CMS
A long-standing myth has prevented many seniors from obtaining necessary services under the Medicare program. Medicare contractors have long believed that a patient has to be "improving" in order to continue to obtain services. However, "improvement" is not now, nor...
Hospital Settled Lawsuit for Failing to Honor End-of-Life Wishes
As an Elder Law Attorney, I often talk to my clients about their end-of-life wishes. We memorialize their wishes in a legal document called an "Advance Directive for Healthcare." The Advance Directive expresses the patient's wishes about life prolonging procedures...
Planning for Long-Term Care
Just today, I received a phone call from a concerned daughter about her father's long-term care needs. He is currently receiving care in a nursing home. They are hopeful that he will be able to return home soon, but it is obvious that he is going to need continuing...
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Efforts to Avoid Probate Can Cause Unintended Consequences
Many people believe that probate is something that should be avoided in all cases. When asked why probate should be avoided, people often express that probate will be a very expensive and time consuming process. These perceptions are not necessarily true. The efforts...
What if you pass without a Will?
What Happens If a Person Dies Without a Will? There is a common misunderstanding that if a person dies without a will that the estate will go to the state. This is not true. When a person dies and has assets in his or her name alone, the estate will be...
I Have a Trust…I Have No Other Legal Needs
Yesterday, I attended a function where I heard a conversation among some Seniors. The conversation went as follows: Jane: I have a trust.... so I have done my legal planning. Susan: I have a trust and it is fully funded. Mary, do you have a trust? Mary: I don’t have a...
The Expanded Role of the Elder Law Attorney
Elder law attorneys have long helped clients pay for nursing home care through the use of the Medicaid program. While this is important work, elder law attorneys focusing on Life Care Planning can do so much more for families facing long term care. Navigating the...
“I Need a Power of Attorney for My Parents”
I often receive calls requesting that I prepare a Durable Power of Attorney for parents. This question inevitably leads to further conversation. The threshold question is "why are your parents not calling themselves?" If I am going to be able to do legal documents,...
Life Care Planning
Life Care Planning is a unique practice model that combines traditional elder law including Medicaid and Estate Planning with care advocacy. A few years ago, I received a call from a financial planner about one of her clients. She started the conversation with “I...
Leaving a Medicare Rehab Facility for Family Holiday Celebration
Elderly Nursing Home Residents are sometimes concerned that they will lose their Medicare benefit if they leave the facility to participate in family Christmas or Chanukah celebrations. These residents should rest assured that their benefits are not at risk because...
Diplomatically Finding Documents
In our last blog, we talked about how when families gather for the holidays, that sometimes adult children are confronted with the realization that their elder parents need help. We talked about how "diplomatically finding documents" is necessary to determine the...
Holiday Gatherings Reveal Changes in Elderly Family Members
When families gather for holiday celebrations, it sometimes becomes apparent that elderly family members are experiencing changes that need to be addressed. Adult children are often shocked by their aging parents’ situations. Look for the following warning signs:...
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Life Care Planning
Life Care Planning is a unique practice model that combines traditional elder law including Medicaid and Estate Planning with care advocacy. A few years ago, I received a call from a financial planner about one of her clients. She started the conversation with “I...
Improvement Standard an Ongoing Problem
Just today I received a call from a family member who is being told by a rehabilitation facility that his loved one will be discharged from Medicare because “she is no longer improving.” I let the man know that “not improving” is not an appropriate reason to deny...
“Plans Are Worthless, But Planning Is Everything”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1957) In our process of Life Care Planning we work with our clients in planning for their long term care needs. The Life Care Planning process involves developing an infrastructure including legal documents and structuring finances that best...
2016 Elder Law Numbers
Many numbers are pertinent to the Elder Law practice change annually. Below are the 2016 Elder Law Numbers. This year many of the numbers did not change because there was no Cost of Living Adjustment; therefore, many of the numbers below are indexed to the COLA so...
Medicaid Planning Misconceptions to Avoid
Whenever I meet with new clients about long term care, I find that most of them are operating under a few misconceptions. The problem is that neighbors and friends give well-meaning advice that is often based on experience in other states or simply bad information....
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...
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...
2016 Elder Law Numbers
Many numbers are pertinent to the Elder Law practice change annually. Below are the 2016 Elder Law Numbers. This year many of the numbers did not change because there was no Cost of Living Adjustment; therefore, many of the numbers below are indexed to the COLA so...
Diplomatically Finding Documents
In our last blog, we talked about how when families gather for the holidays, that sometimes adult children are confronted with the realization that their elder parents need help. We talked about how "diplomatically finding documents" is necessary to determine the...
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...
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...
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...
Medicaid and Income Producing Property
Often we are working with our clients to attain Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid is especially important in the context of skilled nursing; because of the expense involved and the benefit available for institutional care through Medicaid. However, if you or your loved...
Probable Increase in Personal Needs Allowance
Seniors living in Nursing Homes who rely on Medicaid are allocated an amount monthly as a Personal Needs Allowance. This amount pays for personal items such as clothing, toiletries, haircuts, etc. For many years it was a paltry $35 per month. In 2014 the...
Filial Responsibility
Filial responsibility is the legal concept that a family member may be liable for another’s debts merely based upon the family relationship. While these laws have not been enforced very frequently, the concept could have devastating effects for families taking care of...
I Have a Trust…I Have No Other Legal Needs
Yesterday, I attended a function where I heard a conversation among some Seniors. The conversation went as follows: Jane: I have a trust.... so I have done my legal planning. Susan: I have a trust and it is fully funded. Mary, do you have a trust? Mary: I don’t have a...
2018 Elder Law Numbers
The 2018 Elder Law Numbers have been announced by the various government agencies which administer the programs. They are as follows: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the new Medicare premiums, deductibles, and co-payments for 2018:...
The Expanded Role of the Elder Law Attorney
Elder law attorneys have long helped clients pay for nursing home care through the use of the Medicaid program. While this is important work, elder law attorneys focusing on Life Care Planning can do so much more for families facing long term care. Navigating the...
The Risk of Using a Non-Attorney Medicaid Planner
Non-attorney Medicaid Planners may be able to obtain approval of a Medicaid application, but may leave a family vulnerable. I am working with a family whose father went into a nursing home last year. The mother continued to live in the home and visited her husband...
Medicaid Penalty Divisor Increased
June 1, 2017 the Medicaid Penalty Divisor was increased to $8,944.00. This amount was increased from last year’s amount of $8,662.00. The penalty divisor is determined by averaging the cost of nursing home costs throughout the state. The new penalty divisor will be...
Planning for Long-Term Care
Just today, I received a phone call from a concerned daughter about her father's long-term care needs. He is currently receiving care in a nursing home. They are hopeful that he will be able to return home soon, but it is obvious that he is going to need continuing...
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.