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
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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...
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...
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...
Medicare Benefits–Jimmo Case
Earlier this year, chronically ill persons who had had their Medicare benefits discontinued because they were told that they were not improving filed a lawsuit in Vermont federal court Jimmo, et al vs. Sebelius, 5:11-CV-17, (D. VT., January 18, 2011). Historically,...
Home Health Care Benefits
Most people would prefer to have long term care provided in the home as opposed to receiving care in a facility. This type of care is particularly expensive, however, most long term care policies do provide this benefit. In addition, home care may be financed by one...
Assisted Living Regulations
Assisted living facilities are licensed by the state and must follow state regulations set forth in the Florida Administrative Code. In general, residents of an assisted living facility should initially be able to perform their activities of daily living; however,...
Hurricane Season
After a quiet June and July, the tropics are starting to become more active. Forecasts call for a LESS active hurricane season this year, due in part to El Nino in the Pacific. However, it is always a good idea to check your hurricane preparedness at this time of the...
Are You Facing Termination of Hospice Benefits?
The local Hospice providers are facing a crisis. Since the inception of Hospice in 1983 Medicare regulations have included a cap limiting the average annual payment per patient a hospice can receive. If the average payment exceeds the cap amount, the hospice provider...
Guardianship is Necessary in Certain Situations
Guardianship is a protective legal proceeding for incapacitated persons who are unable to manage their own affairs. Through the process of guardianship certain or all of an individual's rights are removed. The law provides extensive procedural safeguards to insure...
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When to See an Elder Law Attorney
People often think about speaking with an Elder Law attorney when an older person faces the high cost of nursing home care. Many times people wait even longer...after they have paid most of their nest-egg on care and realize that in a few short months they will have...
Truth and Dementia
Families are often paralyzed when they become aware that a family member is suffering from dementia. But for a number of reasons families must help the loved one take appropriate action as soon as they become aware of the problem. First, it is critical that...
Planning at the Time of a Dementia Diagnosis
Most patients and their family members are not entirely surprised when a diagnosis of dementia is made by a physician. The patient and the family member have probably been noticing subtle changes for some time. However, when these suspicions are confirmed by a...
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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...
Benefits Applications
I recently received this question from a reader of my articles: My wife is in a nursing home and I have applied for Medicaid. Luckily I was able to find a knowledgeable person to help me so I did not have to pay for assistance in applying. We own our home and I...
Court Ordered Support when a Spouse is on Medicaid
When a husband or wife needs Medicaid in a nursing home, the Department of Children and Families allocates to the well spouse a portion of the nursing home spouse’s income. The income allowance brings the “well spouse’s” total income to a range between $1991 and...
Medicaid Misconceptions
We meet with families on a regular basis who face long term care issues who make decisions based upon an incomplete understanding of the laws and rules concerning Medicaid. Sometimes the information is obtained from friends and relatives who have navigated the...
Ending Exploitation
As we help seniors find, access and pay for good care, we have found many of our clients have been exploited by insurance salespeople selling inappropriate financial products to elders in the guise of “Medicaid Planning” or “VA Benefits Planning.” We have found...
Multiple Implications of Annual Gifting
As the end of the year approaches, many may be thinking about utilizing the $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion. The annual gift tax exclusion makes it possible to give money to any number of people without having to pay gift or estate taxes. Annual gifting to children...
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