Search Results

) 218-0880, or click here to schedule your strategy session with an experienced estate planning and elder

opportunity to meet other caregivers, especially as he attends conferences that are offered in the elder There are other elder care resources in the community that I attend, and all of this has come from being

Elder law power of attorneys are needed to help prepare and plan for long term care.

at (281) 885-8826 or schedule your appointment online here with our experienced estate planning and elder

The article, “Why Older Americans Should Get Hip to the Roth IRA,” says that the older you are, the However, older investors might want to look at what the youngsters are doing. At the same time, just 24% of Roth IRA investors are older than 60, compared to 39% of traditional IRA Reference: Money (August 8, 2016) “Why Older Americans Should Get Hip to the Roth IRA” #401kEstatePlanning

Examples of this might include a severe drug addiction, criminal past or a history of abuse.

This includes those with behavioral disorders like alcohol or drug abuse.

than half of Americans now have at least one chronic health condition, mental disorder or substance abuse

Talk with an experienced elder law attorney about care for the elderly, Medicaid, and dementia.

As WMUR9.com explains in “Money Matters: NH health surrogacy laws,” this person is known as a surrogate decision-maker. He or she has the same authority as an agent named in a durable power of attorney for health care. The degrees of family relationship that determine how a surrogate is chosen are in the following priority order: Spouse, civil union partner, or common law spouse (if no divorce proceeding, separation agreement or restraining order); An adult son or daughter of the patient; A parent of the patient; An adult sibling of the patient; An adult grandchild of the patient; A grandparent of the patient; An adult aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew of the patient; A close friend to the patient; An agent with financial power of attorney or a conservator; or The guardian of the patient’s estate. If there’s more than one surrogate candidate at the same priority level, it becomes their combined responsibility to make a reasonable effort to come to a decision on their loved one’s care. The start of a guardian proceeding places the surrogate’s authority on hold until the outcome of that hearing. Once named, a surrogate may act up to 90 days. This ability terminates if: The patient regains health; A guardian is appointed; or The patient is near death. A patient may always reject the surrogate, and even though there are default provisions in place, healthcare providers must still undertake “reasonable inquiries” as to whether the patient has an existing guardian or authorized agent under DPOAHC. If they don’t find any, they may identify a surrogate. At that point, the provider names the surrogate and that person is recorded in the patient’s medical records. The physician may revoke the surrogacy if the surrogate is unwilling or can’t act. If a person does decide to prepare a DPOAHC, then the selections need to be reviewed regularly. This is an important document to have, so discuss its ramifications with an estate planning attorney and ask about other estate planning documents such as wills, durable powers of attorney for finances, and perhaps a trust. Reference: WMUR9.com (March 3, 2016) “Money Matters: NH health surrogacy laws” #AssetProtection #Guardianship #ProbateCourt #LeagueCityWills #Inheritance #ClearLakeEstatePlanningLawyer #PowerofAttorney #Trusts #ElderLaw

The good news is that you’re going to live a long life. The bad news is that you may face the difficult transition of requiring nursing home care without having the assets to pay for this. If you have no assets, Medicaid will pay for nursing care—but only after you’ve spent most of your own resources. The US News article, “What to Consider If You May Depend on Medicaid for Nursing Care,” says that trying to qualify for Medicaid can be tough, and it may leave your spouse or heirs with less than you’d imaged. For that reason, you should plan for the possibility that you’ll outlive your assets for years or decades. Your planning should start while you’re still young. Almost every American, regardless of income or assets, is eligible for Medicare to cover his or her health care in retirement. Medicare covers doctor visits, treatments, hospitalization, and drugs. It also covers a short-term stay in a nursing home for rehab, but it does not pay for any type of long-term care. The cost of nursing home care averages $225 a day for a semi-private room, which will quickly consume a modest estate. Medicaid covers medical care for poor people of any age and will pay for long-term care in a nursing home. However, this is only for those who meet specific asset and income guidelines, which vary by state. Medicaid is designed to protect those with limited incomes, but planning could be the difference between keeping the family home for the next generation and being forced to sell. Planning for end-of-life care should be part of retirement and estate planning. Talk with an attorney who specializes in Medicaid planning. Remember that not all facilities accept Medicaid patients, and they’re not required to accept it. Some facilities only have a certain number of beds for Medicaid patients. Eligibility rules and asset limits vary by state, and most let you keep your house and some assets and still qualify for Medicaid. However, the state will look back five years to determine your eligibility for Medicaid, meaning the state will analyze the assets you’ve given away or otherwise disposed of in the past five years. Also, if you sell assets at less than market value to heirs or otherwise give away assets, it might delay your Medicaid eligibility. The asset calculations will consider a healthy spouse. Typically, a healthy spouse can keep half of the joint assets up to a certain ceiling plus enough income to live on when his or her spouse qualifies for Medicaid. This amount may vary by state and situation. In addition, the state may try to recoup its cost after your death, either through filing a claim against the estate or filing a lien against property; however, the property usually is safe as long as the surviving spouse is living. Transferring assets to children may have tax consequences, such as capital gains and gift taxes. Typically, it’s not a good strategy to gift highly appreciated assets. You may want to spend down assets on long-term care insurance if you expect to outlive your assets. This might be preferable to Medicaid. Some hybrid products combine life insurance and long-term care or annuities and long-term care. The size of the death benefit is based on if the long-term care is used. Reference: US News (June 9, 2016) “What to Consider If You May Depend on Medicaid for Nursing Care” #PayingforaNursingHome #GiftTax #MedicaidPlanningLawyer #CapitalGains #LifeInsurance #MedicaidNursingHomePlanning #ElderLaw #estateplanning #LongTermCarePlanning

Alabama at Birmingham, is referring to an estimate of household wealth held by U.S. adults age 65 and older neuroimaging studies, along with studies involving cognitive measures, are providing intriguing data on why older without the science, you should realize that some folks will experience cognitive disorders as they get older—your