Are you an active adult working hard to support your family, your business and yourself? Have you been too busy to give any thought to creating a Florida estate plan? Did you know that it is a critical tool that all adults living in Florida should have? With a Florida estate plan you can think about what you want for yourself, your loved ones, your business, and your legacy. In addition, estate planning also makes you answer the tough questions including, but not limited to, what should happen if you no longer have the capacity you need to make your own decisions or who will be your beneficiaries?
So you know you need to plan for your future with a Florida estate plan, but what comes next? It may be to answer this question: How do you determine the best age to complete your Florida estate plan? As Florida estate planning attorneys, we are frequently asked this question. Below we have five very different situations to present to you that will answer the question about when to create your Florida estate plan.
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
Have you always thought that there could not be anything more shocking than a cancer diagnosis for your parents? When you learn this devastating news, so many questions rush through your head: How much time do we have? What do we need to do? Is there a cure in sight? What health care needs will they have now? What can I do to help? Do they need a second opinion? These are just the start of the list of questions you need answers to in the coming days.
As experienced Florida estate planning attorneys, we know just how concerning a cancer diagnosis is. Now is the time to not only think about the health care needs of your aging parents but it is also the time to think proactively about their future. You will want to ask questions to determine:
There is also now the question about whether or not your aging parents will be able to care for themselves. You also may be concerned and have serious questions related to how to find and pay for their necessary care, now and in the future as their healthcare needs change. Be aware that healthcare support can come in all forms for your aging parents. Consider options in the community such as:
The process of finding care for your aging parents can be a heavy responsibility, and one you may not be able to complete without help when you work full time and have a family of your own. The health of your parents may also decline to the point where they cannot live alone or need to be in a safe environment such as an assisted living facility or nursing home. While the first step is identifying the care they need, the next one is to find the funds to pay for it.
Do you know if your parents have the ability to pay for the care they need? Medicare and Medicaid, for instance, may provide financial assistance with a cancer diagnosis. While Medicare and Medicaid are different programs and can help in different ways. Medicare is the health insurance program for adults over age 65. Many of the available Medicare plans pay up to 80% of the costs of all of the doctor’s visits and diagnostic tests that come prior to a cancer diagnosis, until the health insurance deductible is met. Medicare may then cover the remaining costs for the pre-diagnosis visits. This can make Medicare very useful for patients with cancer until long-term care is necessary. Unfortunately, Medicare has a limited nursing home benefit, paying only for 100 days of care.
Now, if your loved ones need custodial care, then Medicaid may be able to help. This will depend on the income and assets of your aging parents. A qualified Florida elder law attorney can advise you as you walk through the process of obtaining Medicaid services for your loved ones and help you through this challenging time.
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
Did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month? Do you have a loved one with autism? Planning for your loved one’s future is very important. Although the specific needs of an autistic individual can vary greatly depending on the severity of their autism, many people with autism need assistance throughout their entire lives.
Without a doubt, the most important part of planning for a loved one with autism is to begin early. Whether you care for your loved one in your capacity as a parent, grandparent, or sibling, part of your role is to make sure there is a solid legal, financial and medical foundation in place.
In our law office we work with families of special needs loved ones and the challenges they face each and every day. We know how hard it can be to start this type of estate planning, and we know it is hard to think about a time when you may not be here to provide care yourself. To assist you in starting this process we would like to share a few answers to questions you may have regarding planning for your autistic loved one.
1. Will I always have the authority to make decisions for my autistic child? Not if you do not plan ahead. In Florida when a minor with autism reaches the age of majority, he or she becomes a legal adult. Even if his or her developmental, cognitive or mental disabilities are severe, in the eyes of the law your child will be deemed an adult. Without planning, you will lose your legal authority.
2. My autistic loved one cannot safely make decisions at this time, what can I do? We recommend that you start by making a list of what your autistic loved one can and cannot do. This includes medical, educational, financial, legal and vocational decisions. You may, in fact, want to create a daily log or diary of all the activities, appointments and recreation that you and your loved one do. In addition, do not forget to carefully assess his or her abilities to make rational decisions, choices related to self-care and to be able to communicate for him or herself. This is the starting point of what you will share with your Florida estate planning attorney as you begin to think about the authority you need as a part of the guardianship process.
3. Is there a less restrictive guardianship that the court could consider since my child can make some decisions?
Yes, the court can. The key to guardianship is ensuring that your loved one is safe. Although you may be tempted not to proceed to obtain guardianship over your autistic loved one, we would encourage you to talk to your Florida estate planning attorney first. You do not want to be in the situation in the future where a decision needs to be made that requires legal authority, and you do not have it.
4. Should I consider a backup guardian? Yes, you should definitely discuss with your Florida estate planning attorney who could take over your guardianship role when/if you can no longer handle the responsibility. With your attorney, you can create the legal documents you need together with a letter of intent. This letter is a document that will act as a roadmap for guardians and trustees to navigate medical, financial and legal decisions once you are no longer able to act.
5. What is a special needs trust? Should I look into one for my loved one with autism? There are different types of special needs trusts you can create for an autistic person. A major benefit of special needs trust planning is it allows an autistic person to not lose access to key government benefits, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If your autistic loved one was inherited directly, without a special needs trust in place, he or she could be at risk of losing his or her benefits until the money received is spent down on his or her care.
Finally, the main principle to follow in planning for a loved one with autism, or any special need, is to ensure he or she has enough support throughout the remainder of his or her life. Ensuring your loved one is taken care of, even when you can no longer be there to assist, is critical. Do not wait for a crisis to plan forward with your Florida estate planning attorney
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
As you begin the New Year, are you looking into updating your estate plan? Has it been a while since you pulled out your original Florida estate plan and really examined it? Have there been changes in your life and the lives of your close family? Have there been changes in the laws governing your Florida estate plan? Are you concerned about your plans to protect yourself and your family?
As you review your current Florida estate plan, does it:
All the questions listed above are difficult but they will enable you to think about your current estate plan and what you need to do to update it. We also have 4 tips to share with you to get you started on updating:
1. Think about who you have chosen to be your agent and act for you in your current estate plan in a crisis, is this person still the person you trust and want to select? Is this person readily available?
2. Do you have the same person acting as an agent for you with health care decisions and financial decisions? Are you contemplating having a different person for your health care decisions versus your financial decisions?
3. Are you concerned that you had named your spouse, but are now concerned that your spouse may not be up to the responsibility? What should you do now?
4. Should there be multiple backup people? Also, should you name both of your children to serve as agents together or as personal representatives together?
Now would be a good time to contact your Florida estate planning attorney to assist you in updating your estate plan. He will be current with all laws regarding Florida estate planning and probate, federal and state tax changes and more in regard to a comprehensive Florida estate plan. It is very important to periodically ensure that your Florida estate plan always reflects what you want, memorializes changes to your family structure if there are any, and gives the legal authority to your decision makers to act in a crisis.
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
Are you a Florida senior? Are you finding it hard to believe that the end of the year is approaching? In fact, is it even harder to believe that in just a few short weeks it will be 2023? Are you busy finalizing your end of the year holiday plans with your children and grandchildren? Do you need to purchase last minute holiday gifts, prepare special family holiday dishes and finalize arrangements to spend time with your family? Actually, as you rush to make sure you have holiday gifts for all your children and grandchildren, we want to recommend the best gift you could give this year that does not even require gift wrapping!
What gift could we possibly be writing about? We are writing about creating a comprehensive Florida estate plan. This gift will let you make decisions about your assets and their distribution, choose your trusted agents to take care of your finances and your healthcare decisions and protect the legacy you want to continue when you pass away. With this gift you will give yourself and your loved ones peace of mind now, in the future and when you pass away.
As a Florida senior, are you wondering how to begin preparing an estate plan? Or do you have a Florida estate plan but have not looked at it in years? Or, finally, did you move to Florida from another state with an estate plan and never thought to make a Florida estate plan? Do you now have questions and wonder how to start? Do your thoughts include questions such as:
All of the above questions are important and we often hear questions just like them from our clients and their family members. As you work with your qualified Florida estate planning attorney to create your estate plan, you need to be assured that your estate plan will work when you need it to. This holiday season, a completed Florida estate plan that lets your loved ones know what you want for yourself and for them is quite possibly the best gift you can give and it does not even need to be gift wrapped.
Finally, we want you to know that while Florida estate planning is a critical part of your health and well being there is a second planning component that needs to be addressed and completed as well. This is your long-term care planning. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans will need some form of long-term care once they reach the age of 70, so the time for planning is now. You need to know that much of this care is not covered by Medicare and will, instead, fall on you, the Florida senior, to pay for out of pocket. As Florida estate planning and elder law attorneys we can assure you it does not have to be this way. We can work with you to create not only an estate plan but also a long-term care plan that can protect the estate plan you are putting in place and allow you to be able to leave a legacy for your family, no matter what the future holds.
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
As a senior, have you thought about what would happen if you were to suddenly become incapacitated? Who would take care of you and where would the care take place, in your home or in a nursing home? With less than half of all Americans today having an estate plan, is it any wonder that even fewer have planned for their long-term care needs. Long-term care planning addresses the need for a possible future where you may need to rely on another person each day due to physical or mental cognitive issues. This means, in simple terms, a time when you cannot safely care for yourself.
We speak with seniors and their loved ones each day on what it means to need long-term care and how to plan successfully to meet those needs. We want to share some quick planning tips that can make a difference for Florida long-term care that you can use and begin to get the answers that you need.
1. Start planning now, do not put it off! When it comes to long-term care most people either do not plan at all or start planning too late. Of course, no one wants to think about a future that would involve the need for long-term care, but the best gift you can give yourself is to have a plan in place so that should the time come, you are prepared and not at risk.
2. Start researching long-term care, the cost of long-term care and how you can pay for it. Long-term care in any setting is expensive. So begin by looking at your finances. You can learn the cost for the type of care in our state by using this link from the Genworth Cost of Care Survey. Become familiar with the different types of long-term care. Most people do not want to live in a nursing home, however, there are many steps in between nursing home care and home care. These steps range from homebase care to independent care to assisted-living care and skilled nursing home care, there are many options. You can use this link we want to share with you from the AARP website.
3. Start looking into long-term care insurance, now, before you need it. Long-term care insurance is a type of insurance that can provide financial assistance should you need long-term care. Find out now if long-term care insurance is an option for you. In addition, if you have a new diagnosis or a chronic condition, speak freely with your doctor about what you should expect in the future. While your long-term care needs are unique to you, your doctor knows you and will be able to give you advice on what to understand and potentially plan for. You should not put off speaking with a long-term care insurance agent to learn more about what your options might be.
4. Speak with an experienced Florida elder law attorney who knows long-term care planning. An experienced elder law attorney will be able to advise you on what your options are for long-term planning in numerous circumstances. He will help you devise a plan to make sure you, your family, and what you care about most, is protected. In addition, your attorney can be sure your estate plan is up-to-date and reflects what you want. While it is not a long-term care plan, through your estate plan you can give legal authority for healthcare and financial decisions to another person that you trust. You can also designate this person or persons the authority to make decisions when you are not able to do so independently. Long-term care, the aging process, and family relationships are all complicated. Your experienced Florida elder law attorney is there to assist you in all your decisions in regard to your Florida long-term care and estate plan.
We know this list may seem daunting. We also know you may have more questions now that you have read it. Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
Is there a senior loved one in your family who has been able to live on his or her own successfully for years? Are you beginning to notice signs of fatigue, loss of weight or more days of not feeling good? It may be time for your senior loved one to move into a nursing home. It is a difficult decision to make, but have you and your family realized that your loved one needs a higher level of skilled care that only a nursing home may offer. Are you and your family concerned and want to protect your loved one from any abuse and general mistreatment in a facility? What should you and your family do now?
First, when you begin your search, make sure the nursing home is Medicare certified and accepts Medicaid. Medicare certification will assure you that there are standards that must be maintained and Medicaid approval may be able to help your loved one financially. We would like to share a few other ideas you can add to your checklist to help you and your family make the best decision for your loved one.
1. Find out if residents may have their personal belongings, including furniture, in their rooms. Is there storage space, such as an appropriately sized closet, in the room?
2. Find out what the various amenities are that are provided by the nursing home. Is there a computer and internet access in the bedroom? Is there a television? Is there a window to provide natural light? Having these types of comforts can help ease the transition into the nursing home.
3. Find out what type of activities the home offers and if the facility helps residents who may not be mobile. Are there outdoor areas for your loved one to use? Will your loved one be able to choose what time to get up, go to sleep, or bathe?
4. Find out about the support provided for residents with advanced health care needs. This is very important if your loved one is not in very good health and, in fact, this is the reason you and your family are looking for a nursing home. For example, a common disease that impacts many Older Americans is dementia. If your loved one has dementia, you will want to know if the nursing home has specific policies and procedures related to the care of residents with dementia. If the facility does have patients with dementia, what types of non-medication based procedures do they employ when trying the first attempt to respond to behavioral symptoms for residents living with dementia? Find out what percentage of residents have dementia and are currently being prescribed antipsychotic medication. This will help you to understand the type of residents that your loved one will be surrounded by as well as the home’s workload.
Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. Our office is here to help. Please contact us today to schedule a meeting time.
Have you and your loved one just received the news that your loved one has Parkinson’s disease? Are you learning that as Parkinson’s progresses, the inability of your loved one to walk, bathe, and dress increases, as does the risk of falling? Also, if Parkinson's prohibits your loved one from living in his or her home, you and your loved one are now faced with the difficult decision of having to move your loved one into a nursing home. With the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home, there is also the question of how to afford the exorbitant cost of the nursing home? How can you pay for a nursing home if your loved one has Parkinson’s?
Start by determining if your loved one has any benefits which could possibly cover the cost of a nursing home. These benefits could include a long-term care insurance policy, life insurance policies, which can be cashed out, or veteran’s benefits. If your loved one does have one or more of these benefits, gather all the supporting documents, which may include original insurance policies or proof of veteran’s benefits and make copies. By talking about and locating these benefits now, you have the required proof of coverage should your loved one’s mental capacity decline as Parkinson’s progresses.
Next, you should seriously consider meeting with a qualified Florida elder law attorney. An elder law attorney, experienced in the area of long-term care planning, can assist in the review of any benefits you believe may cover the cost of a nursing home. In addition to the benefits, meeting with an elder law attorney can be one of the most reliable ways of determining how to afford a nursing home, when the time comes. In the discussion of paying for a nursing home you and your loved one need to know that Medicare does not cover the cost of any long-term nursing home care, Medicaid does. However, eligibility for Medicaid is based upon your loved one’s assets and, again, a qualified elder law attorney may assist in the drafting of planning documents, such as a trust, which may make your loved one eligible for Medicaid. This type of planning is most effective if conducted early, because there are time limits on the transfer of assets, which may affect Medicaid eligibility.
We know that a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is stressful, and it typically comes with many other issues to navigate. By working with a qualified Florida elder law attorney early in the diagnosis, you and your loved one can develop the best strategy of helping to assure your loved one will be able to afford a nursing home when the time comes. Your loved one will then have the peace of mind that he or she will receive the care that he or she needs, and you and your loved one can focus on sharing quality time in the present and future.
Our office is here to help you navigate the legal issues related to seeking and covering the cost of memory care. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.
It may be the worst nightmare for your parents or other senior loved one. After a lifetime of hard work and savings, the need for a nursing home may cause them to lose it all. While planning for long-term care may be best done before the care is indicated, that is not always possible. Sometimes an abrupt medical event or an unforeseen accident may result in a senior being placed in a nursing home, or perhaps, the senior was unaware of the necessity of long-term care planning. So, how can you help Florida seniors protect themselves, when entering a nursing home?
If the senior owns a home and Medicaid assists with the cost of a nursing home, following the senior’s passing, Medicaid may place a lien against the home, also known as “estate recovery,” for the cost paid out for the nursing home. If the senior owns a home and Medicaid is contributing to the cost of the nursing home, it may be important for the senior and/or family members to consult an elder law attorney as soon as possible after placement in the nursing home. There are some situations, which may prevent estate recovery, such as a spouse residing in the home, or a disabled child. In some instances, the senior may be able to transfer the home without creating a situation of Medicaid ineligibility.
Unfortunately, seniors who enter nursing homes can also become victims of financial elder abuse via less than honest employees, who obtain their personal information. Seniors should be instructed not to log into personal accounts from shared computers to avoid having personal information stolen. Some nursing homes offer banking services. Residents who bank with the nursing home, however, may unknowingly have funds withdrawn from their account. Another risk is that when pension and social security checks are mailed directly to a facility, they may be stolen. The nursing home is supposed to deposit such checks in a trust account and use them to pay the resident’s bills, but there have been instances where the funds were misappropriated. Not only is the resident out the money, but if his or her nursing home bill is not paid, the resident may be forced to leave the facility, as well. Thus, when a Florida senior enters a nursing home, it may be best to have a trusted friend or relative appointed as the durable power of attorney and to keep the senior’s private funds separate. The power of attorney can oversee the senior’s finances and help ensure that no suspect transactions are occurring.
In general, if you know a senior, who has entered a nursing home, it can be a good idea to meet the staff of the nursing home and visit frequently. Our office can assist with creating the proper documents to protect the senior’s assets and to safeguard them from the potential of financial abuse. Please reach out to our office today to schedule a meeting.
Did you know Medicare never extends coverage to a patient who needs custodial care only? The custodial care may be provided as part of the Medicare skilled nursing home coverage that is partially provided by Medicare Part A. There are many restrictions, however, that apply to Medicare coverage for skilled nursing facility care.
What you may not realize is that nursing care requires that the care must be provided by or requires the supervision of skilled nursing personnel or other skilled rehabilitation services. As a practical matter, this can only be provided in a skilled nursing home facility on an inpatient basis.
For each spell of illness in 2019, Medicare Part A will pay all the costs for a covered skilled nursing home stay for the first 20 days. After that, it will cover all but $170.50 per day for up to an additional 80 days as long as all of the following conditions are met:
1. The individual was a patient in a hospital for three consecutive days, not including the day of discharge. In addition, the patient must be admitted to the skilled nursing facility within 30 days of discharge from the hospital. However, there are a few limited exceptions to the requirement that the admission must occur within 30 days of discharge from the hospital.
2. A doctor must certify that the patient needs skilled nursing home care.
3. The services are provided by or under the supervision of a trained individual.
4. The services are received on a daily basis, which means therapy services at least 5 days per week and/or nursing care 7 days per week.
5. The services are provided by a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility.
6. The skilled services must be provided on an inpatient basis.
Remember, a Medicare beneficiary is entitled to receive coverage for all the skilled care in a nursing home for 20 days. A Medicare beneficiary is entitled to receive $170.50 of the cost of coverage for the next 20 days of skilled care in a nursing home. The Medicare beneficiary is not entitled to any coverage for skilled care in a nursing home beyond 100 days.
We know this raises questions for you. How will you be able to afford the skilled nursing facility bill? Where do you turn to for help? Should you ask your children to help? We want you to know that we are here to answer these questions. We work with Florida seniors and their loved ones each day as they handle these issues. Do not wait to contact our law office to schedule a meeting and find the answers you need.
