Many of our clients come to us with questions about Elder Law, and we are happy to be able to share information not only for our elderly clients (about Medicare or Long Term care) but for their children and loved ones as well (about care giving or the plight of the Sandwich Generation.)  However, a recent article in the Irish Times served as a reminder that sometimes we learn best when dry facts and figures are presented in context, and one of the most engaging ways to learn is through quality fiction or memoir.

Quality novels or biographies about the aging or care taking process are not nearly as difficult to find as they may once have been.  A search on Amazon.com yields a number of books about care giving, living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and saying goodbye to elderly parents. Many Baby Boomers have found themselves taking on unanticipated roles as their parents grow older, not knowing the best way to care for them (or in some cases say goodbye), and many of them have chosen to share their experiences through publication.

One of the most highly rated memoirs to be found is Mothering Mother by Carol D. O’Dell. (A preview of which can be found here.) Other highly rated memoirs include Dancing with Rose by Lauren Kessler, and Still Alice by Lisa Genova. All of these books serve not only to relate the experience of caring for a loved one, but also to reach out to others who are caring for their parents, and feel alone in doing so.

As we age, and as we watch those we love age, we need many different kinds of support.  Having a knowledgeable attorney to answer legal questions is only part of the equation, a role our firm is honored to serve.  But we know that emotional support is needed as well, and a community of others who have been through it before, and can offer sympathy and encouragement. We hope that the books listed above can help.

We’ve had one or two posts on our blog about caring for elderly parents, written for the most part for those who are—or who will someday be—providing the care.  Today, finally we have a post for those who are the recipients of that care, inspired by a recent article on ElderLawAnswers.com entitled How Parents Can Provide For A Caregiver Child.

Parents know how much their children may have to give up in order to care for their needs.  In fact, we know that many parents allow their children to care for them only reluctantly.  And these parents, while they want to be fair to all their children, also want to do something extra for the child who has taken on the greatest share of caretaking.

It’s not always easy to know the best way to do this, or even if there is a way to do it.  Many grown children are reluctant to talk with their parent about the possibility of that parent’s death.  And even more of those children are uncomfortable discussing the idea that they might want (or need) financial reimbursement for caring for someone they love so much.  Alternatively, perhaps you as the parent are the one who is uncomfortable discussing monetary issues with your children.

However, if it is your wish to in some way provide for your caretaker child, the above mentioned article has a few excellent options to help you do so.  The suggestions include:

• Executing a Caregiver Agreement
• Providing for your child in your estate plan
• Taking out a Life Insurance policy
• Using one of a few options to transfer your home to your child

Any of these options is a viable way to help provide for a child who is currently helping to provide for you. But each option requires the help of a knowledgeable professional.  Call our office today to find out more about your options.

If you have an elderly parent or grandparent, you know how much time and research goes into finding the right care, the right doctor, or the right living situation for them.  Caring for the aging population is a growing industry, with new services and options almost every day. Trying to keep up with it can feel close to impossible.

Enter the new professional: Geriatric care managers.  This “new” profession is poised to play a significant role in the near future.  This article in the New York Times describes geriatric care managers as “guides through the fragmented care landscape, connecting clients with local services, assisted-living facilities and a wide network of paid caregivers, elder law attorneys and financial advisers. They help families find living options, assess the abilities of older people, write care plans and sometimes hire and supervise home help”.

In actuality, geriatric care managers have existed in the United States for about 20 years, but the profession is only now starting to boom.  And with a description like the one above, it’s easy to see why.

The aging process in the United States is evolving more quickly than most people thought possible.  And more and more baby-boomers, who have yet to reach the age where they need elder care, are planning for their own sunset years rather than leaving it in the hands of their children.  Geriatric care managers are likely to become an invaluable resource for the “sandwich generation” AND elderly individuals themselves.

If you are caring for an aging relative, or trying to plan for your own future, consider contacting a geriatric care manager in your area through The National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.

Do you know anyone who has been the victim of elder abuse?  As the pre-baby-boom generation ages, and as the cost of healthcare rises, so do the numbers of elder abuse victims rise as well.

Elder abuse encompasses many things, from targeting the elderly in a bank or credit card scam, to the physical abuse of one too weak to defend his or herself.  The former often results in the victim’s loss of retirement or life savings; the latter can result in loss of life, as evidenced by this recent article in the Kansas City Star.

In an effort to bring this dark issue out into the open, Sunday, June 15, 2008 has been declared World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a day devoted to recognizing and raising awareness of disabled adults and those over the age of 65, who have been victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

If you are the victim of elder abuse, or if you suspect someone you know is being victimized, don’t be afraid to speak out.  The following organizations can help you identify and stop elder abuse: The Elder Abuse Foundation, The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and the National Center on Elder Abuse.

The sad truth is that elder abuse is a growing problem of which we should all be aware.  The next victim could be your mother or father . . . or even you.

“Age is a high price to pay for maturity” -Tom Stoppard

Aging is not a common topic of conversation in our culture.  Our movies and television shows are very youth-focused, even our commercials tell us how to stay younger longer—with all this focus on staying young, it can be difficult to plan for getting older.  And for those particularly independent-minded people it can be especially difficult to plan for the day when you might be dependent on others.

Mutual Federal Savings Bank Vice President Dorothy Douglass learned the hard way the necessity of planning for the future.  She has written a touching article about caring for her parents as they aged, and how it has prompted her to think about her own future.

Most of us think—as Dorothy Douglass and her parents did—that there’s plenty of time to plan for our old age.  We feel young, we feel healthy, and we have years yet . . . until suddenly we don’t.  By the time we realize the need for something such as long term care insurance, or a last will and testament, or an estate plan—it’s too late.

Ms. Douglass didn’t take the advice of her well-meaning friend in time to help her parents.  Don’t make the same mistake.  You may still feel immortality stretching out before you, but take the time now to think about the future.

You’re an educated person. You have a degree, you’ve held a job, had responsibilities and a family. You’ve always done the smart thing and made what you hope are the right decisions, and you’d like to continue doing the smart thing. So when an “expert” hands you a flyer and tells you that for a couple thousand dollars they can create a living trust to save your family tens of thousands of dollars, of course you will consider it. After all, you’ve heard about living trusts and how beneficial they are. Even this blog, over and over again, has touted the wisdom of creating a trust.

The problem is that not all trusts are created equal. And unfortunately, not all “experts” are what they say they are.

The website of consumer affairs warns about the recent onslaught of fraudulent annuity scams and “trust mills”. These are people who pass themselves off as “legal experts”, but who often have no legal training at all, let alone a law degree. They use fear tactics and misleading information to scare people (most often the elderly) into creating unsound trusts and estate planning documents.

Living Trusts are a useful tool, and can provide most families with a valuable layer of protection—when created correctly, by an attorney with a background in estate planning law, who has met with you and is familiar with your unique situation. Trusts created by trust mills are often boilerplate packages that may not even comply with your state law or with the needs of your family.

You wouldn’t go into surgery without being sure of the qualifications of your doctor, why would you be any less cautious with your finances? Don’t create an estate plan until you’re sure of the qualifications of your attorney. After all, it’s the smart thing to do.

If you have heard me speak anytime in the past two years, you have heard me say that the greatest threat that you face to your life savings is the ever rising cost of nursing home care. Currently, the average cost of care in a nursing home is about $6000.00 per month. Of course you aren’t going to a nursing home, but chances are someone you love will. In fact, about 50% of the population spends time in a nursing home sometime during their life. If that loved one runs out of money to pay for their own care in a nursing home, and if they don’t have long term care insurance, they are out of options. They must apply for Medicaid, the federally funded program that pays for nursing home care after someone runs out of money to pay for nursing care themselves.

After I speak with people about this threat I often hear, “Even if I spend all my other assets, my house is protected, so I really have nothing to worry about.” In some respects, the house is protected, at least while you are alive. The rules that govern Medicaid eligibility allow a person who needs nursing home care to keep their house as long as they have “the intent to return home.” In Medicaid-speak that means that Medicaid will not take your home while you are alive.

However, the organization that administers Medicaid keeps a running tally of the amount that they have spent on a person’s care after they qualify for the program. Additionally, Medicaid has the right to put a lien on that person’s house while they are still alive so Medicaid can guarantee it gets paid when the home sells or the owner dies. After the owner passes away, Medicaid can either foreclose on the lien or initiate estate recovery of the money they spent that person’s care, either way, Medicaid will be entitled to take back out of the equity in the house everything they’ve spent.

On top of all of this, Medicaid has a cap on how much a home can be worth before someone will even qualify for the program, so those that are fortunate to have bought a house in the right neighborhood may not qualify for Medicaid because their house is worth to much.

So while Medicaid will say that the house is protected, they aren’t quite telling the whole story. We don’t want you to be both out of money and out of options, that’s why a meeting with us can help you discern how and when to plan for the nursing home spend down. We employ sound legal strategies to make sure that allow you to keep your home not just while you are alive, but for your children and grandchildren as well.