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Tag: elder law

Important Medical Documents for Your Young Adult Child

Written by kwmlaw on . Posted in Kelly & West News.

As your child graduates from high school, you are both thinking about the exciting future. But whether your child is off to college or some other venture, there are a few legal decisions you should make in case of an emergency. Imagine if your child ended up in a hospital and could not make decisions for himself. Of course, you’d want to step in to help. But if your child is a legal adult, age 18 or older, you will not be able to do so. In fact, you wouldn’t even be told any specifics about his condition due to HIPAA regulations.

To prevent this problem, you and your child should fill out paperwork that will enable you to help him or her in case of an emergency. There are documents you need:

  • A durable power of attorney;
  • A health care power of attorney; and
  • A HIPAA release.

These papers are often used in elder law, by adults caring for their parents. They signify that the agent has been given the power by the signee to preside over financial and medical decisions and grant access to their medical records.

In each document, your child can decide who they would like to deem responsible as their agent. This may be you. However, if your child is uncomfortable with having you in this position, he or she may choose someone else.

  • Durable Power of Attorney: This document designates someone as an agent to preside over financial and legal matters on your child’s behalf. These forms can vary from state to state. Durable Power of Attorney grants agent a lot of power. For this reason, some people may be hesitant about signing it. Talk to your attorney about the best approach, but this one is especially useful if your child is traveling abroad.
  • Health Care Power of Attorney: This document gives an agent authority to make medical decisions on your child’s behalf. It is a good idea for your child to nominate more than one agent, in case the first is unable to serve.
  • HIPAA Release: This document designates less power to the agent but allows medical staff to share your child’s medical status or condition with agents.

While you want to help your child, he or she is considered an adult at age 18. Without these legal documents, you may have no way to help. Of course, you and your child should discuss these issues and decide what is best. If you have any questions, contact us for help.

How Long-Term Care Affects Your Property Deeds in North Carolina

Written by kwmlaw on . Posted in Kelly & West News.

Growing old is inevitable, so set up for your future now. From age 65 and up, there is a 75 percent chance you or your loved one will require long-term care. According to a CareScout survey from 2017,  living in a semi-private room in a nursing home can cost more than $80,000 a year. Many people can’t afford this, so luckily, Medicaid can step in and pay if you qualify. This sounds great, right? Unfortunately, this can cause problems after you pass away.

What is long-term care? It’s good to define long-term care because it is an umbrella term that means a multitude of things.

  1. Assisted living. You live in a facility that allows you to live somewhat on your own, but you can still request assistance with any tasks that you need. These facilities typically provide transportation, meals, and help with things around the house as needed. Such residences are focused on people who don’t need much medical assistance.
  2. Home Care. Instead of you moving somewhere for assistance, the assistance comes to you and helps you every day with whatever is needed.
  3. Nursing home. Nursing homes are typically more focused on those who need medical attention around the clock. They offer everything offered in assisted living, for the most part, but also have nurses employed to help with your medical needs. Most of the time these facilities also provide speech, occupational, and physical therapies to help with rehabilitation.

Paying for Long-Term Care

People often assume they will qualify for Medicaid, which may cover long-term care if your income and assets meet the requirements. However, if you have property in your name, once you die, the government can file a claim against this estate, forcing you to sell the property to pay them back. This process is called Medicaid “Estate Recovery.”

As we talked about recently, with care contracts, there are ways we can help make sure your assets aren’t entirely used to pay for your long-term care. One common way to do this in North Carolina is by using an “enhanced life estate deed” that will make the property “non-countable.” Your property will not be entered into probate and therefore will not be subject to “Estate Recovery” upon death.

The process is tricky, but if you have a friend or family member willing to help you with the process, talk to your estate attorney about it. This area of the law is complex; find an excellent attorney who understands Harnett County laws and the requirements to protect your assets. Once something is done “wrong,” it is usually impossible to undo.

At Kelly & West we want you to feel confident about your estate, so call us or send us a message on our 24-hour live chat to get started.

How Care Contracts Can Save You Thousands of Dollars

Written by kwmlaw on . Posted in Kelly & West News.

About 70 percent of people who are now turning 65 will require long-term care at some point during their lifetime. Many of those people will spend at least a year in a nursing facility, at an average cost of $6,300 per month.

Help with Long-Term Care Costs
Most people cannot afford to cover these costs on their own, and many assume that Medicaid or Medicare will pay for it. But how you set up your estate and long-term care plan make the difference between getting that coverage and paying tens of thousands of dollars.

In this case, we’re talking about Long-Term Care Medicaid. The program is set up to be the “last resort.” That means you don’t qualify for this coverage unless you have no other way of paying for care. The problem is, many people can’t afford to pay for care, but then don’t qualify for long-term care, either. So what can you do?

Determining Assets
The program identifies whether you can pay based on what is called “countable assets.” What we can do is help you take countable assets and make them non-countable. One way people try to do this is by gifting money. For example, you might give your son $1,000 per month for helping you around the house, driving you to appointments, and caring for you. But if you do that, you receive a time penalty; you won’t be able to apply for Long-Term Medicaid for 1.9 months. This is based on the formula of nursing home costs: $12,000 divided by the monthly cost of $6,300.Someone signing a contract

How Care Contracts Work
A care contract (also called a personal care contract or caregiver contract) is an agreement between a family member(s) and their loved one that outlines their terms of elder care.

If you created a care contract before you gave your son the money, that money isn’t a gift. Now, it’s payment. And if you apply for Long-Term Medicaid, the government shouldn’t penalize you for it.

Care Contracts look a lot like any other agreement, outlining what one person will do as part of his or her work in exchange for the money. These agreements list out responsibilities such as nutrition, cleaning, outdoor maintenance, and housekeeping.

Other Benefits
Aside from the health insurance benefits, there are other reasons to create a care contract. The value of uncompensated care provided by family or friends is estimated at $450 billion annually.

Caring for an aging parent or older loved one can be time-consuming and costly. Often, the caretaker still has other family members or children to look after; he/she may also have a job or other personal requirements which make caring for an older family member difficult.

A care agreement details exactly what the caretaker(s) is responsible for, and can even work out a system of compensation between the two parties. This can be especially important if the caretaker has sacrificed employment to care for his/her elder. The contract also outlines exactly who will be receiving compensation and the responsibility of caring for the elderly, to avoid misunderstandings and arguments between family members later on. While a contract between loved ones sounds odd to some, the document often smooths the way for a good relationship.

Our attorneys can help you create an agreement so that you don’t lose time or money later. To get help starting your care contract, contact us.

Elder Care: How to Manage Care for Your Parent

Written by kwmlaw on . Posted in Kelly & West News.

Are your parents or an elderly loved one refusing personal care and assisted living? Is it hard for your family to give them the help they need? Here is some advice on how to put an unwilling parent or relative at ease.

Before pushing your parent or relative to give up their independence, you must understand what you’re asking of them. In their eyes, they can still handle anything! And remember, you are their child. Now you’re asking them to reverse roles and let you take care of them.

Here are some tips for managing this process:

  • Get ahead of the crisis. Start having conversations about caregivers and assisted living before health problems occur. Ask your parent how they would feel about a driver or a housekeeper. Ask about his/her plans for assisted living and other help should the need arise.
  • Be patient and ask deep questions. When asking questions, give him/her time to respond. The process may take many conversations to get any answers; do not get frustrated. Fully try to understand why your loved one is refusing care.
  • Provide options. Keep your loved one in the loop. You might include him or her in interviews for the housekeeper or let him/her choose when the home aid comes each week. Show your loved one that he/she still has some freedom and that you respect him/her.
  • Accept your limits and pick your battles. You cannot watch over your loved one all the time. If they are still safe do not discourage their behavior, even if it is irritating to you. Treat them like the adult they are. Dealing with a stubborn child is not the same as dealing with a stubborn parent.
  • Find an outside outlet for your feelings. If you are angry, sad, or frustrated that your parents won’t listen to you, vent to someone outside of the situation, not your parents.

As you try to take care of your loved one, be sure to take care of yourself. Do not let your frustration out on your elder family member. It is hard to change roles from child to parent, and it will take time for your elder to realize the change in roles, but be patient. Giving up one’s freedom is never easy, so try your best to understand their feelings.

Whether it is preparing a will, estate planning, or care agreements, Kelly and West can prepare the right documents. Allow the experienced attorneys at Kelly and West help you understand the ever-changing elder law.

 

How to Protect Your Assets When You Go Into a Nursing Home

Written by kwmlaw on . Posted in Kelly & West News.

If you have to move into a nursing home or another type of assisted living facility, who will pay the high costs for care? Will you be able to keep any of your money to leave to your family? Or will the government take everything you have?

These questions and many others are often asked by clients who are concerned about their future. The average cost of nursing home care is approximately $6,300 per month. That means even if you have assets, you might be spending through them very quickly — especially if you end up staying in the facility much longer than expected — so proper planning is crucial.

Why Protect Your Assets

In North Carolina, generally speaking Medicaid will pay for nursing home care if you “spend down” your assets so that your “countable assets” do not exceed a house, car and $2,000 in the bank. Once you have met the threshold test, Medicaid will pay the difference between your income and the facility rate for care.

At Kelly & West, we work with clients to design a plan to protect your assets. By making your “countable assets” “non-countable assets” we can work to make sure what you own is not counted by Medicaid and that you qualify for government assistance. For example, you may be allowed to have up to $40,000 in government bonds and these bonds be considered “non-countable assets” or you can use your money to prepay for your funeral arrangements, as long as you have a plan that complies with Medicaid’s rules and regulations.

Photo credit: LendingMemo via Visualhunt / CC BY
Photo credit: LendingMemo via Visualhunt / CC BY

Who Will Qualify?

Not everyone will be able to qualify for Medicaid. People with IRAs, stocks, bonds, and other money might not be able to spend down or move it all to a non-countable form in order to qualify.

Also, some people might qualify, but might not want to do this. Many people prefer not to rely on the government for their care, especially since they may receive better care by privately paying for it.

Those who have paid for long-term health care insurance also may not want to obtain government assistance. If insurance is covering the cost of your care, this may leave your assets intact and available to pass to your family. But be careful, not all long-term care insurance contracts provide enough to cover the costs of care. Or, if you have a “traditional” long-term care policy, this could just mean that you are only saving the government money as this would just be considered income to you and may not help you as much as you think.

Make a Plan Now

A lot of people thinking about a nursing home are in their mid-60s and are likely still too young to want that type of care just yet. However, buying long-term care insurance at that age means paying a much higher premium. That’s why many people come to us and discuss these options early. We can develop a plan of action now for when the time comes later. We are happy to talk to you to discuss your options as this can be a great relief to you and you can end up saving your family quite a bit of money, time and headache in the future if you have a plan in place.