Life Care Planning Matters: Our Pennsylvania Elder Law Team Can Help
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Pennsylvania life care planning lawyer has the knowledge, skills, and experience that you can rely on. A life care plan can make the difference. If you have questions about life care planning, including the best strategies for your specific situation, we can help. Contact us today for a fully confidential consultation with a top Pennsylvania life care planning lawyer.
What is a Life Care Plan?
A life care plan is a compassionate, comprehensive roadmap designed to support individuals facing serious injuries or chronic medical conditions. Along with other things, a life care plan should outline current and future care needs, from medical treatments to personal assistance and home modifications. The goal is to ensure the person lives with dignity, comfort, and the highest possible quality of life. A life care plan is more than just a document: It is a promise for protection tomorrow. The right life care plan is the one that gives you true confidence and peace of mind.
Four Main Objectives of Life Care Planning
Life care planning should be comprehensive. At its best, it is designed to solve problems and protect the best interests of a person and their family. What does life care planning actually entail? The answer will depend, in part, on the specific situation. Indeed, there is no one “right” approach to life care planning. Any plan should be fully customized. With that being said, most people enter the life care planning process with four main objectives:
- Organizing Affairs (Estate Planning): There cannot be an effective life care plan without a comprehensive estate plan. Indeed, the life care planning process starts bringing order to life’s most important matters. Estate planning ensures that your wishes are clearly documented, from managing property and finances to appointing trusted decision-makers. It is about creating stability during times of uncertainty, reducing stress for both you and your family. Without a proper estate plan, you will lose control over your own affairs. Estate planning should be a high priority in the life care planning process.
- Ensuring the Highest Possible Quality of Life: Aging brings some inherent challenges. Another important goal of life care planning is to ensure the absolute highest possible quality of life for the senior citizen. At its heart, life care planning prioritizes dignity and comfort. It focuses on understanding what truly matters. From medical treatments to home modifications and personal care, the plan outlines steps to maintain independence and well-being. Every detail should be carefully considered.
- Determining How Services are Paid for and Assets are Protected: Aging also brings financial challenges. There are costs, and those costs can pose serious risks to your hard-earned life savings. Life care planning involves preparing for the financial realities of long-term care. A proactive, strategic approach is a must for an effective life care plan.
- Leaving a Lasting Legacy: Finally, comprehensive life care planning is not just about the present. It is also about what you leave behind. A legacy is not only measured in financial assets but also in memories, values, and the love you have shared. Through careful planning, you can ensure that your family is supported and that your story lives on. Whether it is charitable giving, heirlooms, or heartfelt messages, legacy planning is meaningful. A Pennsylvania life care planning attorney who has experience with legacy planning can help you put the right system in place for your specific situation.
Why Trust Our Pennsylvania Life Care Planning Lawyer
A life care plan is the best way to protect yourself and your legacy. Too many people lack a proper life care plan. The founder of Keystone Elder Law P.C., Patrick Cawley is an estate planning and elder law attorney who has extensive life care planning experience. You and your family do not have to go through this alone. Among other things, our Pennsylvania life care planning attorney is prepared to:
- Hear what you have to say and answer questions about your case;
- Help you gather and prepare supporting documents and records; and
- Develop the most sensible life care plan for your specific situation.
Life Care Planning in Pennsylvania: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does life care planning involve in Pennsylvania?
Life care planning is a comprehensive legal and financial strategy to coordinate long-term care, protect assets, and ensure eligibility for benefits like Medicaid. In Pennsylvania, it often includes powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, special needs planning, and Medicaid asset protection tools. A life care plan should always be customized. If you have any questions about how to set up a life care plan, an experienced Pennsylvania attorney can help.
How can a life care plan help with qualifying for Medicaid in Pennsylvania?
A properly structured life care plan helps you preserve assets while navigating the Medicaid eligibility process. It may involve legal tools such as irrevocable trusts, gifting strategies, or annuities, depending on your circumstances. With Medicaid planning, a proactive approach is a must. It can make the difference.
Is life care planning only about legal documents?
No. It is about far more than that. Life care is more than just signing some documents. The goal is to provide a roadmap for long-term well-being and protect what matters most. It includes care coordination, benefit navigation, legal protections, and family support services. Open communication with your closest family and friends is a key part of a strong life care plan.
Contact Our Pennsylvania Life Care Planning Attorney Today
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Pennsylvania estate planning and elder law lawyer has extensive experience with life care planning. We are here to help you put the best life care plan in place for your specific situation. If you have any questions or concerns about life care planning, our team is here as a resource that you can trust. Contact us right away for a completely confidential, no-obligation initial consultation. We provide life care planning services throughout Pennsylvania.
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REGISTER HERE for LONG-TERM CARE PLANNINGPower of Attorney
A Power of Attorney can be used to give another person the right to sell a car, home, or other property in the place of the maker of the Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney might be used to allow another person to sign a contract for the maker of the Power of Attorney (the person who makes a power of attorney is called the “principal”). It can be used to give another person the authority to make health care decisions, do financial transactions, or sign legal documents that the principal cannot do for one reason or another. With few exceptions, Powers of Attorney can give others the right to do any legal acts that the makers of the Powers of Attorney could do them themselves. A General Power of Attorney gives the “power of attorney Agent” or simply “Agent” (the legal name of the person who is authorized to act for the principal) very broad powers to do almost every legal act that the principal can do. When Elder Law Attorneys draft general Powers of Attorney, they still list the types of things the Agent can do but these powers are very broad. People often do general Powers of Attorney to plan ahead for the day when they may not be able to take care of things themselves. By doing the General Power of Attorney, they designate someone who can do these things for them.
Normal Powers of Attorney terminate if and when the principal becomes incompetent. Yet many people do Powers of Attorney for the sole purpose of designating someone else to act for them if they cannot act for themselves. It is precisely when persons can no longer do for themselves that a Power of Attorney is most valuable. To remedy this inconsistency, the law created a Durable Power of Attorney that remains effective even if a person becomes incompetent. The only thing that distinguishes a Durable Power of Attorney from a regular Power of Attorney is special wording that states that the power survives the principal’s incapacity. Even a Durable Power of Attorney, however, may be terminated under certain circumstances if court proceedings are filed. Most Powers of Attorney done today are durable.
Yes. At the time the Power of Attorney is signed, the principal must be capable of understanding the document. Although a Power of Attorney is still valid if and when a person becomes incompetent, the principal must understand what he or she is signing at the moment of execution. That means a person can be suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease or be otherwise incompetent sometimes but as long as they have a lucid moment and are competent at the moment they sign the Power of Attorney, it is valid even if they do not remember signing it at a later date. At the time it is signed, the principal must know what the Power of Attorney does, whom they are giving the Power of Attorney to, and what property may be affected by the Power of Attorney.
Any competent person eighteen years of age and older can serve as an agent. Certain financial institutions can also serve. There is no course of education that agent must complete or any test that Agent must pass. Because a Power of Attorney is such a potentially powerful document, agents should be chosen for reliability and trustworthiness. In the wrong hands, a Power of Attorney can be a license to steal. It can be a big responsibility to serve as an agent.
For Medicaid
Medicare is health insurance and covers medical services such as physician appointments, therapy, blood tests, x rays, medical procedures and hospitalization. Medicare will sometime pay for rehabilitation in a long-term care facility for a period of 20 to 100 days, but not longer. In long-term care, Medicaid covers the cost of ongoing support services for daily functioning, such as room and board in a nursing home.
Medicaid is a federal program that is overseen by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In Pennsylvania, Medicaid is called Medical Assistance and is administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
In Pennsylvania, Medicaid funds are not available to pay for assisted living or personal care.
For Medicaid to pay for care in a nursing home, an individual recipient must be determined to need a nursing home level of care by a physician and the local Office of Aging. An individual whose income is not greater than three times the poverty level may keep up to $8,000 of total resources, but may otherwise keep only $2,400. The cash value of life insurance counts as a resource, but one car and a residential home does not count as a resource.
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Empowering Clients with Holistic Planning at
Keystone Elder Law
At Keystone Elder Law, we believe that the physical, social, legal, and financial considerations of our clients all intertwine. We utilize an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate each area, which allows for the creation of a plan that addresses the concerns of the individual as a whole as well as the family. To this end, our model of practice includes a Care Coordinator (usually a nurse or social worker), whose expertise complements our team of attorneys.
When the road of life is smooth, decisions about legal and financial matters are easy to push aside for “a rainy day.” Planning ahead, however, will allow for more options as you view the map of where you’ve been and where you want to go. Don’t let a crisis limit your choices or derail your plans.
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