When To See An Elder Law Attorney
Elder Law focuses on the legal issues faced by older individuals. This includes: basic documents (Will, Power of Attorney, and Advance Directives), estate planning to minimize probate costs and inheritance taxes, and how to qualify for public benefits (Veterans Administration and Medicaid). In a perfect world all laws and regulations would be coordinated with each other. However, in the real world our present laws and regulations often work at cross purposes. An elder law attorney understands these complexities, and knows how to work through them to help you achieve your goals.
The following list is not exhaustive but describes some situations when it would be wise to consult an elder law attorney:
• A need for basic documents
A Will allows you to decide what will happen to your money, property, and belongings after you are gone
A Power of Attorney (POA) allows you to appoint one or more trusted individuals to take care of your legal and financial matters any time you are incapacitated. A POA does not take away your right to make your own decisions as long as you have the ability to do so.
Advance Directives (Healthcare POA and Living Will) allow you to decide who will make any health related decisions if you are incapacitated; they also allow you to state any treatment preferences for care at the end of your life.
• A need for estate planning
Elder law attorneys understand the rules and the costs of probating your will and any inheritance taxes that would be incurred by your beneficiaries; consequently, they are able to help you develop strategies to minimize those expenses.
• A need for public benefits
Elder law attorneys understand the eligibility regulations for Veterans Administration programs and the Medicaid (Medical Assistance) program; consequently, they can help people qualify more quickly for the financial help these programs offer.
• A concern about the high cost of nursing home care
Nursing home costs can quickly devour a person’s lifetime savings. However, with advance planning, an elder law attorney can often help a person protect at least a portion of those assets.
• Changing goals
As a person grows older the goals for the use of their assets often change from providing for family, to preparing for retirement, to leaving a legacy. Anytime your goals are changing it is wise to review your situation with an elder law attorney to see if your documents and plans will help meet the new goals or if new plans and documents are needed.
• Family change
Changes such as family additions, deaths, or divorces are times when it is wise to update your estate planning documents
• Health changes
Anytime you or a spouse are diagnosed with a chronic or disabling medical condition you may find you are facing questions about long-term care. An elder law attorney can help with financial planning for long-term care.
While the attorneys at Keystone Elder Law can help you with any of the above situations, Keystone is about much more than just an elder’s legal documents. Keystone was the first elder law firm in Central Pennsylvania to be a member of the Life Care Planning Law Firm Association. Consequently, Keystone employs an Elder Care Coordinator to work with the attorneys to develop a comprehensive plan that covers both the social and legal needs of the elder.
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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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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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