Many families assume it’s better to disinherit their child with special needs. Their intentions are loving—they don’t want the child to lose their government benefits as a result of inheriting; they don’t want to do their child more harm than good. They think it would be better to leave everything to their other children, trusting that those children will take care of the child with special needs.
Caring for a loved one at the end of his or her life is both a duty and a privilege.
Hospice is a type of care for individuals who have 6 months or less to live. Instead of trying to cure the illness, pain management & symptom relief become the focus of the patient’s medical team. Hospice care can be obtained in home or in a facility.
The federal government recently addressed a very expensive glitch in the systematic treatment of patients in hospitals throughout the country, which mandates that hospitals provide notice as to a patient’s observation status.
As we discussed in our blog post on May 31, 2013, “Status Does Matter: Observation v. Admission”, there is a big problem that many Medicare recipients have been facing: patients are footing the bill. The problem is that patients are footing the bill for rehabilitation services in a skilled nursing facility when they are under the impression that these services are covered by Medicare. At the heart of the problem is that the hospital never actually admitted the patient, and coded them with a status of “under observation.”
Hospitals will soon be required to provide information to caregivers about their loved one’s discharge and instructions for administering medical aftercare.
Thanks to the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act, patients in New York hospitals will be allowed to designate a caregiver in their medical record. Once the caregiver is designated, the hospital is required to inform the caregiver when the patient is to be discharged and provide the caregiver with education and instruction of the medical tasks the caregiver will need to perform for the patient at home.
Often times when clients make an appointment with our law firm, they have a very specific estate planning concern or issue. They may have a particular focus in mind, such as updating a will or avoiding probate. With a plethora of details to consider, it is often challenging for individuals to adequately address all aspects of their personal “big picture”, i.e. their complete estate.
For most seniors, obtaining Medicaid to pay for nursing home care is a must. Very few people can afford to pay privately for extended long-term care, which is not covered by Medicare.
The nursing home may provide you with a list of attorneys to assist with the filing of a Medicaid application. It is suggested that you obtain three attorney references in writing.
A key question for the family to ask is: Do any of the attorneys on the list currently represent the nursing home?
Why should you contact the charity that you are planning to name as beneficiary?
People often wish to leave money to charities. This blog contains real-world scenarios in which individuals leave assets to charities:
Example #1: Tom has no children and no living relatives. His net worth is about 10 million dollars. Realizing his estate would be taxable, he wanted to strategically make a bequest to his alma mater, the church that he attends, and a hospital that he credits with saving his life.
He contacted his alma mater to inform them of his intentions. He signed a letter of intent specifying the dollar amount of the gift he intended to leave. As a result, the college named an endowment after him, with the funds to be used to create a scholarship.
He spoke with the pastor at his church about his intentions, and he was able to hear about the good work that the church will be able to do as a result of his gift.
You may leave money or assets to a non-profit organization by means of a charitable trust or will. People leave assets to all types of nonprofits like hospitals, animal shelters, religious organizations, etc.
Thinking about buying real estate property as a home or investment? Before you negotiate the terms and sign a contract, there are some important things to consider. By doing some simple, preliminary research, you will make informed decisions and circumvent avoidable issues.
Are you and your family prepared for the unexpected? In the event of a sudden illness or injury, advanced directives can save you and your family time, money, and emotional distress.
The three advanced directives everyone should consider are health care proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney, yet these precautions are often overlooked by married couples.
This year I have had the pleasure of working with a married couple who suffered an unforeseen and life-changing event: the wife suffered a debilitating stroke while undergoing a simple medical procedure, and she needed the type of care that is only available in nursing homes.