(CNN) — For years, the former host of "Good Morning America" had been a long-distance caregiver to her mother and brother in California, providing them with emotional and financial support from New York. After her brother's death in 2006 from complications from type II diabetes, Lunden needed to find a new home for her mother, who was suffering from the onset of dementia. Trying to create the best possible quality of life for an aging relative is "the new normal" for 43.5 million Americans caring for someone older than 50, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. It's not just their…
For some seniors, a reverse mortgage represents a viable option for funding long term health care. Now don’t confuse a reverse mortgage for a home equity loan because there is a major difference. While a home equity loan requires you to pay back the cash you receive with interest, a reverse mortgage does not. Basically it allows you to enjoy the value of your home now while still being able to live in it and not make any payments. And in the case of a senior in need of assistance funding long term care, the cash advance can be a…
As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, more and more seniors are finding themselves facing a harsh reality: they didn’t adequately plan financially for their later years. Sure they saved enough to retire, pay the bills, and travel. However, there is a potential financial drain waiting towards the end of their lives that they just did not see coming—the need for long term care. Perhaps this is where you find yourself now. Maybe your spouse has suffered a debilitating fall and you need a home health aide to assist you in caring for them. Or perhaps you are an…
Given that seniors are thought to have a significant amount of money sitting in their accounts. Financial Scammers target seniors. Additionally, financial scams also often go unreported or can be difficult to prosecute, so they’re considered a “low-risk” crime. However, they're devastating to many older adults and can leave them in a very vulnerable position with little time to recoup their losses. Also, it’s not just wealthy seniors who are targeted; low-income older adults are also at risk of financial abuse, as it's not always strangers who perpetrate these crimes. Over 90% of all reported elder abuse is committed by…
Taking care of your aging parent can be difficult, even if you live right down the road. But when you live out of state, those difficulties can grow exponentially. How can you make sure their needs are met? Preparation. Visit with a Purpose. If you can, take an extended trip so you have ample time to assess how your parents are coping. Particularly review: Hygiene Eating habit How they’re getting around Their social interaction Are they taking care of their business (bills, medications, etc.)? Make Arrangements. If you notice your parent having difficulties, consider getting them a home health aide….
Medicare does not pay for long-term care, except for 100 days of rehabilitation in a nursing home. Nursing home care falls primarily to Medicaid, the jointly funded state and federal program. The program now is shouldering 40% of the country's long-term-care spending, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. To be eligible for Medicaid in Maryland, can have no more than $2,500 in cash and investments. (Spouses are allowed to keep a home, a car and up to approximately $110,000.) In the past, regulators looked at any gifts you made up to three years before applying for Medicaid. However, in 2006,…
At the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC we assist clients who are faced with the possible placement of a spouse or parent in a nursing home. We counsel clients in navigating the complex and confusing Medicaid rules and regulations which pertain to nursing home care. Consequently, we assist in long term care planning to best situate your loved one for possible placement in a nursing home. Furthermore, we aid and counsel them in securing maximum financial protection and in preserving assets for the spouse who will remain at home and in applying for Medicaid eligibility. We also help…
Planning for assisted living costs should be at the top of your aging parent’s mind, or your mind. Because nursing home, assisted living, and adult day care costs are constantly increasing. As stated in the MetLife Mature Market Institute’s annual survey the cost of these types of long-term care have increased by 5.6 percent since the previous year. A private room in a nursing home averaged $87,000 a year and adult day programs cost $42,000 a year. Assisted living costs increase as your parents require additional care. Therefore, facilities can charge hundreds more a month for bathing, incontinence care, and…
The Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. has announced the release of “Elder Law Handbook.” The guidebook contains and explains what adult children of elderly parents need to do to make sure their loved ones are taken care of, while ensuring their financial health at the same time. As a community service, this guidebook is free of charge. Please email our office and we will send it too you. As parents age, their children will have to deal with their parents’ health issues, and financial concerns will likely become an issue they will have to face. When the children…
Medicaid eligibility rules are extremely complex and confusing, and impossible to understand without legal assistance. The United States Supreme Court has called the Medicaid laws “an aggravated assault on the English language, resistant to attempts to understand it.” Schweiker v. Gray Panthers, 453 U.S. 34, 43 (1981). Additionally, the United States Court of Appeals for our own Fourth Circuit (just below the U.S. Supreme Court), in a case arising out of Virginia, has called the Medicaid Act one of the “most completely impenetrable texts within human experience” and “dense reading of the most tortuous kind.” Rehab. Association of Virginia v. Kozlowski,…
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