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The decision to move your parent to a nursing home

Written on June 17, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Nursing Home Planning

By Attorney Liz Durnell

It is a very difficult decision to move your parent into a nursing home, but sometimes it is a necessary decision. In the story of Leslie and Lois Baum, Leslie Baum exhausted all of her service options before moving her mother into a nursing home.

Following is an excerpt from an article on Cincinnati.com by Peggy O’Farrell entitled “The Burden of Alzheimer’s.”

Lois Baum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003, shortly after her daughter moved in with her. Before she entered the nursing home in 2007, Lois Baum got in-home care three days a week at an adult day program through Hamilton County’s Elderly Services Program. The program allowed her daughter to keep working.

Even with aides coming in to care for her mother while she went to work, Leslie Baum never stopped worrying.

By 2007, Lois Baum was falling more often. At 200 pounds, she was almost too heavy for her daughter to help up. She could no longer remain at home.

Lois Baum had already set up the paperwork that would allow her children to make legal and medical decisions for her. She had set up advance directives dictating what kind of end-of-life care she wanted.

When Lois Baum went into the nursing home, she had a little savings, her Social Security check and a life insurance policy worth $3,000. All of it was turned over to the nursing home. Leslie Baum put her mother’s house on the market and found a new home for herself in Madisonville.

Within about a year, Lois Baum was broke. Now Medicaid picks up the tab for her nursing home, which costs between $6,000 and $7,000 per month.

Most days, Lois Baum doesn’t know her own daughter.

In the preceding article, Leslie had no other option but to move her mother into the nursing home, however, if Leslie had consulted an elder law attorney, she would have been informed about options that might have saved some her mother’s property. In Ohio there are exceptions that can be used when a child has been their parent’s live-in caregiver. If you find yourself in a similar situation, please contact Cooper, Adel & Associates, LPA to schedule your free consultation.

Veterans Benefits Can Help Ease the Burden

Written on June 16, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Veterans

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By Steve Wright

Today, rising health care cost associated with assisted living and in home care, has many seniors and their families worried about how they are going to pay for these expenses. However, a program through the department of Veteran’s Affairs known as Aid and Attendance can help qualifying veterans or their surviving spouses. With this program, veterans and their widows can receive money desperately needed to pay for in home care or other assisted living facilities. All to often in life, we miss opportunities like this because we are unaware that they exist.

My life was actually affected by this recently. In June of last year my grandmother had fallen while in the kitchen, and she broke her hip. She had to go to the hospital to have surgery, and because of her age she needed to recover in an assisted living facility. My grandfather had the month that she was supposed to be in the facility easily covered. However, because of unexpected complications due to her age, my grandmother ended up staying in the facility until October where she passed away. My grandfather on the other hand faced mounting pressure. Not only because his wife of over 65 years had passed away, but also because the heavy financial burden that came with trying to pay for assisted living. My grandfather did not know about the Aid and Attendance program offered through Veterans Affairs, which in some cases can even be used by spouses of veterans. If we had known about this program he could have saved himself some stress about the financial arrangements, and focused more on his last days with his loving wife.

At Cooper, Adel, and Associates, we pride ourselves on being able to help seniors cover these rising costs of care. Because of this, we have attorneys that are licensed to practice in the Court of Appeals for Veteran’s Affairs, and accredited to file claims on behalf of veterans at the VA.

The Stretch IRA Concept

Written on June 14, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Estate Planning

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By Roy Whited

Do you need a distribution plan?

The choices you make can permit you to take your IRA benefits over your lifetime, your spouse’s lifetime, your children’s lifetime and maybe your grandchildren’s.

Certain provisions in the IRA regulations enable you to stretch out the time that funds can remain in an IRA after your death. Depending on your own income needs you can take whatever distributions you want during your lifetime with certain minimum distributions required beginning at age 70 ½ or April 1st following the year you turn age 70 ½. You are in control of your funds and your spouse will be in control during their lifetime.

This stretch IRA concept will permit you to lock in a distribution plan at your death that will pay your children an income over their life expectancy so they are not able to spend all the money at one time. This will also ensure them of a supplemental retirement income when they may need it the most.

For more information about the benefit of having a stretch IRA distribution you can call our office. 1-800-798-5297

Family Disagreements at Death

Written on June 13, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Estate Planning

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From Attorney Mitch Adel

For years I have been asking my clients to have their wishes made in writing. Having these important decisions in writing can avoid a lot of family drama that accompanies matters just before death and just after. The two biggest examples that come to mind are how things are distributed at death and, in certain circumstances, dealing with terminating life. When determining distribution at death, you might use a revocable living trust to dictate how and to whom that your financial assets or personal property, such as furniture, jewelry or guns, are distributed. Whereas, a Living Will is used to specify how you want to be treated if you have a terminal illness or are in permanently unconscious state.

Unfortunately, these two issues are not the only disagreements I have seen within families around the time of a loved one’s death. In some families, I have seen arguments about where mom or dad should be buried. It is not uncommon to see family members disagree about funeral arrangements – some as a result of religious differences, some about where the burial should take place and some about cremation.

The good news is that since this is a common issue, the State of Ohio developed regulations to deal with such disagreements. The bad news, if you don’t deal with this issue prior to death, is that the Court system and likely the media will become involved, and just like Terry Schiavo’s family down in Florida, your family could be the center of attention in a media circus.

If you believe that your death could potentially cause a problem in your family, make sure that you plan ahead. Put your wishes in writing. Ask us if you would like to receive more information or need assistance to document your after-death wishes.

Older Americans Are Struggling to Recover from The Great Recession

Written on June 6, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Asset Protection, Estate Planning

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By Julian Guilfoyle

A recent survey of Americans aged fifty and older by AARP has highlighted some expected, yet alarming results. Among the highlights:

Almost three out of ten were or had been, unemployed in the last three years.
Nearly a third saw their homes decline “substantially” in value.
More than half were not comfortable that they had enough money to live comfortably through retirement.
One third responded that they expect to delay their retirement.
More than half reported that they had taken steps to prepare for a more secure retirement.

To read the entire article, click on this link:

http://www.aarp.org/work/retirement-planning/info-05-2011/insight_50.html

Planning with an elder law attorney may help as you or your loved ones face the challenges of aging in difficult economic conditions.

What does your Elder Care Journey look like?

Written on June 3, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Aging, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Health, Nursing Home Planning

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By Bob Kueppers

Last weekend I went home to visit my family and as always ended up staying over my grandfathers house. My grandfather is 90, lives alone, and has numerous health issues. I can’t help but be amazed how lucky he’s been in avoiding a long nursing home or assisted living stay.

If you’ve ever been to our office, one of the first things you will notice are our huge posters of the Elder Care Journey. The journey starts out with a healthy senior taking the necessary steps for tax, estate and retirement planning and then throws in some speed bumps along the way. Even though my grandfather has been hospitalized a few times and had to spend the dreaded 100 days in a skilled care facility, he’s managed to bounce back and avoid a long term stay.

If you are concerned about the journey you or a loved one will face, call and schedule a free consultation with our office.

Getting Assisted Living Right the First Time

Written on May 23, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Medicaid, Planning

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By Attorney Thom Cooper

Not long ago, when a client asked us to recommend a nursing home or assisted living facility, it usually came down to the client’s personal preferences. Most nursing homes and assisted living facilities offer essentially the same services and activities and all of the facilities generally do a pretty good job with client care. Many times the client’s choice of facility has turned on a minor item such as the convenience of location for the care-giving spouse or child.

But all that changed with Ohio’s new assisted living waiver program. Before this new program, Veterans Benefits were the only way to access government benefits to pay for assisted living. With the new wavier program, the State of Ohio will pay for assisted living in a manner similar to the way they pay for nursing home benefits. However, the new rules to qualify for this assisted living program are different from the rules you would follow to qualify for traditional nursing home programs. For example, if you are going to go into the assisted living waiver program, the State requires that you private pay (out of your pocket) for six months and some facilities have their own facility-based rule that requires that you private pay for twelve months.… and to make it more confusing, the six or twelve month rule is waived for someone who was receiving in-home benefits (Passport benefits).

It is more important than ever to understand the rules for the new assisted living waiver program, confusing as they may be. Moreover, you must also understand how to coordinate these rules with Ohio’s in-home programs and traditional nursing home programs. Another twist in Ohio’s new assisted living waiver program is that you must find a facility approved by Ohio for the program – that is, a Medicaid-qualified assisted living program. Virtually all nursing home programs are Medicaid-qualified but only a limited number of assisted-living programs have been approved at this time.

If you are considering an assisted living program for yourself or a loved one, is important to enroll in a Medicaid-approved program right from the beginning for three reasons:

If you are not enrolled in a Medicaid-approved program, it can limit the amount of money your family can save in Medicaid planning. In fact, if you select a non-approved facility, it most often assures that your resources will be totally lost to a “spend down.”
If you are not enrolled in a Medicaid-approved program and you run out of money, you will be uprooted and placed in another facility, a frightening and traumatic experience.
Oftentimes in an assisted-living situation, the well spouse accompanies the more ill spouse to the facility so the couple can continue to live together. Where the couple wishes to live together, it is important to make sure that the assisted-living facility has a parallel, full nursing home care program at the same facility. Otherwise, if the ill senior’s health gets worse and full nursing home care is required, the two spouses will have to be split up if the program they need is not available.

As you can see, with Ohio’s new assisted-living program the choice of a care facility is not so easy. Before you sign-up or place a loved one in one of these facilities, consult an experienced elder law attorney to avoid the heartache and loss of assets that may result in a bad choice.

What’s new with Medicare Benefits?

Written on May 19, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Medicare

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By Mary Roberts

May is Older Americans Month according to Lieutenant Governor Taylor. The State of Ohio Dept. of Insurance is attempting to help seniors understand their Medicare benefits. It is a way of celebrating the fact that we are now eligible for Medicare. We can call the Medicare experts at 1-800-686-1578 or go on OSHIP’s website www.insurand.ohio.gov OSHIP is making an effort to inform seniors about Medicare changes in 2011.

On an overview, one of the main changes is that there is a New Open Enrollment Period. In 2011 Open Enrollment Period begins on Oct. 15 and continues thru Dec. 7. The new dates are meant to remove stress from beneficiaries making critical decisions about their coverage during the busy holiday season. This time is set up to give seniors the opportunity to make changes they desire in their coverage.

There are also Free Preventive Services being offered without Medicare Part B deductibles or co-payments: Pap smear tests, pelvic exams, mammograms, pneumonia and hepatitis shots and more.

There is also help paying for Medicare Part B (medical coverage) premium for beneficiaries who meet certain income and resource requirements.

Additional information is available at www.medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Written on May 18, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Planning

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By Attorney Renee Fox

An emergency can strike at any time. Because of this, it is important for every person to carry emergency contact information in a wallet or purse.

If a person has a cell phone, it is easy to list people one would like to have contacted in the event of an emergency. Many people indicate their emergency contact information under the entry “ICE” (an acronym for “In Case of Emergency”) and then list the person’s name and telephone number. This is an excellent idea. An e-mail circulated a few years ago reported that using the ICE entry could result in viruses being passed to cell phones or premium charges being billed to the phone, but this was proven to be a hoax.

Many people do not have cell phones, particularly the elderly. Further, cell phones can be lost or damaged in an emergency. As a result, everyone should have an up-to-date listing of the emergency contact numbers in their wallet or purse. This is why the Thom L. Cooper Company provides every client who executes an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) with a wallet card that includes the telephone numbers of the agents under the AMD. This also serves as an emergency notification card. We also suggest that you register these documents with your physician’s office or local hospital.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security website (www.ready.gov) has many downloadable publications for emergency preparedness. The publications include preparation for older Americans, persons with disabilities, and pets.

To better prepare yourself in the event of an emergency contact the Lawyers at the Thom L. Cooper Company.

SHELLEY’S LIFESTYLES OF THE (NOT SO) RICH AND FAMOUS

Written on May 17, 2011 by Thom Cooper in Case Study, Estate Planning, Trust

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By: Shelley Rose

OK, let’s all admit that we know a few mean people that surround us, right? Well, if you are rich and famous and you knew Leona Helmsley, you may have considered her mean. She was referred to as “the Queen of Mean” from all of those who knew and “loved” her. If you are unfamiliar with Leona, she and her husband, Harry, were well known as real estate developers and hoteliers. Leona was known for being mean to staff. It seems like everyone she ran into and also in the later years of her life was convicted of tax evasion and spent years in prison.

But with everything that she did to her friends and staff, no one would have expected what she did in her final days while writing her Trust and Will. Everyone talked after Leona passed away on August 20, 2007 at age 87 when contents of her Trust and Will were revealed.

Bottom line is that Leona’s dog, Trouble, will continue to live an opulent life because Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese $12 million. She also left millions to her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence, as well as two of four grandchildren from her late son, Jay Panzirer, so long as they visit their father’s grave site once each calendar year. Otherwise, she wrote, neither will get a penny of the $5 million she left for them. Helmsley left nothing to two of Jay’s other children “for reasons that are known to them,” she wrote.

But no on made out better than Trouble, who once appeared in ads for the Helmsley Hotels, and lived up to her name by biting a housekeeper.

So, I think this is a prime example that while you are living, YOU are in charge of who or what gets a portion of your Estate. That may not be so true after you are gone. So please make sure you are taking care of your affairs and you make the decisions of where your estate goes after you are gone.

Call for a free consultation with Attorney Cooper at 1-800-798-5297 to make sure your estate isn’t “left to the dogs”.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!