Category: Elder Law

Restraints are anything that is intended to limit a person’s mobility due to different reasons. As we age, we begin to face health challenges on a physical and mental level, making it almost impossible to care for ourselves and also putting us in danger of falling, getting lost or having serious accidents. Sometimes, restraints are… Continue reading Types of Nursing Home Restraints: Which Ones Are Used, and Are They Safe?

Medicaid Planning – Is it legal? – Is it Ethical? When the time has passed when a family is able to qualify for and/or afford the purchase of long-term care insurance, but it’s imperative to find a proper care provider and payment plan for a loved one, where can you turn? Medicaid – The “Safety… Continue reading Medicaid Planning – Is It Legal? Is It Ethical?

People often hear about trusts, but don’t really know how they work. Below, we explain some basic principles. The classic express trust set up A trust is a relationship based upon an agreement. There are basically three main positions in a trust set up: the “grantor”, who is the person who creates the trust and… Continue reading Trusts: A Few Basic Principles

The Power of Attorney is one of the Advance Directives, along with the Health Care Proxy and the Living Will.1 It is the document whereby one person, called the principal, appoints another person, called the agent, to act on the principal’s behalf according to the authority it grants. This authority often includes the ability to… Continue reading Don’t Get Caught in the Catch-22 of the Springing Power

Long distance caregiver is a new role that is thrust upon children and younger family members these days. After all, families used to live closer together, with children residing and working near their parents, but these days family members are more distant from each other. According to a report by the Alzheimer’s Association, 7 million… Continue reading Long Distance Caregiving and the Role of the Geriatric Care Manager

When it comes to the death of a family member, there are no words that can express the sense of loss. Then comes the reading of the will, and OMG, you suddenly discover the true colors of your relatives. Suddenly, your green-eyed brother from out-of-state arrives to partake of the distribution of Mom’s estate. Only… Continue reading Avoid a Will Disaster – Use Your Cell Phone

After a person dies, does the family and the lawyer really get together for the formal “reading of the Will”? No. While this is a persistent image on TV and in the movies, this virtually never happens. I have never done it. No lawyer I know has done it. I have heard that every once… Continue reading Wills 102: Beyond the Basics

Nursing homes across the United States hold 1.5 million elderly people, and with the Baby Boomer population approaching retirement, that amount is expected to significantly grow over the next few decades. Yet, nursing homes and similar care facilities, even with current patient loads, are understaffed and operating within a limited budget, and as a result,… Continue reading Nursing Home Negligence: Preparing for a Claim

When used together, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills and Powers of Attorney can be powerful tools in making sure that your legal and medical wishes are carried out if you are unable to implement them yourself. These documents offer relatively inexpensive alternatives to costly guardianship proceedings for incapacitated loved ones. Power of Attorney: A power… Continue reading Advance Directives: Three Simple Documents That Can Bring You Peace of Mind