Working With An Elder Law Attorney

Navigating the maze of elder law and long-term care planning issues is a profound, often emotional, and difficult journey.  Many people become overwhelmed by the regulatory and legal complexities, particularly by the costs associated with aging. But being prepared is powerful. Working with a Long Island elder lawyer will give you peace of mind as you prepare your financial future. These are some of the steps that you can expect to take as you work with your elder law professionals.

Comprehensive Asset Review and Protection Strategy

The first step most elder care lawyers take is to work with you on a comprehensive asset review and protection strategy. You will detail your assets, income streams, and financial obligations. The primary objective of this asset review is to determine how best to pay for your long-term care. Adjustments to investment portfolios, for example, can increase available income for long-term care expenses. Often, this asset review and protection strategy includes the expertise of a financial advisor who works with your elder law attorney. 

Creating Legal Documentation and Powers

One of the primary functions of long-term care planning is to assemble the necessary paperwork before a crisis arises. Your elder care attorney will ensure that you have the crucial documents in place. Living wills and other advance directives include written legal instructions that set forth the treatment you want for medical situations when you’re unable to make your own decisions. Advance directives guide caregivers and healthcare professionals in situations such as when a person is in a coma, in the late stages of dementia, or near the end of life. And note that these types of advance directives are not just for the elderly – a person at any stage of life might need them. 

• Healthcare Proxy – This is an advance directive in which you designate someone to make medical and healthcare decisions for you when you are unable to do so yourself. In some jurisdictions, this is called a durable power of attorney for healthcare or a medical power of attorney. It’s important to select someone to act as your healthcare agent, as it’s impossible to anticipate all of the emergencies and illnesses that might arise. That person should meet the state requirements to act as your healthcare agent, be someone who is not part of your medical team, and be a person you can trust to make decisions that follow your wishes. Your healthcare agent could be your spouse, your child, a friend, or a member of your faith community.
• Living Will – A living will is a legal document that outlines the medical treatments you would and would not want to receive to keep you alive. A living will also includes your choices for other medical decisions, such as organ donation and pain management. Your elder lawyer will discuss with you such issues as how important it is to you to be independent, and situations that might make you feel your life is not worth living. Your living will should include directions about such issues as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, pacemakers, mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, dialysis, organ and tissue donations, and donating your body. 
• Power of Attorney – A power of attorney is a legal document in which you designate someone to manage your financial affairs in the event you are unable to do so yourself.

Navigating Complex Government Benefits, Including Medicaid

A critical role played by most elder law attorneys is helping you navigate complex government benefits, including Medicaid. Long-term care and medical costs continue to escalate in the United States, and families that are concerned about these costs should start planning ahead. 

There are a number of options to help reduce long-term care costs and protect the assets that your elder care lawyer will discuss with you. Medicaid benefits can cover a significant part of the costs of nursing homes and in-home care. But in order to be eligible for Medicaid, you must be below certain income limits. 

Through the creation of a so-called Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, which is an irrevocable trust, you can protect your assets and ensure that they are not included when the asset calculation for Medicaid eligibility is determined. The assets you can put into this MAPT include your home, your pension, your investments, cash and savings accounts, and other valuable assets. You relinquish control of the assets that you place in the MAPT, but you can continue to live in your home and receive the income from the investments in your portfolio. Preplanning is very important;  if your assets are not put into the MAPT within the required time periods, they will be subject to Medicaid’s five-year “look back” provisions.  

Incorporating Trusts Into Your Long-Term Plan

Because trusts are a powerful tool in long-term planning, your elder lawyer will talk to you about incorporating trusts into your long-term plan. They are a popular estate planning method because of the benefits they offer compared to wills. Specifically, they typically offer more tax benefits and flexibility than a will. 

In addition to a MAPT, trusts that you might consider include:

• Other types of Irrevocable trusts  
• Revocable trusts
• Special Needs trusts
• Irrevocable Life Insurance trusts
• Charitable trusts

To get the benefits of the trust, you must both create the trust and then transfer your assets into the trust. The trustee that you appoint will manage the trust. You must also specify a beneficiary of the trust. Your elder law attorney will help you understand the legal intricacies of these types of trusts and advise you on which of them will work best for your situation.

Contact Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern, LLP

If you take the first steps to working with a Long Island elder lawyer, we think you’ll immediately feel better about your future. Here at Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern, we have a very long history of being leaders in the elder law field – over 100 years, in fact. Contact us today and see how we can help you prepare for your future.

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