Q: My friends and I were recently discussing our estate plans, and the subject of powers of attorney came up. It seems that we have different understandings as to what they look like and how they can be used. Can you provide me with a short lesson which I can share with my friends? A. Read Full Article
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Having difficulty keeping on top of your bills? Maybe a daily money manager can help. Daily money managers can assist elderly individuals with handling anything from routine bill-paying to more complicated tasks like filing medical insurance claims. A daily money manager — a member of a relatively new profession that now has its own professional Read Full Article
Having power of attorney over a family member is a big responsibility and sometimes it makes sense to share that responsibility with someone else. But when two people are named co-agents under a power of attorney, conflicts can arise. Unfortunately, if the conflict can’t be resolved, it may be necessary to get a court involved. Read Full Article
Arline Kardasis, Rikk Larsen, Crystal Thorpe, and Blair Trippe. Mom Always Liked You Best: A Guide to Resolving Family Feuds, Inheritance Battles & Eldercare Crises. Elder Decisions. 2011. 123 pages. $14.95 from Amazon (Click on book to order). Making decisions about elderly parents can cause conflict even in the best of families. In this book, Read Full Article
Thinking about a time when you will need help taking care of yourself is not fun. That is why most people put off discussing long-term care until it can’t be ignored. But it is better to start long-term care planning early. Here are some reasons to start planning now: People are living longer and are Read Full Article
When one spouse suffers from dementia, the other spouse often must take over managing the couple’s finances, usually with the help of a power of attorney. But things don’t always go smoothly with financial institutions. Just ask Chicago resident Eva Kripke, who has been handling money matters since her husband, Sidney, was diagnosed with Lewy Read Full Article
Q. My husband has become frail, and his doctor says he may need to go into a nursing home. However, neither of us is happy with that plan. I want to keep him home. Is there a program that might help us? A. Yes. The “Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly” (“PACE”) may Read Full Article
Medicare patients typically receive home care services because it is difficult or impossible for them to leave their homes. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) has now implemented a new Medicare requirement that doctors must meet face-to-face with their patients who are receiving home health care in order for the patient’s home Read Full Article
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will now permit states to extend Medicaid long-term care protections long available to spouses of nursing home residents to same-sex domestic partners as well. While nursing home residents must spend down to $2,000 (or slightly more in some states) of countable assets before Read Full Article
Many people are willing to voluntarily care for a parent or loved one without any promise of compensation. Even so, a growing number of people are entering into caregiver contracts (also called personal service or personal care agreements) with their family members. Having such a contract has many benefits. It rewards the family member doing Read Full Article