Questions About Elder Care Attorneys

Miss Ripper

King Boo - Thank you for your info. There are 11 CELA attorneys in the same town as the one who wants $9,000.00. The reason I chose her is because all three of the local attorneys in my town recommended her. All of this is keeping my stomach in an uproar and losing sleep. The worst part is we do not yet need my DH to be in a nursing facility, but were advised to get things ready ahead of time. There's the possibility that he may never have to be put in one. But that's an unknown that is also very scary.

King Boo

Good luck.

Recommendations are OK - but sometimes beneath things, there are reasons why they refer to each other.  Plus, even if it was by referral, it doesn't mean there is a more reasonable, equally skilled CELA.

Just some food for thought.  

We are all very vulnerable with such responsibility and demands on our time.  to be honest, my well was pretty empty, and I almost hired the highway robbery CELA.    I needed to have at least a second opinion - and it was good I did.   I spent plenty more money with my chosen CELA for more problems, but along the way, I had piece of mind.  And still spend less than that original one.

We do what we can.  

Safta

I don't do Medicaid qualification, but am a lawyer who does other related things. Please don't do this yourself, because the last thing you need is to find out when you need to apply for Medicaid that you're not eligible because of the way things have been done. Also, when you pick a new lawyer (clearly you shouldn't use one you don't have confidence in) make sure that a significant part of that lawyer's practice is in elder law, including Medicaid, Veteran's Aid and Attendance benefits, etc. Check the lawyer out. Lawyers who are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys need to take special courses in this area. Some lawyers buy forms but don't have the expertise or experience to do it right. Next, understand that Medicaid qualification is different from state to state, so if friends give you advice on what worked for them, but they don't live in your state, it might not work for you. Also, be sure that you understand that the goal is is to convert what you have to spend to qualify into what you can keep and still qualify. You might not need to apply for Medicaid, and you might not be comfortable with the restrictions on the assets -- many of the changes needed for qualification are changes that can't easily be changed again. Another issue is that laws change over time, including Medicaid qualification laws. One final thought - if your DH needs to be in a memory unit at some point, rather than at home, there is no guaranty that he will be able to return to the nice one you picked out at first if he is hospitalized. They may not be required to hold the bed.

Like you, I hope I can handle things at home. Find a lawyer in your area who has the skills to do what you need and is a good explainer, and reasonably priced. You might get some good suggestions from others in your town, or your DH's neurologist, social workers, etc.

Lp57$

Hi I have been reading a lot of the info everyone has given to Miss Ripper and everyone else.  I do have a question though?  Everything we own is in my name with the exception of our checking and savings account. We already have wills and POAs for each other, is there anything else I need to protect?  I am so new at the this, my DH is in the early stages of this, and I have so appreciated all the great advice everyone has given to help me out. Thank you LP

elruth

My DH is soon to be 91 and I am 81. He is at the moderate dementia stage. I would make sure your wills do not have him as your POA since he is no longer able to do that. We redid our wills last year for that reason.

Maybe I am living in a fools paradise but I am not going to an elder care attorney. I am changing our CDs into my name only. We are not dealing with a lot of money and total assets are around $ 300,000.00. His meager IRAs are $ 22,000.00 so I figure that would take care of 2 months in a facility. I believe Medicaid only allows one to go to a skilled nursing facility and does not cover memory care facilities.

If and when I can no longer care for him I plan to go to the social services in our area and have them help me apply for Medicaid. Maybe people with a lot of assets or trusts need to go to an elder care attorney but for my financial situation I sure don't want to fork over thousands to an elder care attorney. We have all the documents in place....wills, POA, health care etc etc.

Crushed

Folks

Moving assets to your own name may be very useful for some purposes but it has no effect whatever on MEDICAID qualification

"When one spouse of a married couple applies for long-term care Medicaid, the value of both spouses' assets are considered for eligibility purposes. For liquid assets, such as bank accounts, stocks and savings, it does not matter if the asset is held in a joint account with both names or in separate accounts with only one name. All accounts are counted. As an example:

Joe and Sue are married and Sue is applying for Medicaid and Joe is not. Joe has an account in only his name with $25,000. Sue has an account in only her name with $50,000. Joe and Sue also have a third, joint account in both names, with $75,000. Therefore, from Medicaid’s perspective, Sue has assets valued at $150,000 ($25K + $50K + $75K = $150K).

For non-liquid assets, such as homes or property, it does not matter which name or names are on the deed. All property assets of married couples are considered to be joint assets by Medicaid even if only one name is on the deed."

https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/medicaid/joint-assets-impact-eligibility

  

elruth

Thanks, Crushed for this info. I mistakenly thought changing CDs to my own name would help. So much for the info I got from the lady at the bank! I thought the 5 yr rule would apply to CDs but I guess not. Not sure how an elder care attorney would help to handle finances in such  a way that an  investment would not be considered as part of overall assets. I think I read about certain annuities where you put in a hunk of money and then get paid each month.

Crushed

Medicaid planning costs about $1000 for every hundred thousand dollars you wish to protect. 

People in banks, nursing homes, hairdresssers, pool halls. churches, grocery stores, bars, parks, bowling alleys or public toilets know NOTHING about medicaid planning. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM

Medicaid planning is the domain of some lawyers, some social workers and some finanical planners.   NOBODY ELSE.People who would not cut their own hair think they can do their own medicaid planning. 

The critical thing is often to have enough money set aside  to place a person privately for long enough to qualify for a Medicaid bed in the same facility 

Quilting brings calm

Crushed 

Thank you for your info on the various bank  accounts. That’s exactly the situation my parents have. They started out with two joint checking accounts.  When Mom got sick, they added myself and my sister to one so we could deal with the bills etc. However we ended up having to move them back to our home state due to her rapid decline. Family drama ensued.  Dad said he wasn’t coming and as we headed out of town with her, he went to the bank and transferred most of the money $40,000+ in that account to one in his name only. Left only $1000 in it A couple of days later he showed up, unrepentant,  Sill keeping that account 18 months later. The story varies as to why he did it - it’s either he didn’t trust us or he thought he could keep Medicaid from getting it later. He pays for certain things out of it - only those that he feels like though. Like his health insurance ( which isn’t automated). 

The original joint account still exists and its where the automated deposits and bill payments occur. The account stays pretty consistently $1000.   When Mom  got better ( turned out to be undiagnosed urosepsis), I drove  her to the bank in our  home state where the other joint account was.  I sat back quietly and had her tell the banker what she wanted - an account in her name only.  She ( and I) were afraid he would pull the same trick  here and leave her with no money to access.  Until she got well enough for this step, I had no way to access funds for her since the other account had limited funds and I didn’t have access to this second joint account. The banker suggested that she put my name on it too.  Good thing - it’s how I have been buying their groceries and other supplies while they’ve been restricted in the ASL for a year due to the pandemic.  Dad refused to pay for them,  He thought I was somehow turning water into wine from the $1000 account and managing to buy groceries out of it.  There isn’t enough money in there for extras. 

Anyway. I’ve been worried about Medicaids’ opinion  on what Mom did, since she is the one that will probably need Medicaid first. Thought maybe it would be looked at differently than a joint account in both their names.   The money is theirs jointly and I want Dad to be able  to live with dignity ( and without needing money from me) after she goes to a nursing home. So it’s good to know that they will look at all three accounts together and then apply the states community spouse rule. 

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