CELA Questions

FAHNJL

DW and I are meeting with a CELA this week. I know we need wills and POAs, but what other questions should we be asking? If you've seen a CELA, what questions did you ask? What questions do you wish you had asked?

Thanks.

M5M

If you are doing this for Medicaid eligibility and have financial assets in an annuity or IRA or some of the more complex assets, alert your CELA and also talk w your financial advisor.…. some assets are exempt from Medicaid anyway or might have impact on whether you create a trust for assets.

However, the CELA has several other items to complete such as wills, power of attorney etc. …the POAs are very important. Also ask for paper and digital copy of all work. I have already used POA in adjusting a savings account.

Jeanne C.

I would definitely ask about longterm care Medicaid and trusts. I never would have thought we'd be eligible but we are! Your CELA will be an expert on the rules for your state and it's a good idea to get your plan in place while it IS NOT a crisis situation. Good luck with everything and good job being on top of this.

Jo C.

All good ideas. You may want to have a private conversation re if or when she becomes unable to make decisions for herself; if it goes beyond a DPOA; if she fights that, what do you do and also about applying for Guardianship should that ever become necessary. None of us expect such things to happen, but sometimes it does.

If her name is on the Deed to your house and on financial documents, you may want to address those topics either with her if that is doable or alone if it would upset her.

Does she have Advance Directives; if not, you may want to discuss that while she is still able to do so.

If she already has DPOA for you, then you will want to remake yours since she will lose competency.

J.

Ed1937

This may not pertain to your situation, but I'll tell you what we did. Not knowing what might be brought up at the meeting, I left my wife home, while taking one of our daughters with me for the initial meeting. That worked out very well because we could talk freely, without the possibility of upsetting my wife. All of our questions were answered. It couldn't have worked out better.

Anna2022

This is my experience: I went by myself to the CELA, without my DH. He has anosognosia, so he has no insight that we might prepare for this future. It was a productive meeting, well worth the time. The CELA provided information about financing care in Texas. It gave me great peace of mind to know the options. Afterwards, DH and I both went to our lawyer to re-do our wills, POA, directives, HIPAA docs, etc. DH was ok with seeing our lawyer as we needed to update wills anyway. Some people have the CELA prepare all these docs, but it was easier to access our existing lawyer for the docs as it was less confusing for DH. Getting our legal papers done has been a very good thing, something I learned about doing early on in this forum. In fact, most of what I've learned about the dementias has started from reading here.

SDianeL

A good CELA attorney will ask you the right questions and prepare the appropriate documents. DPOA & Healthcare POA & Advance Directives (living will) plus wills are necessary. You could also ask about other financial things but I would get the important documents done first.

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PaulaT

We are in the early stages but I don't think my husband is cognitive enough to discuss these things. How do you handle these legal aspects if your spouse isn't able to discuss or even understand.

Ed1937

Paula, it sounds like you need to see a CELA just as soon as possible. No time to lose.

Jeanne C.

@PaulaT I suggest meeting with the CELA alone first, get the info together that she/he needs to complete the documents and then bring your spouse in to sign. Your attorney will be able to walk you through it, including the competence to sign.

Vitruvius

In the event you pass away before your DW it may be advantageous to have your finances in a trust with your DW as beneficiary but not a trustee. Especially if you have children who can be a trustee. I don't know how this would be dealt with if there is a possibility of Medicaid eligibility, so this should be discussed with the CELA. The trust also avoids probate and makes the money available to the trustee without delay for the benefit of your DW.

FAHNJL

Update: DW and I saw a CELA today, and I am totally relieved. Though I had read and researched for weeks, talking with a CELA made me realize exactly how much I DIDN'T know. The CELA is going to handle everything for us. I'm so glad we found her.

CELAs aren't easy to find. A lot of lawyers hold themselves out as elder law experts, but there are actually very few that are certified. Here in Texas, there are only 31 of them, and one of them practices 20 miles from our house.

Thanks for a of your input.

Ed1937

Glad you got that taken care of. It's like someone took a load of weight off your shoulders, isn't it? I agree if you can find one who is certified, you're better off. Any lawyer can say they practice elder law, but that doesn't mean they are up to date on things.

FAHNJL

Yes, Ed, it is a tremendous weight off my shoulders. This is something nobody should try to handle alone or with their neighbor the bankruptcy lawyer. 😂

I cannot recommend enough finding a CELA.