Elder Law

As your loved ones become older and lose their financial independence, they can become vulnerable to a number of abusive and predatory behaviors.

Financial exploitation from family members, friends, and even care staff is a common occurrence. Predatory situations can lead to bank accounts being drained and can leave your loved ones destitute after a lifetime of financial planning and saving.

Knowing how to spot predatory situations early on can help prevent financial catastrophes and protect the assets of your older family members.

Elder Abuse — an Epidemic

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, approximately 6 million cases of abuse were reported in 2010.
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Inflation has touched just about every aspect of life. Gas prices, rent, and food costs have soared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Over the past 12 months, inflation has increased by 8.6%, the highest level since December 1981.

The trend is expected to continue, despite efforts to rein in inflation through a historic increase in interest rates.
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Guardianship means that a family member of an elderly parent or relative is placed in a position of higher responsibility to make medical and daily care decisions. The question about who and when to name a guardian for your aging loved ones is a significant one.

Watching a parent age is emotionally difficult. Those who used to provide the care for you now need you to care for them. Under certain circumstances, it may become necessary for you to pursue court-appointed guardianship of your parents.

Moving to a nursing home can be a really big step, but it can also be in the best interests of both an older person with advancing care and assistance needs as well as loved ones that may worry about the older person living on their own. As you move to a nursing home or help a loved one move to a nursing home, the question will probably come up regarding what to do with the house. This is a difficult and delicate issue to address not just because a person’s home holds so much sentimental and personal value. There are also the financial aspects to consider. Here, we will take a look at what to do with your home when moving into a nursing home.

Being able to act as a caregiver to an aging or disabled family member can be a very fulfilling and rewarding endeavor. Family caregivers are able to make family members more comfortable as they age in place at home. While acting as a family caregiver has its own rewards, it can come with pretty substantial financial costs. Many family caregivers have to forego job opportunities or job advancement. Some need to stop working completely to meet the demands of serving as a family caregiver.

Many rely on Medicaid to cover things like the often substantial cost of long-term care. A need-based program, Medicaid benefits are only available to those with limited assets and financial resources that fall below the qualification limits. With proper planning, a person can plan to qualify for Medicaid without having to spend down a lifetime of savings first. Medicaid planning, however, should also take into account Medicaid Payback as Medicaid will seek repayment for benefits distributed from a person’s estate.

Do You Have to Pay Back Medicaid in New York?

Family members morning the loss of a loved one may be more than surprised when they receive notice from the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) that requests payment for benefits their deceased loved one received prior to passing away.

It can be a difficult thing to watch an elderly parent struggle with memory issues. Unfortunately, it can advance to the point where it is safer for your parent to enter into memory care. Those seniors with memory issues, whether it be due to dementia, Alzheimer’s, or something else, can be best served in specialized facilities equipped to handle the complexities associated with caring for a person with memory issues. If you have concerns about when the right time to have your parent move to memory care, here are some signs you can watch for that may signal they are ready for the transition.

Signs Your Elderly Parent May Be Ready for Memory Care

As we age, we may struggle with memory problems.

For many older Americans, driving provides a much needed outlet to the outside world. It helps them remain connected to the community, go to the grocery store, and can come to represent what they may feel is dwindling freedom in their golden years. For these reasons, it can be difficult to talk to your elderly parent about the fact that it may be time for him or her to stop driving. There is likely to come a point where your elderly parent cannot safely operate a vehicle anymore. Despite how difficult giving up driving may be, the safety of your parent and others should be put first.

It can be difficult to watch our parents age. The ones that once cared for our every need may have developed care needs of their own. As parents advance in years, there are unique challenges that will need to be faced and you and your siblings may not be fully prepared to handle it all. It can sometimes feel as though the care demands of your parents seem to have come out of nowhere. When the caregiving demands of your parents escalate to a point where they need a more dedicated caretaker or more comprehensive care, such as moving to a nursing home, getting everybody on board with a decision can be more difficult than you think.

Have you considered trying to disinherit your spouse in your estate plan? While some may not understand why a person would want to do this, it is actually quite common and there can be many reasons behind it. Many, however, will be thwarted in such an attempt to disinherit a spouse because of New York’s Right of Election, also referred to as its elective share law. Here, we will go into more detail about the elective share and its potential implications for your estate plan.

Medicare is a federally administered health insurance program that is primarily for people 65 or older, as well as those below that age threshold that have disabilities, and those with end-stage renal disease. It can be difficult to understand and unravel the complexities of Medicare coverage, but finding the right Medicare coverage can be very important to ensure you are maximizing this resource. Here, we will discuss one aspect of Medicare and that is Medicare Advantage.

What Is Medicare Advantage?

Medicare Advantage is a rather unique Medicare plan as it is a type of Medicare health insurance that is offered by private companies, as opposed to the federal government, that have been approved by Medicare. Also referred to as Medicare Part C plans, it is offered as an alternative to Original Medicare.