Competent Counsel Means a Better Shot at Quality Care
This is Strategy #23 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. If you require nursing home care, you’ll have to choose a facility. Experienced Elder Law attorneys can suggest homes in your area you may want to consider. An established firm […]
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Streamline Your Financial Affairs and Record Keeping
This is Strategy #21 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. Streamline your financial affairs. If you apply for nursing home care either now or in the future, Medicaid will request detailed information about your prior financial transactions. Every one of […]
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Health Care Proxy, not a Living Will.
This is Strategy #20 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. A Health Care Proxy is a legal document that authorizes someone you appoint to make medical and health care decisions for you, if you are unable to do so yourself. These include […]
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Spousal Refusal is a Valid and Useful Strategy.
This is Strategy #19 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. When planning involves a married couple, and one of the spouses needs or will soon need long-term care, it’s critical to understand a concept called “Spousal Refusal.” Under New York […]
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Not Just Any Power of Attorney
This is Strategy #17 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows a trusted person to make decisions for you, even if you lose mental capacity. While many people already have a Power […]
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Analyze Whether to Take the Lump Sum Option
This is Strategy #12 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. If you are approaching retirement, and have an option to receive either a stream of income or a lump sum distribution from a pension or retirement account, it may be […]
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Evaluate Your 401k or IRA Carefully for Medicaid Purposes
This is Strategy #11 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. Medicaid will count your IRA or 401k as an available source of funds to pay for your care unless it is in payout status. “Payout status” means that you are […]
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Cooperative Apartments Require Special Handling.
This is Strategy #10 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. If you currently reside in a co-op and want to implement an asset protection strategy that involves transferring it to a trust, you will need the co-op board’s approval. This […]
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Don’t Fill Out Your Own Medicaid Application
This is Strategy #7 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. Some people think they can save money on legal fees by preparing their own Medicaid applications. However, the application is a complicated document, and a complete application may be thousands […]
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Only hire an Elder Law attorney for Medicaid and long-term care issues.
This is Strategy #6 from Lamson & Cutner’s publication, “25 Strategies to Prevent Financial Ruin from Long-Term Health Care Costs.” Click here to see the other strategies. Medicaid has a maze of complex rules and regulations. Unless they’re Elder Law practitioners, attorneys are generally not well-equipped to provide accurate advice about the Medicaid system and the strategies […]
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