The Special Legal Needs of People Over 50
Have you thought about how you or your parents will pay for long-term care in the event of a serious illness? Ideally, everyone over age 50 has an elder care strategy to protect their home and their hard-earned savings from the catastrophic costs of long-term health care.
That’s a major focus for the attorneys at Cipparone & Zaccaro—the Medicaid planning needs and concerns of people over fifty.
What do we mean by an eldercare strategy? Simply put, it means taking certain legal steps right now to make sure your or your parent’s home and savings will be protected if long-term medical care or nursing home care is needed in the future.
It’s important to start this planning early, long before it’s actually needed—especially if Medicaid will be part of the plan. But wherever you are in the planning process, we will help you or your parents find a way to pay for long-term care.
How Do You or Your Parents Pay for Nursing Home Care?
The cost of nursing home care in Connecticut is shocking. It costs an average of $11,000 per month depending on the nursing home. That is $132,000 per year! Have you thought about how you or your parents would pay this kind of expense?
What Are Some Typical Payment Options for Long-Term or Nursing Home Care:
- Pay privately, from your savings or retirement funds
- Purchase long-term care insurance
- Apply for Veterans’ benefits
- Apply for Medicaid benefits
But only about 10% of Americans over age 55 have long-term care insurance and less than 5% receive Veterans’ benefits. And let’s face it: most Americans don’t have the depth of savings to cover the expenses for a long-term medical condition or support a 2-year stay in a nursing home.
What’s the Alternative to Paying Out of Pocket?
For many elders, it’s public programs like Medicaid. But qualifying can be complicated.
Our attorneys can help design a Medicaid plan that will pay for your or your parents’ medical expenses while preserving the home—so the “community spouse” (the person still living in the home while his or her spouse is receiving nursing home care) won’t have to sell it to pay for their spouse’s care. A well-designed plan also preserves savings and investments.
The rules for Medicaid eligibility are strict. Because our Medicaid planning attorneys know the rules and laws and strategies, we’ll show you how to preserve your parents’ home and savings—and make sure they’re eligible for Medicaid benefits in the future (and avoid penalties for [INSERT REASON THEY’D FACE A PENALTY).
Our Attorneys Have Helped Many Clients Qualify for Medicaid Benefits and Preserve Their Personal Assets Along the Way.
You can rely on us to do the same for your family. Contact us to schedule a meeting with one of our Elder Law attorneys. They’re compassionate, knowledgeable people who will guide your family through the process, including:
- A review of all public benefit programs that you and your elderly loved ones might tap into to pay for long-term care.
- Discussing strategies that will protect assets like a home and savings.
- A valuation of their stocks, bonds, automobile, and residence.
- An evaluation of your parents’ existing Will, Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and Trust.
If You or Your Elders Retain One of Our Attorneys to Develop a Medicaid Plan, We’ll:
- Explain the complicated state and federal rules covering Medicaid eligibility.
- Advise you on the spend-down process and permissible transfers that will avoid costly penalty periods.
- Help with complicated Medicaid applications.
- Stick with you or your parents until you or they become eligible for public benefits.
- Provide regular updates and be responsive to your questions and theirs by e-mail or telephone.
- Prepare their wills, living wills, durable powers of attorney, trusts, and other legal documents, with their specific long-term needs in mind.
- Help re-title their real estate, brokerage accounts, and other assets.
- Help them change their beneficiaries on life insurance, annuities, and retirement plans.
- Tell you and your parents—up front and clearly—how our fees work.
If you don’t plan early, a long-term illness in the family could devastate your financial security. How much can your family afford to lose?
Download our Medicaid Planning Questionnaire and call today to schedule your Medicaid planning consultation.
