Supporting an Aging Loved One – The Intersection of Elder Care and Elder Law

By Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, LL.M (Taxation), CELA

Getting older is not a simple matter. But it’s possible to navigate the complexities – and still have peace of mind.

Planning is key.

And when you engage professionals familiar with elder care and elder law – and they work well together – that peace of mind comes more easily.

Let’s look at each of those and also see how they intersect.

Elder Law

With federal estate taxes affecting less than 1 percent of the population, the biggest threat to wealth for many families is the cost of long-term care.

Elder law focuses on helping a family prepare legally and financially for providing long-term care for a loved one.

Since each family’s living and care needs situation is different, the costs of long-term care will affect each family differently.

When you work with an elder law attorney, you can learn how best to protect the assets you have in order to make the most of them when it comes time to pay for care.

Your attorney develops an asset protection plan which details the tax and legal issues surrounding long-term care, Medicare and Medicaid. The plan will outline a strategy to preserve your assets, including recommendations regarding asset transfers, updating your estate plan, creating a trust, creating a long-term care plan, guardianship and other issues.

With the asset protection plan in place and with your approval, your attorney can then work with you and other professionals – financial planners, elder care experts and others – to carry out the plan.

Elder Care

The care needs of older people vary considerably based on a number of factors including: their health, the proximity of family members able to lend assistance, and financial resources.

Elder care focuses on determining the care needs of you or your loved one, matching those needs to your financial situation, and identifying resources to meet those needs.

While family members are typically involved in elder care, the degree of their involvement varies from family to family. No matter how involved they are, I recommend engaging Aging Life Care Professionals (gerontologists, geriatric care managers, social workers, registered nurses and others) to assist. They bring deep expertise to both planning and implementing care for older people.

Ideally, you will have the benefit of a Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) – someone with extensive knowledge of both the range of medical and daily care needs of older people as well as the universe of resources available to address those needs.

A GCM can help you develop a personalized care plan for yourself or your loved one. By talking with you and your family, becoming familiar with the care needs of you or your loved one, and taking into account the financial resources you have to provide care, a GCM can create and implement a care plan which:

• Addresses the specific needs of you and your family
• Outlines care options that fit each client’s personality and needs
• Honors the personal wishes and emotional needs of you and your loved ones
• Provides access to a range of services – from transportation to medication management to medical care as well as help with the tasks of daily living, errand services, day-care programs, meal assistance, and dementia support groups
• Recommends affordable changes to a person’s home that will allow them to live at home longer
• When necessary, eases the transition to an appropriate care facility

The Intersection

When Elder Law professionals collaborate with Elder Care professionals, they are able to anticipate the long-term care needs of their clients and design legal, financial and care strategies to assure those needs are met.

In so doing, they help clients before they face a health or financial crisis.

Working together, Elder Law and Elder Care professionals consider the financial assets you have, the location and abilities of your family to assist and/or provide care, as well as your health status and limitations. Developing a care plan which takes all of these factors into account, they work to assure that you have the best possible care as well as the know-how to best preserve your wealth and protect your assets.

In addition, they can help you plan for disability and end-of-life decisions, including a person’s choice of surrogate or health care proxy.

With insight on your financial situation, they can identify housing and care options appropriate both for your needs and financial ability. This includes, for example, exploring your eligibility for Medicaid, reviewing a long-term care insurance policy, and finding an appropriate Medicare plan.

The key to gaining and benefitting from the insights of Elder Care and Elder Law professionals is, of course, communication. Good communication between family members, doctors, and caregivers allows for effective oversight of an elder’s care as well as anticipating changing needs and planning for them.

This post is for general informational purposes only. The specifics of your situation could affect your eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid and the benefits you receive. For a video presentation of this information, please see Supporting an Aging Loved One – The Intersection of Elder Care and Elder Law here. For more detailed information, please visit www.porzioplanning.com or contact us for a free 20 minute telephone consultation.