Eldergreen
Alzheimer’s Awareness Month: The Costs of Dementia
November was Alzheimer’s disease and Awareness month. It’s the perfect time to educate people about the disease of Alzheimer’s (and other dementias) and the effects of the disease on its victims and their loved ones. In this edition of the ElderCounselor™, we are going to focus on the high costs associated with long term care and dementia during the final years.
Why We Fail To Plan for Long-Term Care
Most Americans do not know, or refuse to accept, the facts surrounding their potential need for long-term care and the costs associated with it. This was reconfirmed recently in a telephone survey of 1,735 Americans over the age of 40, funded by the SCAN Foundation and conducted by the Associated Press (AP) – NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (“survey”)1. This survey highlights many of the misconceptions Americans have about long-term care, including: the potential that a loved one may need some sort of long-term care within the next five (5) years; lack of knowledge of the positive impact …
Updates in the Special Needs Planning Area
The special needs community and its advocates are making headway as of late. Last month, the IRS proposed regulations for the new state-sponsored ABLE accounts. In addition, the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act was reintroduced to Congress earlier this year and appears to be making progress. As advocates for those with special needs, we celebrate these minor, but important accomplishments and can use them as inspiration as we continue to fight for the rights of this special community.
Veterans Service Pension Benefits and Pending Legislation
As a nation we celebrated Veterans Day recently to honor our service men and women. We hope you enjoyed gathering with friends and family with a grateful heart towards our military men and women. In keeping with this theme, the ElderCounselorTM will focus our attention this month on Service Pension benefits, which are available to qualifying Veterans. This is a valuable benefit that many Veterans and their families are unaware exists. The law providing this benefit is facing potential legislative changes. In this newsletter, we will provide an overview of the benefit as well as an outline and status …
An Overview of the Defense of Marriage Act Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a historic decision in U.S. v. Windsor that could have far-reaching effects on seniors, persons with disabilities, and veterans who are married to, or plan to marry, a person of the same gender. This edition of the ElderCounselor™ will provide an overview of the decision and how it may affect Medicaid recipients in a same-sex marriage.
Overview of U.S. v. Windsor:
An historical decision by the U.S. Supreme Court came down on June 26, 2013, declaring unconstitutional a portion of the Federal law commonly known as the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”). In this case, Edith Windsor, …
An Overview of Long Term Care Planning Options
One of the greatest concerns for the elderly we serve and their families is that of long term care planning. Two-thirds of seniors will need care at some point in their life and many have not planned for this likelihood. It is an emotional and unpleasant topic to broach, but helping those we serve to plan ahead empowers them. This issue of the ElderCounselor™ newsletter will focus on information necessary to assist elderly in making decisions that will likely eventually affect them and their loved ones.
Plan Ahead
According to the Centers for Disease …
VA Service-Connected Disability Compensation
The Veterans Administration provides an important benefit program for veterans who have service-connected disability. The program is called “Compensation” and is different from the non-service-connected “Pension” program that elder law attorneys often discuss with wartime veteran clients or their surviving spouses. Like the pension program, VA compensation comes in the form of income-tax-free money payments to the veteran, who must have received a discharge other than dishonorable, or certain of their family members. The big difference from the pension program, however, is that VA compensation entirely flows from the linkage between the veteran’s disability and his or …
The Top 10 Benefits of a Comprehensive Power of Attorney
The benefits of a highly detailed, comprehensive power of attorney are numerous. Unfortunately, many powers of attorney are more general in nature and can actually cause more problems than they solve, especially for our senior population. This issue of the ElderCounselor e-newsletter is intended to highlight the benefits of a comprehensive, detailed power of attorney. A proper starting point is to emphasize that the proper use of a power of attorney as an estate planning and elder law document depends on the reliability and honesty of the appointed agent.
What is a ‘Power of Attorney’?
The agent under a power of …
