Looking after your Parents’ Legal Preparedness

As a child of aging parents you probably have experienced increased duties and a variety of new roles. As you grew up, you were one who was protected and guided but now as your parent’s age, your role has become one of adviser and watchman. It is prudent to develop specific plans and gather documents that enable you to help your parents as the family navigates this new territory.

Long Term Care Planning:

An estimated 70% of our aging population will require some type of long term care. It is also predicted that 40% of our population will need a Nursing Home as they age. This may be include in-home care, living arrangements in an assisted living facility, memory care, or a skilled nursing center. A common belief is that Medicare covers assisted living or residential skilled nursing care. This is not the case, Medicare does not pay for the cost of long term care of our elders. This financial burden falls on long term care policies, family savings or government programs. It is estimated that 75% of families needing long term care will exhaust their personal savings in less than one year of a loved one entering a long term care facility. Long term care policies are often insufficient to meet the rising costs of these services leaving a deficit in order to meet the need of the care recipient. Therefore, it would be helpful to know how much of the person’s assets are at risk and what can be done to protect them. It is possible to preserve family protect assets even after a loved one has entered a nursing home. To discover what can be done in your situation get a report. Click Here.

Power of Attorney:

This document enables you to make decisions and take actions on behalf of your parents. It is important that the Power of Attorney be drafted in such a way so that you are able to use it when needed without unforeseen roadblocks. Several mistakes can occur when drafting this document: omitting language that keeps it effective if one or both of your parents become incompetent, requiring doctors to pronounce someone incompetent which may be difficult to document, and not providing sufficient powers to act on their behalf. The Power of Attorney should not only cover finances but also medical and housing decisions. If no POA is in place and a parent becomes incompetent it may become necessary to have a court appoint a guardian. This can delay action needed and be expensive. It is equally important to have any existing POAs reviewed by an elder law attorney.  Read More.

Advance Medical Directive “Living Will”:

Without a Living Will the medical professional attending to a patient is to presume that a person’s wishes are to receive life preserving medical care such as feeding & nutrition tubes, and CPR. Many people would not want this care if they suffer from terminal condition or if they are in a vegetative condition. A healthcare proxy can also be named to make those decisions should the patient be unable to communicate his/her wishes. Family disputes may arise as to the care the parent wanted if it is not written down. If no Living Will is in place, medical providers may require a court order to discontinue treatments.  Read More.

Medical Records Release:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA is a Federal law imposes liability for the unauthorized sharing of medical information. Medical providers, or their legal departments, may be reluctant to provide this information even to family members without a HIPAA release signed by your parents allowing the information to be shared with you.

Trusts:

Trusts can be drafted to be living documents. This means that the Trustee can have power to manage assets in the Trust without court supervision. For example, a Trustee may need to liquidate stocks or mutual funds to provide for the needs of the parents. A properly drafted Trust will provide the Trustee with these powers. Like a Will, a Trust can also direct how assets are to be distributed after death. Unlike a Will, a Trust does not require court supervision. It also may be designed to protect the assets for the benefit of the heirs.  Learn more.

Will:

Even though a Trust is the cornerstone of most Estate Plans, a Will fills a vital role that no other document can accomplish. A Will can direct to whom unknown assets will be given. For example, it is not unheard of for a person to be entitled to a mineral interest without knowing that they it even existed. Proceeds from these unexpected assets are distributed according to the Will.  More Information.

Location of Documents:

Documents are of little use if they cannot be found or are inaccessible. Therefore, the documents listed above should be kept handy. Services like DocuBank can store these items electronically so that they are available online. In addition to the items listed above, be sure that you know where the following items are kept:
• Life Insurance Policies
• Health Insurance Policies and ID cards
• Military discharge papers
• Prepaid burial arrangements
• Tax Records
• Financial Records

Key Advisers:

It is also a good idea to have the contact information for your parents’ professional advisors. These may include their accountant, financial adviser, clergy, attorney, and insurance agent.

What you should do:

By reading this post you have actually started what is necessary.  The next step should be to gather the documents and have them reviewed by an elder law attorney who is well versed in estate planning, long term care, Medicaid and Veterans Benefits.

Call 405.340.6554 to schedule a time to meet and evaluate your parents situation.