What are the most common mistakes families make when they are trying to find ways to pay for long-term care? We posted this question to Chris Bratton, attorney and founder of Bratton Law Group, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in the Philadelphia area.
Elder Law without Care is an Incomplete Solution
Elder law attorneys are known for their ability to help families find ways to cope with the high cost of long-term care. Drafting legal documents like Powers of Attorney, creating strategies to protect assets, or securing public benefits like Medicaid or VA Pension Aid & Attendance are just some of the things an elder law attorney can help you do.
What if your family has more problems than just paying for care? What if you need help knowing what care and services your loved one needs, where to find those services, and how to make sure your loved one gets quality care?
Beware the Tech Support Scams
If you’re looking after elderly loved ones who spend time online, watch out for tech support scams that target seniors.
It all starts innocently enough. Your mom gets a phone call or an email from someone claiming that she has a serious problem with her computer, like a virus. They want your mom to pay for tech support services to fix this problem. They ask your mom to pay for these services by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, prepaid card or cash reload card, or using a money transfer app because they know those types of payments can be hard to reverse.
Make the Most of Care Conferences
If you think that a care conference for an elderly loved one is a meeting you can easily skip, Claire Merendino suggest that you think again. As one of the elder care coordinators at Bratton Law Group, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in New Jersey, Claire often runs into family members who don’t understand the purpose of these meetings.
Beware the VA Pension Poachers
By Chris Johnson
Scammers are creative. They come up will all sorts of ways to separate people from their money, especially seniors.
One of the more nefarious scams we’ve encountered lately involves VA pension poaching. These pension poaching organizations reach out to veterans that they think might be eligible for VA pension and aid and attendance benefits.
Is Self-Reliance an Illusion?
By Linda Anderson, CELA
There’s a lot of talk about how divided we are as a nation. Racial, socioeconomic, and political affiliations are just a few of the flash points. Here’s something we often overlook as we’re demonizing the other: we have a few important things in common. No matter our race, gender, class, or political affiliation, we all going to age, and we're all going to die.
When You're Aging Alone
A Pew Research study released in March 2021 reported that 27% of adults ages 60 and older in the U.S. live alone. Another study, conducted in 2016, reported that about 22% of people in the United States will be unsupported as they age.
Can You Afford Long-Term Care
Long-term care costs a fortune. Genworth, a long-term care insurance provider that has been tracking the cost of long-term care, reports that costs have risen dramatically since they began tracking them in 2004. Families are often astounded when they find out how much long-term care can cost, especially when they learn that Medicare benefits are limited for these services. Unless the person has long-term care insurance, they will likely pay for this care out-of-pocket—from savings, home equity and, often, other family members’ assets.
Put Your Oxygen Mask on First!
If you’ve spent any time on a commercial airline, you’ve heard the flight attendant say this during the pre-flight safety briefing: “In the event of an unexpected drop in cabin pressure, put on your own mask first before assisting others.”
Resolve to Stay Healthy in the New Year
Are you a Medicare beneficiary? Is your spouse, your parent, or another elderly loved one on Medicare? If the answer is YES, you need to know about Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit. This is the one time each year when a Medicare beneficiary works with his or her physician to develop a personalized prevention plan and access Medicare’s free preventive screening services.