Powers of attorney are powerful tools, ones that can be easily misused. We’re often warned that bad things can happen with a financial power: the agent can take all the money. But we’re not often told bad things can happen with medical powers, too. This week, we share a cautionary tale inspired by a client…
A newsletter reader asks: Can you use a health-care power of attorney to admit someone who can’t live at home safely to a care home? The answer, legally, is clear: No, you can’t. The practical answer, however, is probably yes. A health care power of attorney names an agent to make health-care decisions for you…
Do you have a family member in an American nursing home? Or, perhaps, are you looking at the prospect of moving someone to a facility soon? You might reasonably worry about the quality of nursing home care in the U.S. There’s good news (and ambiguous news) about the quality of nursing home care this week.…
AUGUST 5, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 29 Ever signed a loved one into the nursing home? If so, you will recall the pile of forms you were handed. One probably authorized them to take pictures of your family member and use them in promotional material. Another authorized the facility to bill Medicare directly. Another ……
MARCH 16, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 11 A colleague recently asked if we knew why long-term care insurance premiums might be climbing significantly in the next month or so. We didn’t, but it got us thinking about how the industry has changed over the past few years. Is it still a good idea to purchase…
DECEMBER 27, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 40 Kenneth Boyd established a revocable living trust in 2002. He named his daughter Carol Boyd as trustee, and directed that the trust be divided, upon his death, into three shares. One share each was to go to Carol, to Kenneth’s mother Elizabeth Boyd, and to Carol’s son Ben…
MARCH 22, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 10 This week’s Elder Law Issues was written by our friend and Maryland colleague Ron M. Landsman. He describes the resolution of a class lawsuit he initiated in Maryland, challenging that state’s practice of setting Medicaid patients’ co-payment amount too high to allow them to pay nursing home bills incurred…
DECEMBER 28 , 2009 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 66 Contrary to public perceptions, will contests are actually rare. In fact, few wills are written in such a way that anyone would benefit from a contest — most wills leave property to the same people who would inherit if there was no will. When there is a…
NOVEMBER 16, 2009 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 61 Do you wonder what will happen if you are no longer able to live independently? Will you have to “go into a home?” Is a nursing home the only way to go, or are there other living situations that might allow more independence? What will happen to your…
APRIL 27, 2009 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 38 Who has the obligation to get a proper Medicaid application filed for someone in a nursing home? Can the nursing home resident’s children, spouse, guardian or conservator be forced to pay for care after the patient’s money has run out but before the state Medicaid agency receives the…