Try: Pay a visit to your friend or relative and try to get a feel for how he is caring for him or herself focusing on things like food are they able to prepare nutritious meals are the refrigerator and pantry stocked with food medical care is the senior taking all medications in the right dosages and at the correct time are they able to fill their own prescriptions at the drug store can they get to doctor appointments or to the lab do they remember and attend doctor appointments home care is the home relatively clean is the kitchen clean and food stored safely is clutter posing a safety hazard finances are there piles of mail around the house are bills lying around driving ability is the person able to drive safely information references "long-distance caregiving for elders " available at www nolo com

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Maintenance, Medical Physical, Personal

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Keywords: Self care independence finances grocery shopping home upkeep

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #will the agent provide you with a sample policy # is the policy a group certificate type or an individual policy #is the policy tax qualified #are the benefit triggers clearly spelled out #does the policy cover homemaker services #how does my health history affect the cost of the insurance #is your agent or broker certified in long care cltc and do they offer a choice of companies information references "long term care insurance " available at

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Medical Physical

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Keywords: Insurance long term care

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Many people think that estate plans are for the very wealthy but as the following list makes clear estate planning is for everyone regardless of age or net worth # loss of capacity what if you become incompetent and unable to manage your own affairs without a plan the courts will select the person to manage your affairs with a plan you pick that person through a power of attorney # dying without a will who will inherit your assets without a plan your assets pass to your heirs according to your state state’s laws of intestacy dying without a will your family members and perhaps not the ones you would choose will receive your assets without benefit of your direction or of trust protection with a plan you decide who gets your assets and when and how they receive them # blended families what if your family is the result of multiple marriages without a plan children from different marriages may not be treated as you would wish with a plan you determine what goes to your current spouse and to the children from a prior marriage or marriages # children with special needs without a plan a child with special needs risks being disqualified from receiving medicaid or ssi benefits and may have to use his or her inheritance to pay for care with a plan you can set up a supplemental needs trust that will allow the child to remain eligible for government benefits while using the trust assets to pay for non-covered expenses # keeping assets in the family would you prefer that your assets stay in your own family without a plan your child child’s spouse may wind up with your money if your child passes away prematurely if your child divorces his or her current spouse half of your assets could go to the spouse with a plan you can set up a trust that ensures that your assets will stay in your family and for example pass to your grandchildren # financial security will your spouse and children be able to survive financially without a plan and the income replacement provided by life insurance your family may be unable to maintain its current living standard with a plan life insurance can mean that your family will enjoy financial security # retirement accounts do you have an ira or similar retirement account without a plan your designated beneficiary for the retirement account funds may not reflect your current wishes and may result in burdensome tax consequences for your heirs although the rules regarding the designation of a beneficiary have been eased considerably with a plan you can choose the optimal beneficiary # business ownership do you own a business without a plan you don’t name a successor thus risking that your family could lose control of the business with a plan you choose who will own and control the business after you are gone # avoiding probate without a plan your estate may be subject to delays and excess fees depending on the state and your assets will be a matter of public record with a plan you can structure things so that probate can be avoided entirely information references "10 reasons to create an estate plan now" 2010 available at

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Legal

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Keywords: Estate planning probate financial planning money assets

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: The amount of coverage depends in part on what you need and in part on what you can afford as a general guide you should not spend more than 5 to 10 percent of your income both earned and unearned on long-term care insurance premiums in terms of the size of the daily benefit you purchase it should make up in the shortfall between your income and the average cost of nursing home care in your area if you’re between the ages of 50 to 65 consider lifetime benefits with compound inflation options if you’re 65 to 75 think about a six-year or lifetime benefit period with simple inflation options those older than 75 years old should consider buying more daily benefit for as long a period as they can afford information references "long term care insurance " available at

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Medical Physical

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Keywords: Insurance long term care

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: A trust is a legal arrangement where one person or an institution like a bank or law firm called a trustee holds legal title to property for another person called a beneficiary if you have been appointed the trustee of a trust there are several responsibilities to keep in mind fiduciary responsibility as a trustee you are held to a very high standard meaning that you must pay even more attention to the trust investments and disbursements than you would for your own accounts carefully read the trust both now and when any questions come up you must follow the trust’s directions about when and how to distribute income and principal or what reports you need to make to beneficiaries your investment decisions should be prudent meaning that you cannot place money in risky investments in addition your investments must take into account the interests of both current and future beneficiaries for instance you may have a current beneficiary who is entitled to income from the trust he or she would be best off in most cases if you invested the trust funds to generate as much income as possible however this may be detrimental to the interest of later beneficiaries who would be happiest if you invested for growth in addition to balancing the interests of the various beneficiaries you must consider their future financial needs does a trust beneficiary anticipate buying a house or going to school will she be depending on the trust income for retirement in 15 years all of these questions need to be considered in determining an investment plan for the trust only then can you start considering the pros and cons of individual investments where you have a choice on whether or not to make distributions to a beneficiary you need to evaluate his current needs his future needs his other sources of income and your responsibilities to other beneficiaries before making a decision and all of these considerations must be made with the size of the trust in mind often the most important role of a trustee is the ability to say no and set limits on the use of the trust assets one of your jobs as trustee is to keep track of all income to distributions from and expenses by the trust in most cases you must give an account of this information to the beneficiaries every year check the terms of the trust to be sure depending on the type of trust the trustee may have to file a tax return and pay any taxes related to the trust to make things easier keep good accounting records and ask a trusted accountant to prepare the tax returns for you depending on the type and size of the trust it may be helpful to get help from professionals such as accountants lawyers and bookkeepers to help manage your job as a trustee you can’t pass on the responsibility as trustee to someone else but you can hire others to advise you and help maintain the financial records just make sure that you maintain good communication with those that you hire trustees are entitled to reasonable fees for their services banks trust companies and law firms typically charge a percentage of the funds under management others may charge for their time in general what what’s reasonable depends on the work involved the amount of funds in the trust other expenses paid out by the trust the professional experience of the trustee and the overall expenses for administering the trust in any case it makes sense to consult with a professional experienced with trust work who can guide you on what would be a reasonable fee information references "a brief overview of a trustee trustee’s duties" 2008 available at

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Legal

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Keywords: Trusts finance trustee

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: One of the best ways to find an attorney is through a personal recommendation from a friend relative or co-worker or from another attorney whom you know and trust a good way to get a personal recommendation is to attend a caregiver support group another good place to get a recommendation is through the local area agencies on aging another way of locating an attorney is through the local bar association in your community after describing your needs you will be referred to the most appropriate specialist initial consultations generally include a nominal fee be sure to check the qualifications of an attorney and to make calls to compare fees and experience also keep in mind that laws vary from state to state types of attorneys most attorneys concentrate on one or two areas of law some attorneys are certified specialists for example an attorney can be a certified specialist in taxation estate planning probate or elder law it is especially important for a caregiver to find an attorney who has the appropriate expertise attorneys advising caregivers on planning for long-term care should have knowledge of the following areas of law medicaid laws and regulations social security trusts special needs trusts conservatorships durable power of attorney for health care and asset management tax income estate and gift planning housing and health care contracts attorneys often do not know about all of the above-mentioned areas in the case of a personal injury two attorneys may be needed, one to litigate an accident settlement and another to help plan for long-term financial or health care needs preparing for a legal consultation before contacting an attorney a caregiver may find it useful to familiarize him or herself with areas of the law related to the situation for example caregivers who are interested in the durable power of attorney for health care should think about what type of life-sustaining procedures they would want used in the case of a serious illness in addition it may be helpful to identify a first second and third choice of a family member or a trusted friend to make personal health care and financial decisions in the event the care recipient isn’t able to do this items to bring to the consultation list of major assets real estate stocks cash jewelry insurance etc any documents of title e g copies of deeds stock certificates loan papers etc which show who the owners are and how title is held contracts or other legally binding documents lists of all major debts existing wills or durable powers of attorney bank statements passbooks cds showing who the owners are and how title is held resources for finding an attorney family caregiver alliance american bar association aba national association of area agencies on aging national academy of elder law attorneys national health lawyers association national senior citizens law center information references "finding an attorney" by family caregiver alliance available at

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Legal

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Keywords: Attorney legal advice power of attorney estate planning health care directive trusts

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Patient-centered care nursing home residents and family members have more power than they may realize to determine the kind of care they receive federal law allows patients and families to play a role in developing a care plan and nursing home staff to make reasonable adjustments to honor patients’ preferences for example restraints and feeding tubes can only be used as last resorts mood drugs must be prescribed for treatment of specific conditions, not to make treatment more convenient for nursing home staff residents and caregivers should also be aware that nursing home staff may try to limit the amount of care they provide or use methods to make the staff’s lives easier admission some nursing homes may try to lure family members into taking financial responsibility for the resident’s care as a condition of admission during the admission process a nursing home may ask a family member to sign as a "responsible party" without explaining the term the family member may think he is serving as an emergency contact but the contract’s small print reveals the responsible party is liable for expenses it is important for family members to know that federal law makes it illegal for a nursing home ftorequire a family member to take the financial burden of care family members should not hesitate to refuse to sign such a provision especially if the resident is already occupying a room medicare medicare is not a comprehensive health insurance program it only allows for limited reimbursement for nursing home care often payment depends on a link to hospital care and is limited to situations where residents enter the nursing home within 30 days after a hospital stay of at least three nights medicare will not pay for custodial care such as medication administration medicare kicks in only if the resident needs skilled nursing or rehabilitation services if the nursing home decides it will not bill medicare for the resident’s care it must give the resident written notice however residents are not bound by these decisions and can insist the facility submit a bill to medicare medicaid nursing homes rely on medicaid reimbursement for half of their revenues but medicaid tends to pay lower rates than do private payers or medicare because of this nursing homes may try to provide second-class treatment to medicaid recipients but federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on his medicaid status under the nursing home reform law nursing homes "must establish and maintain identical policies and practices regarding transfer discharge and the provision of services under the state medicaid plan for all individuals regardless of source of payment " eviction the demand for nursing home beds can be high so some nursing home facilities may try to evict residents they view as difficult eviction is only allowed for six reasons failure to pay a resident no longer needs nursing home care a resident’s needs cannot be met in a nursing home a resident is endangering others’ safety a resident is endangering others’ health the facility is going out of business the facility must give written notice of the eviction to the resident usually within 30 days of the discharge the nursing home must also provide facts supporting its decision to evict someone the notice must include telephone numbers of the nursing home inspection and licensing authorities and instructions about how to appeal an eviction decision information references "twenty common nursing home problems and the laws to resolve them by e carlson 2006 clearinghouse review journal of poverty law and policy jan feb 39 9-10 pages519-33

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial, Legal, Medical Physical

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Keywords: Nursing home legal medicare medicaid health care housing patients’ rights

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Is a reverse mortgage right for you in general a reverse mortgage converts home equity into cash in several different ways these include monthly payments an equity line of credit a one-time payout or a combination of these options the amount a person can borrow depends on his her age the value of the home current interest rates and loan fees reverse mortgages have several advantages and disadvantages that are discussed below advantages of reverse mortgages allows the homeowner to stay in the home can pay off existing mortgages on the home simple to qualify for because no minimum credit score and generally no income requirements no monthly mortgage payments are due for as long as the homeowner lives in the home and meets requirements for maintenance and paying property taxes and insurance the homeowner receives payments on flexible terms can use as a credit line for emergencies can use to receive monthly cash payments can choose to receive a lump sum payment the total amount can choose to receive a combination of payouts a reverse mortgage can not get "upside down" so the heirs will never be required to pay back more than the home is sold for heirs inherit the home and keep any remaining equity after the balance of the reverse mortgage is paid off loan proceeds are not taxable the interest rate may be lower than traditional mortgages and home equity loans disadvantages of reverse mortgage the fees on a reverse mortgage are the same as a traditional fha mortgage but are higher than a conventional mortgage because of the insurance cost the largest costs are fha mortgage insurance origination fee the loan balance gets larger over time and the value of the estate inheritance may decrease over time the loan balance gets larger over time and the value of the estate inheritance may decrease over time although social security and medicare are not affected medicaid and other need-based government assistance can be affected if too much funds are withdrawn and not spent in one month the program is not well understood by most individuals however reverse mortgage counseling may help a person make a better decision about using a reverse mortgage information references adapted from carole moore 2009 "pros and cons of reverse mortgages " available at www bankrate com adapted from lisa dunn "reverse mortgages pros and cons "available at www caring com

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Categories: Sage, Topic, Financial

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Keywords: Reverse mortgage finances money home equity

*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Medicare part b provides wide-ranging coverage for preventative care enrollees are covered for a preventative physical examination during their first year the initial examination is intended for the physician to promote overall health and wellness including education and counseling the initial examination also includes "end-of-life planning " the purpose of which is give the patient information about his ability to make advance directives or determine certain health care decisions additionally part b also covers a wide array of preventative exams for example covered tests include mammograms prostate cancer screening pap smears and pelvic examinations among others medicare part b coverage also includes an annual wellness visit aimed at prevention and detection information references

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Categories: Financial, Legal, Medical Physical

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*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: If medicare’s requirements for skilled nursing facility snf are met medicare part a will provide a certain amount of coverage per spell of illness medicare part a covers up to 100 days of snf care per spell of illness the first 20 days of the stay in snf are covered by medicare medicare covers all costs during this period medicare only provides partial coverage after the first 20 days during days 21-100 the beneficiary must make a copayment equal to one-eighth of the initial hospital deductible 141 50 a day in 2011 however this copayment is generally covered by medigap policies if the individual has one after day 100 medicare part a provides no snf coverage information references

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Categories: Financial, Medical Physical

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*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed