Money & Law

We sign all sorts of paperwork when a senior loved one is admitted to a nursing home, assisted living, or memory care community. But often we don't know what we're signing. When a senior living community threatens to discharge or evict a loved one, certain rules apply to those communities that take Medicare or Medicaid, regardless of whether your loved one is using those programs. Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about those rules.

Most nursing home and assisting living agreements have a spot for someone to sign as "resident representative." Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to warn about certain aspects of that. One option is to sign your name with a comma, followed by POA, meaning that you're signing on behalf of your loved one, legally protecting yourself to consequences that can affect you personally.

This segment focuses on aspects of the admissions paperwork that are subject to federal rules when a senior love one comes into a skilled nursing facility.

This hour addresses all the paperwork — legal contracts — involved in a loved one's transition to senior living. Sometimes you're electronically signing your name and initialing a few signature blocks on an iPad, but you aren't shown the 50 related pages that are on the document you just signed. Here are some red flags to watch for in the paperwork. They apply to nursing home, assisted living, and memory care admissions.

If you're applying for Medicaid, what happens if they say you have "too much income?" Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to discuss this interesting scenario. You would need to seek a lawyer, set up a qualified income trust, called a "Miller trust," and then you have to use that trust every month, in order to even qualify for Medicaid.

If you are a married couple, what happens to your income as a Medicaid applicant? Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to answer this question. They must be married; some states recognize common law marriage, others not. The income of the well spouse does not get to be used under Medicaid rules to pay the expenses of the ill spouse.

If you are a single Medicaid applicant, what happens to your income? Almost every dollar is accounted for in the Medicaid rules — where can you expect that money to go? Generally, for a single person, a person's income is used before Medicaid dollars. There are three places where money is usually going to go: 1) your personal needs allowance (spending money); 2) rent if you're in an assisted living community; and 3) health insurance premiums.

Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about how Medicaid and other long-term care situations handle retirees who continue to receive income the rest of their lives. Income payments can come from Social Security retirement benefits, disability benefits, pension payments, VA pension payments, annuity payments, or income from rental properties.

When talking to an elder law attorney, what questions should you ask about spend downs, and what questions you should be prepared to answer? If you have the power of attorney for a senior loved one, how do you start the conversation with the family about their assets, and how do you best navigate this with them? Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne Newman to answer these questions.

How do you take care of your spouse if you need long term care now? What can you do with your money if your spouse is still at home? Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne Newman to answer these questions, by spending down your money to access Medicaid and VA benefits.