Tag: Elder law

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.

Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about presumptive qualifications for VA Compensation, particularly service during Vietnam, in which veterans are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange if certain disabilities have occurred. At the 6 minute point, Jim talks about services administered through the health side of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the same group that runs the VA hospital.

When qualifications are met, the Department of Veterans Affairs rates the level of disability, from 0 to 100 in increments of 10. The money received is based on that level. Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about the money paid out for VA Compensation. A single, 100% disabled veteran would qualify for $3,332.06/month in 2022, whereas for a married veteran the level is $3,517.84/month. On top of Compensation, a special monthly compensation can also be paid, and the money varies.

This segment focuses on qualifying for the federal program known as VA Compensation. There is special monthly compensation for a veteran or a surviving spouse, child, or parent who has certain disabilities or needs help with at least two activities of daily living: eating, walking, bathing, getting in and out of a bed/chair, cleaning up after going to the bathroom, grooming, dressing. When qualifications are met, the Department of Veterans Affairs rates the level of disability, from 0 to 100 in increments of 10, which is up to the case manager.

If someone in active military service is injured or becomes ill, or has some prior injury or illness exacerbated by their service, and later in life it results in a disability, then they're entitled to VA Compensation. Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of this federal program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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.