When hiring a caregiver, it is important to put the contract in writing. Courts can be especially strict about requiring contracts when caregivers are relatives, but a formal agreement is still necessary even if the caregiver is not a relative. A recent Michigan court ruling illustrates how ...
In recent years a number of non-lawyers have started businesses offering Medicaid planning services to seniors. While using one of these services may be cheaper than hiring a lawyer, the overall costs may be far greater. Medicaid Planning Services If you use a non-lawyer to do Medicaid planni...
With the presidential election only a week away, it is important for voters to know the candidates' positions on issues like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Social Security President Trump has issued an executive order deferring payroll (including Social Security) taxes until the ...
Every adult is assumed to be capable of making his or her own decisions unless a court determines otherwise. If an adult becomes incapable of making responsible decisions, the court will appoint a substitute decision-maker, usually called a "guardian," but called a "conservator" or another te...
If someone you love becomes mentally incapacitated and is incapable of making responsible decisions, the Circuit Court in the city or county where your loved one resides will appoint a substitute decision-maker for your loved one, called a "guardian" with respect to his or her health care, and a "conservator," with respect to his or her finances. Guardianship and Conservatorship is a legal relationship between a competent adult (the "guardian" or “conservator”) and a person who because of incapacity is no longer able to take care of his or her own affairs (the "ward").
The coronavirus pandemic has forced nursing homes to place a number of restrictions on their residents. These constraints are having the unintended consequence of making it more difficult for nursing home residents to vote. Hundreds of thousands of nursing home and assisted living community resid...
An Update on COVID-19 from Virginia Medicaid The following announcement, published 3/20/2020, is from the Virginia Department of Medical and Assistance Services. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) is working with Governor Northam, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH...
What Can You Do to Protect Your Loved One in a Nursing Home During the Pandemic? As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable to the disease. How can you try to ensure that your loved one stays healthy? The first thing you can do is res...
The Trump Administration Allows States to Choose Medicaid Block Grants The Trump administration has unveiled a plan to allow states the option to cap Medicaid spending using block grants. While this change does not directly affect nursing home residents on Medicaid and is billed as a way to impro...
Medicare and Medicaid Will Cover Coronavirus Testing With coronavirus dominating news coverage and creating alarm, it is important to know that Medicare and Medicaid will cover tests for the virus. The department of Health and Human Services has designated the test for the new strain of coronavi...
Make Sure You Are Counted in the 2020 Census The 2020 census is starting soon, and seniors need to be counted. This may be more of a challenge this year because for the first time, the census will be completed largely online. The U.S Constitution mandates that the federal government conduct a cen...
How Secure Is Social Security? For years people have been worried about Social Security's future, but what is the actual outlook? According to the federal government, unless Congress acts to intervene, Social Security shortfalls are expected beginning in 2035. Social Security retirement benefi...
How Does Medicaid Treat Income? The basic Medicaid rule for nursing home residents is that they must pay all of their income, minus certain deductions, to the nursing home.
Medicare Now Covers Outpatient Treatment for Opioid Addiction Recognizing the huge problems caused by opioid addiction in the United States, Medicare is adding a new outpatient opioid treatment benefit, paying for methadone and related treatment in certain facilities. Under a new rule taking eff...
Medicaid Protections for the Healthy Spouse Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants to make sure the spouses have the minimum support needed to continue to live in the community while their husband or wife is receiving long-term care benefits, usually in a...
Free Tax Preparation Help Is Available to Seniors Seniors and retirees should know that they may be able to use online tax preparation software free of charge. Most low- and middle-income Americans qualify for the free help, but do not take advantage of it. And all seniors are eligible for free c...
As baby boomers age, more and more millennials are becoming caregivers. Many are taking on this role while just getting started in their own lives, leading to difficult decisions about priorities. Proper planning can help them navigate this terrain.
Caring for an elderly parent can be stressful for families. Siblings may disagree over how to provide care or where a parent will live. Avoid squabbles by drafting a sibling or family care agreement.
Being appointed guardian of a loved one is a serious responsibility. As guardian, you are in charge of your loved one's well-being and you have a duty to act in his or her best interest.
The legal requirements for a will are fairly simple. In order for your will to be valid, you must know what property you have and what it means to leave it to someone, then sign and date the document and have it witnessed according to the laws of your state.
The main purpose of a will is to direct where your assets will go after you die, but it can also be used to instruct your heirs on how to pay your debts. While generally, heirs cannot inherit debt, debt can reduce what they receive.
Nursing home residents do not automatically have to sell their homes in order to qualify for Medicaid, but that doesn't mean the house is completely protected.
The SECURE Act Makes Big Changes to Retirement Plans Congress has passed and sent to the President a spending bill that contains major changes to retirement plans. The bipartisan legislation is designed to provide more incentives to save for retirement, but it may require workers to rethink some ...
Medicare Premiums to Increase By Almost $10 a Month in 2020 After small or no increases the past couple of years, Medicare's Part B premium will rise sharply in 2020. The basic monthly premium will increase $9.10, from $135.50 a month to $144.60. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CM...
Medicaid's Treatment of the Home Nursing home residents do not automatically have to sell their homes in order to qualify for Medicaid, but that doesn't mean the house is completely protected. The state will likely put a lien on the house while the resident is living and attempt to recover the pr...
The Law Office of Aubrey Carew Sizer PLLC provides customized and affordable estate planning (including wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and advance medical directives); elder law services (including long-term care planning, special needs planning for the disabled, and guardianships and conservatorships); probate, estate and trust administration (including advising executors and administrators of estates about post-mortem planning and the local probate process in Virginia), as well as general aging and disability advice in Northern Virginia, including but not limited to Arlington, Alexandria, Ashburn, Bristow, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Gainesville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Haymarket, Herndon, Leesburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Reston, Springfield, Sterling, and throughout Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax counties.