Elder Law

Family Caregiving When The Adult Children Live Long Distance When families live far away from one another, the holidays may be the only opportunity that long-distance caregivers and family members have to personally observe older relatives. Decline can happen quickly. Family members who haven’t seen their aging loved for a while may be shocked at […]

Legal Planning For Living With A Chronic Medical Condition In 1900, most people died younger from communicable diseases and after relatively short illnesses. Today, we are more likely to die older from one or more chronic conditions and after an extended period of illness. The decisions involved with planning for disability associated with chronic conditions

Important Information To Know And Keep Current Medical Insurance A list of insurance policies, the carriers, the account / policy numbers, and names of beneficiaries. Utilities Names, account number, and contact information for all utilities (electric, phone, cable, water, internet, etc.). Documents Financial This information is not to be considered legal advice. If you have

How To Pay For Skilled Care One of the things that concerns people most about nursing home care is how to pay for that care. There are basically three ways that you can pay the cost of a nursing home: There is a lot more to be said about long term care insurance and paying

Choosing An Elder Law Attorney The process of finding and choosing an elder law attorney begins by identifying that you actually need one. The question is: Why would you need the services of this specialized attorney? Here are some questions to ask yourself: If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you may

Understanding The 4 Cs Of Elder Law Ethics Your parent or other elder relative is getting legal advice. Why am I left in the waiting room? Shouldn’t you be included? After all, you might be very involved in helping him or her with important matters. Perhaps you even arranged for this appointment. There are several

Dementia Terminology “Communication breakdown” in Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia are consistently listed among the stressors for caregivers. Here is a list of some of the terminology used in describing the affects of the disease, some of which limits the person who has dementia. Affect: the outward manifestation of a person’s feelings, usually

Why Engage An Elder Law Attorney To Prepare Your Medicaid Application? The Illinois Medical Assistance Program (“Medicaid”) is the health care program for individuals who do not have another form of insurance or whose insurance does not cover what they need, such as nursing home or supportive living care. A significant number of people must

Illinois Medicaid Long Term Care Eligibility Rules   In January, 2012, new regulations became effective in Illinois substantially changing eligibility for Medicaid coverage of long-term care. Although effective in January, the local offices of the Illinois Department of Human Services, the agency making determinations of eligibility for Medicaid, did not implement these new regulations until

What’s The Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid? Medicare and Medicaid sound alike, and many people use them interchangeably. However, they are very different programs. Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage to insured workers who are age 65 or older or who have a disability. Medicaid is a state and federal program that