The Elder Law Crash Course

Points 26 through 30

26. There are better benefits in New York. Since Medicaid is partly funded at the state and local levels, where you live makes a difference in the benefits you receive. New York has a particularly generous Medicaid program that provides benefits you may not find elsewhere.


27. Special plans for special needs. Effective planning can be done to benefit disabled adults or children. If you are disabled, before receiving or transferring money or property, find out how these actions will impact your Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, or other government benefits. Usually, a plan can be implemented to avoid jeopardizing your benefits.


28. Keep the aide you like. If you have a preferred home care aide and are private paying for your care, you may be able to retain your aide when you are accepted on Medicaid. One method of doing this is by "vendorizing" the aide who becomes employed by a home care agency that works with Medicaid, and another method is by using Medicaid's "consumer direct" program.


29. Good relationships help make everything work out well. An experienced Elder Law firm will have good working relationships with many nursing homes, home care agencies, and other vendors, and practical knowledge about how to get things that you want. Your firm won’t make any promises in this regard, but they may be able to make your life easier.


30. You can move if you’re not happy. If you enter a nursing home and you don’t like it, you can change to another. Your choice is not limited because you are a Medicaid recipient, and you’ll be able to move if there is a bed available in the home where you would like to go.

Click the following links for additional points contained in the Elder Law Crash Course:

1. Effective planning makes you eligible for benefits.
2. Know what you can lose.
3. Better to plan late than not at all.
4. Begin early for the best possible outcome.
5. Get the right lawyer.
6. Going it alone is frequently a mistake.
7. Medicaid and Medicare are different.
8. Use proven asset protection strategies.
9. A spouse can’t just say no.
10. Be careful with your 401k or IRA.
11. Don’t lock up your money.
12. Think about the house.
13. If you own a co-op, you’ll likely need professional help.
14. Think about hiring your kids.
15. Long-term care insurance doesn’t solve the problem in many cases.
16. Medicaid provides a lot.
17. Proper legal documents make good results possible.
18. Let your health care agent know precisely what you want.
19. Be smart about assigning critical responsibilities.
20. Guardianship proceedings are time-consuming and expensive, and can often be avoided.
21. An estate plan may be an important part of your Elder Law plan.
22. Title to property and beneficiary designations can be critical.
23. Don’t try to hide things.
24. Organization is a blessing.
25. Make the choice that’s right for you.

See the above points 26 through 30

Click the following links for the:

The Elder Law Crash Course Checklist or the PDF Version of the Checklist

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