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What Can Families Do to Legally Protect Themselves?

By Michelle Beneski, Esq.

It feels like the sky is falling. Every week a client comes in telling us of a job loss or home loss. MassHealth has cut back on funding. The local senior service agencies like Coastline and Bristol Elder Services have a three to six month waiting list for home health care services. The Visiting Nurses are telling us that Medicare has changed how it pays for home care after a hospital stay as well. It looks like quite a few people will be losing services. So what can you do to legally protect yourself in these dire economic times?

First, make sure your legal house is in order. Being pro-active and preparing for the potential need for services can save you thousands of dollars and protect your family from bearing the cost of your care. Have you picked someone to help take care of you if you can’t take care of yourself? Have you legally authorized them so they actually can take care of you if needed? You do this by signing a Durable Power of Attorney and a Heath Care Proxy. If you don’t have these documents and something happens and you can’t take care of yourself, then your family will have to go to Probate Court and get legal authority to take care of you through a guardianship process. A guardian proceeding often costs at least two thousand dollars. A Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy cost only a few hundred dollars.

Second, educate yourself about all of the government benefit programs that you may need in the future. Most people have heard about the five year look back period but few people understand how it works. Most people haven’t heard of the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance benefit. There are ways to protect your home from a Medicaid lien if you need nursing home care. There are at least three ways to protect your home from a Medicaid lien that do not have a five year penalty period. There are also several others that do incur a five year penalty period. We offer several free booklets on both these topics. Call 1-800-929-0491 and leave a message to request our FREE Consumers Guide to Medicaid or our FREE Nuts & Bolts Guide to Veteran’s Benefits.

After you educate yourself, you can make wise choices and prepare yourself in case you need benefits. If you wait until you need the services it will probably be too late. You worked hard to accumulate what you have. Now more than ever you need those funds to take care of yourself and your family.

Third, think ahead for your family. Did you know that you can leave your children and grandchildren an inheritance that is protected from the claims of their creditors? Yes, if they get divorced, go bankrupt or get sued, the money you left them can be lost or can be protected. This isn’t something a child can do for herself but it is something that you can do for her. With the divorce rate at nearly sixty percent and in this scary economy, wouldn’t it be nice to have the peace of mind knowing that your child’s inheritance is protected? In future articles I will go into more detail on all of these topics.

Michelle Beneski, Esq.

Michelle D. Beneski, Esq. is a partner in the Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The firm concentrates on Elder Law and Estate Planning Issues.

She is a frequent speaker and author on estate planning topics.

Michelle is a graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, Cum Laude and holds L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida, College of Law. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Wealth Counsel and the Bristol County Estate Planning Council.

We meet with our clients for Free every three years to ensure the documents still work for them. Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. charges $500 for an initial estate planning consultation. However, this consultation fee will be waived if you reference this article.

If you would like more information on Medicaid planning, call for our Free Consumers Guide to Medicaid Planning or our free report 25 Ways You Can Mess Up Your Estate Plan or to make an appointment for a consultation, call our toll free number (800)929-0491 for a recorded message or call our office at 508-994-5200.

Feel free to contact Michelle at 508-994-5200 or visit www.nbelderlaw.com.

View all articles by Michelle Beneski, Esq.

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