I went to an eldercare attorney to get some information for when I expect we will need Medicaid in 3 to 5 years from now. She charges $250.00 per hour. She immediately took down all of our financial statistics and talked about a life plan. She wanted to go over our insurance policies and read all of our official documents such as power of attorney. I could only see the $$$ because I had no idea how long all of this would take and what other costs might be for other office help, etc. She didn't offer any top price, so I was scared off. I'm not sure what to do next.
Jeannie, as lmohr says it's not cheap. They do need all your financial information to determine the appropriate ways to protect assets for you and still have your DH qualify for Medicaid. Not all elder care attorneys are the same - so you should try and find one who specializes in Medicaid planning. She should estimate what the total package will cost so you know what you're getting into as well as outline what you will get for your money (trusts, will, dpoas, etc). If it makes you feel any better the first ELA I saw charged me $400.00/hour and advised a Medicaid plan would cost me $10,000 in addition his hourly rate. Then we were in crisis due to my husbands uncontrollable behaviors (less than 2 months after the first visit to the ELA). At that point he advised that his hourly rate was now $500.00/hour and to do the Medicaid planning he would charge me his hourly rate - no longer a flat fee for the plan. I found another attorney whose fees were less.
Here in Florida, I paid 800.00. I thought that was alot. We don't qualify for Medicaid. We did set up a trust to care for DH and revised my power of attorney and DNR. I'm just worried, since I hear there are often problems with the LTHC ins. I think we will have to use a nursing home before the year is done, God, how do we get through this.
Ocallie, read your LTC ins. plan materials very carefully because they are deliberately written to confuse the owner. If you can't understand the policy ask your ELA to tell you what the provisions are. You may have a "waiting period" before the plan will begin paying benefits, so you will want to know how long that is and if you should begin using that waiting period before your spouse is admitted to a NH.
Ocallie--I think a lot depends on which company the policy is with. Started using my husband's about 5 years ago and it has been amazingly trouble-free. I was anticipating the worst (imagine dealing with a bureaucracy or health insurance company to file a claim every month), but for a change, things went smoothly right from the start. I agree with LFL, read the policy very well because you might have coverage for things that you're not even aware of. Before paying the attorney to decipher it, you should call the company with any questions you have.
Our elder law attorney charged A little over $500.00 for wills, DPOA, etc. BUT then he wanted $6,000.00 to file the Medicaid paperwork. I thought that was pretty steep. We're really not wealthy. Anyway, the nursing home did it for NOTHING.
ECLs are not cheap. I had a 250.00 intake fee which was applied to the bill should I decide to go with her. It is time consuming and the more complicated your estate may be the longer it can take. We are still working on our trusts..
When I decided to go ahead with our selected attorney, she laid out what was going to need to be done for the POA and DPOA and the fee..I paid half up front and the balance when finished. The work on MY separate property trust is going to cost 4500.00 and half has been paid..then she will review our community trust.
Our attorney is one of 9 certified Elder Care Attorney's in the state of CA. She also is a trust attorney and a real estate attorney. She is well versed in the areas for medicaid and the VA and has never lost a case...
It is important to get educated and all documents in order while your LO can understand what is going on even if he forgets later and has to be reminded..as long as he "gets it" you need to press on. You can of course change your attorney but do your research on them first.
A power of attorney is a document that allows you to appoint a person or organization to handle your affairs while you're unavailable or unable to do so. The person or organization you appoint is referred to as an "Attorney-in-Fact" or "Agent."
General Power of Attorney - authorizes your Agent to act on your behalf in a variety of different situations.
Special Power of Attorney - authorizes your Agent to act on your behalf in specific situations only.
Health Care Power of Attorney - allows you to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you're incapacitated.
"Durable" Power of Attorney -The general, special and health care powers of attorney can all be made "durable" by adding certain text to the document. This means that the document will remain in effect or take effect if you become mentally incompetent
Thanks, Charlotte. I haven't encountered a problem with POA so I guess that is OK! I've handled all DH's financial needs including setting up required withdrawals from his 401K. I also have Health Care Power of Attorney.
Thank you for your comments. The attorney I saw is an elder care attorney and specializes in Medicare. Thankfully we have all of our wills and other documents done (1999). My husband is already in assisted living and we are collecting on our LTC, but I know it will run out in 3 to 5 years depending on how we use it up. My biggest concern now is the fact that our home (paid for) is in a different state and I need to sell it so that I (we) can be near our kids. I would like to get him back home with me and just have some day care. The apartment I'm living in doesn't work since I can't keep him from running off at night. It seems so complicated. I've pretty much decided to not let Medicaid hold me hostage and just take things as they come.
My name is Paula. All I can say is I don't know what I would have done without the attorney. He did a crash course for me in two months. My husband made a turn for the worse within months and I had to put him in a facility that was $5200.00 a month. If it wasn't for the attorneys I would be lost. The whole process cost me between $ 3500.00 and $4500.00. They looked at all my information. They contacted Medical for me. All I had to do was give them information. They do the renewal for me every year. It sounds like alot of money, but if you figure $ 5200.00 a month times 12 = $62,400.00. It sounds a little better now, doesn't it.