Installment 2 of 10 

In Our Series: “Long Term Care Costs for the Middle Class: 10 Steps to Asset Protection Through Medicaid in Illinois, for Middle Class Seniors and Boomers”

In this part of our 10 installment series I would like to discuss when it is necessary to invoke the services of a physician in the estate planning, long-term care planning and eldercare journey. Obviously if there are immediate health concerns a physician should be contacted straightaway, before legal counsel is sought. However, there are circumstances where, in the process of delivering not only medical services, but also in the process of offering legal services, that we discover that the involvement of a physician is necessary. This generally arises in cases where clients come in to execute powers of attorney for property and powers of attorney for healthcare. In cases such as this, generally speaking,  most clients will be able to walk into my office, introduce themselves to me explain to me what they wish to request from our law firm regarding services and engage us for those services. However there are instances in dealing with aging seniors and disabled adults where it becomes clear to me, as a lawyer, that I cannot be sure that the prospective client has full mental capacity. Sometimes, diminished capacity manifests itself by being unable to express your thoughts, comprehend thoughts that are presented, or formulate judgments based on facts that are presented. As a lawyer, it is my duty to suggest that the client be evaluated to determine the level of their capacity when I suspect that a potential client may not have the ability to comprehend what I am recommending to them. This is unfortunate, because sometimes the physician will give an opinion that indicates that the potential client no longer has the ability to make sound decisions or comprehend matters set before them. When that happens, I, as a lawyer, cannot present a document, such as powers of attorney, to such a client for signature, because I may be asking them to sign something they do not understand— which is prohibited under the professional rules of conduct for lawyers. The client’s inability to sign these documents will often result in the failure to do further planning and may create the need to seek a guardianship through the court process so somebody can act as a surrogate decision-maker for this person who has now lost their cognitive capacity. Thus, it is my recommendation that you seek counsel as early as you can in your life to obtain and put in place documents that will reflect your choice of surrogate decision-maker so that if you can no longer make decisions for yourself, your choice will prevail. Unfortunately, many of our clients do not come into our office and request powers of attorney and other advanced directives, so that later on they are left to request the court system to assist them in surrogate decision matters through a full-blown guardianship proceeding. This is very expensive, time-consuming and impersonal. Conclusion Don’t leave your decision-making authority to the court system unless it’s an absolute last resort, because this is a very expensive and impersonal process. You are better off putting in place powers of attorney for healthcare, powers of attorney for property and other advanced directives that will allow the person you choose to seamlessly proceed to make decisions for you pursuant to the guidelines you have set forth. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Coming up in our future blogs in this series:

1. Revise Powers of Attorney – See Previous Article
2. Contact a Physician – See Above
3. Seek Guardianship
4. Revise Old Wills and Trusts
5. Create a Blueprint
6. Inventory Assets
7. Seek Placement in a Facility
8. Select a Strategy
9. Prepare and File the Medicaid Application
10. Prepare for the Post Application Audit

Installment 1 of 10 

In Our Series: “Long Term Care Costs for the Middle Class: 10 Steps to Asset Protection Through Medicaid in Illinois, for Middle Class Seniors and Boomers”

Problem: We had six families of aging seniors come in to our office this week all of which had powers of attorney that amounted to nothing more than a simple document that would be much more appropriate for clients who are 25 years old. This is a devastating problem that I can correct if the aging Senior has the requisite mental capacity to execute new documents. If, however, the Senior has diminished capacity, then we are left with these almost worthless powers of attorney that do not permit any repositioning of assets in order to properly plan for long-term care, and a path to Medicaid to fund such long-term care. Solution: Revise Any Powers of Attorney and Healthcare That You Currently Have, and While You Can. Powers of Attorney for Property:  Most of the powers of attorney that we see in our office, while valid, are inadequate to allow the necessary repositioning and reclassification of assets to gain eligibility to Medicaid, VA, and other governmental benefits. Your power of attorney for property must permit, at a minimum, the following powers:  the transfer of assets to family members and nonfamily members, with or without compensation being received in exchange; the transfer of the personal residence; the creation, funding, and revision of revocable and irrevocable trusts; the authority to apply for various governmental benefits, including Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits and other benefits; and the ability to change beneficiary designations on various assets. This is only a small list of must-haves in your power of attorney for property.  To give you an idea of the importance of this, we attach an additional five pages of these types of powers so that every client we have has a full toolbox of resources available to carry them through their maturing years and senior years. These tools are most often needed in the senior years when long-term care planning is a necessity so as to avoid having our seniors rendered penniless due to the devastating costs of long-term care. Be careful about selecting an effective date for your power of attorney. Remember you can sign a power of attorney today that either (1) takes effect today, or (2) takes effect upon a future event, such as when your doctor determines you are unable to make financial decisions for yourself.  The approach you select will depend on your particular circumstances and your family composition. Remember, anyone can create a document, but correct elder law counseling about that document will help you achieve the best results. Contact your Chicago elder law attorney or Illinois elder law attorney today to discuss this. Powers of Attorney for Healthcare:  In January 2015, the State of Illinois legislature enacted a new power of attorney for healthcare.  However, some bar associations have found this version of the power of attorney to be ineffective in five or six important areas. As of this moment, these defects are being cured through pending legislation in the Illinois General assembly. The healthcare power of attorney is your authority to express your wishes about your care and your end-of-life wishes. Please keep your eyes peeled to this blog for an update on the changes that are forthcoming to make this important document better in the future. Summary: I hope this gives you a simplistic view about the importance of powers of attorney in the state of Illinois.  These documents are critical to enable your agent to use Medicaid asset protection strategies to qualify you for Illinois Medicaid should you need institutionalized care. Remember, most of our clients are trying to preserve some assets for a “rainy day fund” in their senior years, and they are entitled to do so as a matter of exercising their civil rights so long as they do this legally and ethically. This planning is not done by wealthy individuals, as those persons can pay their way through any costs associated with long-term care. Rather, this planning is best done by middle class individuals who have worked to accumulate some savings, only to find that the cost of long-term care will make their life’s work disappear in no time. Our goal, as asset protection attorneys for the middle class, is to allow seniors to gain access to the Medicaid program, to use some of their own assets for their cost of long-term care, but also to enable them to preserve some of their assets, so that in their senior years, after a lifetime of work, they are entitled to some dignity and some resources to make a life in a nursing home more livable. Coming up in our future blogs in this series:

1. Revise Powers of Attorney – See Above
2. Contact a Physician
3. Seek Guardianship
4. Revise Old Wills and Trusts
5. Create a Blueprint
6. Inventory Assets
7. Seek Placement in a Facility
8. Select a Strategy
9. Prepare and File the Medicaid Application
10. Prepare for the Post Application Audit