Sitting down with your parents to discuss legal, financial, and long-term care issues can be uncomfortable. Adult children often do not know much about their parents’ financial situation, whether they have enough money to live on, or to pay for the care they would want. Often, families have not had discussions about how they view the end of their lives, and what preparations they have made.
Medicaid Home Care Featured
Vincent J. Russo, along with Susan Russo, visited the Good News television program. Vincent and Susan discussed The Theresa Foundation, why it was an important to start the foundation, the Theresa Academy of Performing Arts, and how can people get more information.
On September 1, 2009, Powers of Attorney in New York State will change dramatically. Both the format and the execution of these documents are significantly different.
Remedies for an unreasonable refusal to accept a properly executed Power of Attorney are limited by the new law to a special proceeding to force the acceptance. Damages are no longer possible.
Many seniors have Powers of Attorney, but do you have the right one? This is a very important question because no one has the right to make financial decisions for you, unless you have legally appointed a person with the authority to act for you.The best way to give that legal authority is by executing a Comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney.
The problem: The will my husband and I drew up names our son as executor. Due to family circumstances, we would now like my husband’s brother to act as executor, not our son. Do we need to redo our will, or can we just sign an addendum with this change and have it notarized?
The expert: Frank L. Buquicchio, elder law and estate planning attorney, Vincent J. Russo & Associates.
As caring planners, we want to be prepared and to take advantage of all the available tools that can improve the quality of life of a client with special needs. Our objectives often include providing financial stability, maximizing government benefits, ensuring advance directives are in place and coordinating available resources in the community. This article will focus on one of the most powerful tools at our disposal – Special Needs Trusts.
Dr. Marion Somers, PhD.
1. Mr. Russo, as an elder law attorney can you to tell me what is the number one concern of seniors today?
Vincent J Russo: Seniors are most concerned about being impoverished if they need long term care and have to spend down all of their assets to pay for it. Medicaid is the only government program available to seniors to pay for long term care, but there are strict financial eligibility requirements.
2. Who pays for New York’s Medicaid bills?
It is not uncommon for my law firm to get a call from a family member who is at wits end in trying to help a loved one. Mom was very private and we do not know what assets she has? Dad never went to a lawyer and we don't know who has the right to make decisions for him? The hospital discharge planner is telling us that we need to do Medicaid planning to pay for nursing home care. The hospital wants to know who is the agent under a Health Care Proxy but my wife never signed one.
