Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Steven J. Gibbs, Esq.
Hello Friends & Colleagues!
Medicaid planning, particularly for a parent or spouse, can be described as an emotional roller coaster for spouses and families. The changes that a loved one is experiencing, as well as the financial and other emotional pressures, make this a very frightening time. On the other hand, this is a time where families can come together and cherish what matters most.
Often, because of this emotional roller coaster affect, families can become paralyzed or confused over the basic financial decisions that must be made in order to properly care for a loved one AND to save in the needless expenditure of family resources. How to get proactive and stay effective through this process is the focus of this week’s article…
When a loved one comes to need full skilled nursing assistance, it is all too common for families to make rash decisions or avoid making the necessary decisions to protect finances and arrange for proper care.
It is all too common for families to make ill advised financial decisions due to the strain of looming medical costs and this can cost families dearly.
The key to avoid making rash decisions is to proactively seek professional advice as well as research your areas of concern. For example, a common rash decision is to transfer assets from an aging parent to an adult child, and this downsizing of the estate will result in a penalty if within the 5 year look back period under the Medicaid rules. Thus, any transfers of assets must be looked at objectively by a professional.
Another issue is that folks who are declining physically do not want to acknowledge their physical needs and this can lead to paralyses of families who are unable to get the necessary medical approval to apply for Medicaid.
If you haven’t yet reached this point, can you imagine how difficult it is to face one’s own mortality and declining physical abilities. To be sure, this is a difficult part of the aging process and sometimes it can create unnecessary challenges for families. Most often, this situation culminates in a loved one’s refusal to seek needed medical feedback…this is especially the case in dementia cases, and often anger and frustration ensues for all parties involved.
Families may find it difficult to accept the decline of a loved one thus decline to find skilled nursing assistance or otherwise seek help for a loved one.
Families in the midst of these kinds of major transitions can become unable to make necessary changes even if circumstances demand it. I believe this is a combination of a grieving process AND the difficult subject matter involved. After all, the medical cost amounts for skilled nursing care $5,000 – $8,000 per month and climbing, are staggering and there is also the emotional decision to remove a loved one from the family home.
For the above reasons, or even due to a grieving process, families often continue paying out of pocket rather than apply for Medicaid assistance and this is a needless expenditure of valuable resources.
When emotional paralysis strikes families, often negative financial consequences are the result. For example, I’ve observed families continue to pay for skilled nursing care out of pocket for months on end before finally making the decision to apply for Medicaid assistance…and this is has been in cases where the parties are under the asset and income limits for Medicaid.
The above problems are common and can be most effectively addressed through…
Partnering with caring, qualified professionals who are willing and able to offer an objective voice about the circumstances. This is a difficult area because deeply emotional issues overlap with serious family business (financial) concerns. Thus, treating it like a business is important and listening to experts is critical because this can save substantially both in financial and emotional expenditures.
Sincerely,
Steven J. Gibbs, Esq.
Steven Gibbs founded the Gibbs Law Office in January 2009, committed to providing client-centered legal services.
Steve as he would rather be called, is not your typical attorney. If you appreciate the staunch egotistical mannerism of most firms, you will be delighted with Steve’s unpretentious approach to educating and then assisting his client. Instead of giving you his complacent and lofty ideas, he would rather pursue your expectations with professional conversation about resolving your concerns under the Law. It’s your life and it’s his job to make your legal expectations come true while using years of his guidance and knowledge.
Steve was admitted to the Minnesota Bar in 1999, the Florida Bar in 2007 and was recently admitted to the California bar. Keeping abreast of law changes in these three States, as well as the United States, assists him in all aspects of the types of law the firm practices.
Along his career path, he was an associate attorney for an insurance defense law firm; an in-house real estate negotiator for Target Corporation; and corporate counsel for Civix, LLC and Vice President for North American Properties where he was responsible for various real estate transactions, including legal issues and negotiating unresolved business issues. Prior to opening Gibbs Law Office, PLLC, he was an associate with the firm of Roberts & Engvalson, P.A. where he gained his knowledge of trusts, estate planing and Wills. He opened his own firm in 2008 and now focuses on laws that will enrich the needs of his clients throughout their lives and those of their children. The firm has developed a practice dealing only with Trusts and Estate Planning, Wills, Medicaid Planning, Elder Law, Real Estate, Business Law and Probate.
Quoting from Steve “I decided to practice in areas that families will need as they progress down life’s path. To help them with a solid foundation that will carry them throughout there lives is a rewarding experience for me and my staff.”
