Elder Law Advice for Alzheimer’s Patients

If you or a loved one have received a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease, creating a legal plan for the future is an essential step for ensuring that medical care and financial assets are managed properly. It’s best to address this plan as early as possible, ensuring that the necessary people are as prepared as possible and that you can focus on enjoying your life, family, and friends.

What Should Your Legal Plan Include?

Legal planning can look complex but it’s really about gathering all the right information into one place in a legally clear and binding format to ensure that any issues and challenges can be managed effectively, quickly and with minimal hassle as they arise. Generally, your legal plan should include the following:

• Medical Power of Attorney or Healthcare Proxy: This is a legal document that names a person of your choice to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so. These decisions will be made in line with your wishes, and you can include details on all your medical care wishes from the kind of long-term care you have planned for to whether or not you want to receive extreme lifesaving measures.
• Financial Power of Attorney: Similar to the document mentioned above, this names a person to make financial decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so yourself. Again, you can outline your wishes in detail within the document in order to guide the person who will speak on your behalf.
• Legal capacity: This refers to the ability to make rational decisions and is important to include in your legal documentation, as it will come into effect in the later stages of the disease. Your attorney can assist you in creating a document that defines the conditions under which you no longer have the legal capacity – and this is when your medical and financial Power of Attorney documents will come into effect. Simply creating this document does not affect your legal rights – in reality, it helps protect your rights by ensuring that decisions about your health and financial assets are held to the legal plan that you create.
• Updating existing documents: If you have a Last Will and Testament, a trust or other elements of an estate plan, now is a good time to gather them, review them and update them as necessary. You will need to gather a complete list of your property and other assets and decide on how you would like them to be protected or distributed.
• Long-term care: Long-term care plans are especially essential, and even if you have no need for care at present, it’s important that you evaluate your options and put in place legal instructions as to your preferences if and when the need for them arises. This includes looking into different care options and facilities to determine a good fit, as well as putting in place a plan to pay for your preferred care option.

Compassionate Legal Advice and Planning from Your Elder Law Attorney New Jersey 

Frank R. Campisano is a highly experienced and compassionate elder law attorney with considerable knowledge of estate planning, retirement planning, and Medicaid issues. Experienced in elder law, compassionate and committed to his clients, you’ll receive the highest quality legal expertise and guidance. In addition to sound elder law advice, you can also prepare additional estate planning documents, such as your Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney documents, medical directives and trusts.

For a free consultation, please contact us today or visit our website at http://www.scclegal.com/

Original content posted on https://www.scclegal.com/elder-law-advice-alzheimers-patients/

 

Important Changes to Veteran Care Legislation

Recently, the US Senate passed new legislation that impacts on veteran care. The bill, known as S2373 or the VA Mission Act of 2018, expands on long-term care and post-acute care (LT/PAC) options. Here are some insights into what this bill means, and the changes veterans can expect, from a leading elder law attorney in New Jersey.

New Care Program and Reimbursement Process for Veterans 

Having been passed by both Houses of Congress, it will be signed into law to create the Veterans Community Care program and set in place a new claim reimbursement process that will come into action in 2019.

Currently, there is a disparity between Medicare Parts A and B or Medicaid providers who were not considered to be federal contractors. Current providers with VA patients are considered to be federal contractors and as such, have to comply with regulations in the Service Contract Act which are more complex and rigorous than those required by Medicare and Medicaid regulations. The VA Mission Act of 2018 will aim to solve this issue, removing excessive relations, red tape and legal issues to ensure that there are more LT/PAC options like nursing home care, home and community-based care/services available to providers and veterans that meet Medicare and Medicaid compliance.

Other key provisions of the proposed law include increasing access to long-term care options for veterans in their home communities, ensuring better access to friends and family. Caregiver benefits are also going be expanded to include all veterans regardless of when they served their country, where previously it only included post 9/11 veterans. The 30-day/40-mile rule which often required veterans to travel long distances to access their care benefits will also be removed.

Care-related services through the VA will also be streamlined, ensuring that currently enrolled vets who have accessed the VA healthcare system in the last 2 years will automatically gain access to community clinics, that VA providers who do not treat veterans are removed from the system, and that the VA will be required to schedule appointments in a timely manner.

Want to Find Out More? Speak to a Leading Elder Law Attorney in New Jersey 

This bill is an attempt to simplify and streamline a system that has long been criticized for being overly complicated, helping to ensure that veterans receive the care they need in a way that is timely, easier and based within local communities. To find out more about how these changes will affect you or a loved one, speak to your elder law attorney.

Frank R. Campisano is highly experienced and compassionate elder law attorney in New Jersey with considerable knowledge of veterans’ benefits, including assisting with applications, appeals and other Veterans and elder law issues. In addition to this assistance, he can help you with navigating issues around estate planning, as well as drawing up other legal documents including a Power of Attorney, Last Will and Testament, Medical Directive and more.

For a free consultation, please contact us today and speak to Frank R. Campisano or visit our website at http://www.scclegal.com/

Original content posted on https://www.scclegal.com/important-changes-veteran-care-legislation/

Inside Reverse Mortgage Scams

Reverse mortgages are a useful tool for seniors who often have significant equity in their homes (they have often made significant progress in paying off their homes) and want to be able to access that money to convert it into supplemental income. This is a fairly complex process, leaving the door open to scam artists and unscrupulous lenders to target seniors and mislead them – to the point where many people have lost their homes. Here’s some essential information about identifying and avoiding these dangerous scams, from a leading elder law attorney in New Jersey.

How a Legal Reverse Mortgage Works 

Essentially, this works in the reverse to a regular mortgage – instead of taking out a loan and paying it back, the lender makes payments to you. The most common reverse mortgage product is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HCEM), issued by private lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration. To qualify, you have to meet certain criteria including being a homeowner of 62 years or older, have a certain amount of equity in your home, and that you reside in the property that you’re applying for. There is a limit on how much of your equity you can access through this loan – currently set at $636,150.

How to Spot Reverse Mortgage Scams 

Keep your eyes peeled for these warning signs:

• High-pressure sales tactics: Some mortgage brokers use strong-arm tactics to sign people up for reverse mortgages, whether they need them or not – and they specifically target the elderly. Unsolicited visits and phone calls by mortgage brokers should be ignored. According to the FBI, other sales tactics include approaching seniors through local churches and investment seminars.
• Misrepresenting the risk: With any loan comes risk – never trust someone who offers a reverse mortgage and tells you that there are no risks involved. All reverse mortgages become due and payable at some point and this can mean you lose your home – if the property is transferred or sold, if the borrower moves out of the home, or if the borrower doesn’t meet the mortgage obligations (insurance premiums, property tax payments etc.)
• Misleading advertising: A reverse mortgage is not free money or free income – it is still a loan with very strict conditions, fees and structure. Any advertisement that states otherwise this is misleading and designed to take advantage of people who don’t have a clear understanding of loan structures.
• Encouragement to take out a lump sum early: Taking out a lump sum in your early 60s often leads to the amount being used up quickly – leaving you with nothing in your later years. As a result, many seniors don’t have the money to pay the insurance and property taxes required by the lender, which forces the loan to become due and your home into foreclosure.

If you are considering a reverse mortgage, it’s always best to do a lot of research on the risks and benefits yourself and speak to your elder law attorney or a trusted financial advisor before taking on a potentially risky loan. This way, you get the right information and the best financial program for your needs.

Consult with a Leading Elder Law Attorney in NJ Today 

Experienced in elder law, compassionate and committed to his clients, you’ll receive the highest quality legal expertise and guidance you need from Frank R. Campisano. In addition, you can also prepare additional estate planning documents, such as your Last Will and Testament, Healthcare Proxy/Medical Directive, Power of Attorney documents and trusts. For more compassionate legal guidance and a free consultation, please contact us or visit our website at http://www.scclegal.com/

Original content posted on https://www.scclegal.com/inside-reverse-mortgage-scams/

How a healthcare proxy can get better care for your loved one

Getting quality healthcare is vital as we get older. Not only do medical procedures have a greater impact on our quality of life, but more advanced lifesaving measures also carry strong personal implications. Simply leaving these decisions up to medical professionals or family members that are around at the time is not enough – which is why your elder law attorney in New Jersey will recommend that your elderly loved one creates a healthcare proxy.

What is a healthcare proxy?

Also known as a medical directive, this is a legally-binding document that gives a person or persons of your choice the ability to represent you when you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself. This means that your choices are protected in the event that you are unconscious, develop complications with your memory or are simply too unwell to properly dictate your own healthcare. While this document is important for individuals of any age, it is especially important for the elderly, who face a greater likelihood of facing a situation in which they are unable to make these decisions for themselves.

Personal preferences and religious beliefs

Healthcare proxies are a good way to ensure that your personal preferences, religious beliefs and any other individual requirements are followed in various medical circumstances. For example, if your loved one would like to have a “Do Not Resuscitate clause” does not want to be on extended life support or doesn’t want to receive a blood transfusion.

Clarity, care and compassion

By appointing a healthcare proxy, you and your loved one can have peace of mind knowing that, should the worst happen, your medical and care wishes will be carried out as you would prefer. Your loved ones will also be clear as to what these wishes are and will be able to act in your best interests, with compassion rather than conflict. All of this ensures the best quality of care.

Create your healthcare proxy today with the assistance of NJ elder law attorney 

If you would like to create your own healthcare proxy or help your loved one create their own, speak to Frank R. Campisano today. Experienced in elder law, compassionate and committed to his clients, you’ll receive the highest quality legal expertise and guidance. In addition, you can also prepare additional estate planning documents, such as your Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney documents and trusts. For a free consultation, please contact us today or visit our website at http://www.scclegal.com/

Original content posted on http://www.scclegal.com/how-a-healthcare-proxy-can-get-better-care-for-your-loved-one/