When you are younger, it can be hard to wrap your head around a time when you will be among the senior population. You live in the moment, and you stay in touch with your youth to one extent or another, even as you become a parent in your own right.
Clearly, it is hard to relate to something that you have not experienced, and this is understandable. At the same time, you are going to wake up one morning and realize that you have reached the middle of your life. This is when you may start to take elder law matters seriously.
Even if you don’t start to think about your senior years on your own, the challenges that your parents may start to face can get your attention. It can be difficult to swallow, but there are certain challenges that you may face as an elder, and you should plan ahead for these stages of life.
Elder Law Attorneys
If you want to understand the lay of the land, you should discuss everything with a licensed elder law attorney. When you plan ahead for the future, there will be no surprises, and you will be fully prepared for the eventualities that you may face during the latter portion of your life.
One elder law issue that is huge is the matter of long-term care. Most seniors will need help with their activities of daily living at some point in time, and Medicare does not pay for long-term care.
Medicaid is a widely embraced solution, but it takes careful planning to qualify, because you cannot obtain eligibility if you have significant assets in your own name. Given this reality, Medicaid planning can be intertwined with estate planning.
If you take the right steps in advance, you can position your assets with your estate planning goals in mind. Ultimately, you could obtain Medicaid eligibility if you ever need long-term care, and you can keep your assets in your family.
You should also make sure that you empower representatives to handle your affairs in the event of your incapacitation. If you have a living trust, you can empower the successor trustee to administer the trust if you ever become unable to make sound decisions on your own.
If you don’t have a trust, you could execute a durable power of attorney to name someone to handle your financial affairs if you become incapacitated at some point in time.
Free Elder Law Consultation
We have looked at a couple of different elder law matters that should be addressed here, but there are others. If you would like to discuss everything in detail with a licensed professional, send us a message through this link to set up a no obligation consultation: Smithtown NY Elder Law Attorneys.
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