Long-Term Care Planning: Middle-class seniors are finding themselves in a difficult position when it comes to long-term care. With costs rapidly increasing, many will require some form of assistance from family members or friends. Many seniors fear that they are not prepared to pay $7,500 or more per month for skilled nursing facility care.
We help our clients preserve their life savings and access the best care possible. We do this by preventing them from entering a nursing home or other extended-care facility, if necessary; but also through attorneys who work with families on finding options for protecting loved ones' assets in case of emergency situations such as an accident that leaves one vulnerable to expensive long term bills without proper planning beforehand.
Long-Term Care Insurance: The cost of long-term care can quickly wipe out the savings of a family, and for those who are unable to afford long-term care insurance, the future can be very uncertain. Families are struggling with the high cost of long-term care and many are finding that they cannot afford to purchase long-term care insurance. For those who do not qualify for traditional long-term care insurance, the future can be very uncertain. If you have long-term care insurance, it's important to know the extent of your policy coverage. Many policies offer high deductibles or only a short period at most facilities. We help our clients understand the limitations of their long-term care insurance so they can plan for coverage gaps.
Medicaid Eligibility: Another option to pay for care is to apply for the TennCare CHOICES program. The Bureau of TennCare provides medical assistance to low-income individuals, including the elderly, disabled, or blind. Individuals must meet the TennCare CHOICES program's technical, medical, and financial criteria.
Medicaid eligibility is subject to complex and restrictive rules as a result of federal minimum standards and guidelines which must be observed. The eligibility requirements involve look-back periods, income caps, transfer penalties, and waiting periods to plan around. We help our clients understand the issues surrounding Medicaid eligibility and to implement the planning and application process.
Estate Planning: We work with your loved ones to make sure you're taken care of no matter what happens. We are qualified in the use of wills and trusts, which can be a very important tool for estate planning. We achieve great comfort and success with our clients because we focus on their lifetime needs before anything else – then work that “lifetime plan” into how assets will ultimately be distributed at death.
Special Needs Planning: For those with disabilities, obtaining public benefits can be a difficult and time-consuming process. If you take care of a person with a disability, you may think about what will happen if you cannot provide care for them anymore. You may also worry about leaving assets in a manner that will result in government benefits ineligibility. Disabled persons receiving public benefits can transfer assets received from an inheritance or settlement to a special needs trust so that they are not disqualified for government assistance programs due to income and asset limitations. Using Special Needs Trusts, we help our clients to legally protect assets so that they can retain or obtain eligibility for the many need-based benefits.
Special Needs Trusts are designed to supplement public benefits without resulting in disqualification for SSI and Medicaid if certain requirements are met. Assets from Special Needs Trusts cannot be distributed directly to the disabled beneficiary. Instead, funds must be distributed to third parties who provide goods and services for the beneficiary's use and enjoyment.