Elder Law is an extension and refinement of estate planning. An Elder Law attorney can assist with aspects of long term care planning such as  wills, trusts and medical and financial powers of attorney. They can also help you decide what type of care options exist for your older loved ones and how to pay for that care.

Why Long Term Care Planning Is Important

Using a competent Elder Law attorney can seriously reduce the stress you experience as a caregiver of an older adult or disabled person. Unlike many other expenditures in life, an Elder Law attorney can save you money. As a client or eldercare professional you know the tremendous costs, both emotional and financial, of caring for an older adult or disabled loved one.

Thirty years ago, most people died when they were in their sixties. There were no “nursing homes.” There were “convalescent homes” for those old and frail seventy-five-year-old methuselahs. Those people were often physically frail, but the entire concept of cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer Disease did not exist. There were no “levels” of care. There were little options for how care was administered or where it was received.

In 1992, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area (which has one of the highest concentration of older adults in the nation), there were almost no Assisted Living Residences.

Today there are more than 150 in an area that includes only the Southeastern tip of Pennsylvania. They each offer differing levels of care and services, different pricing, different connections with other forms of long term care services and different methods of accepted payment.

How An Elder Law Attorney Can Help

Determining Long Term Care Type

There are various types of long term care available: home care, personal care, adult day care, assisted living, skilled and intermediate nursing care, dementia care, continuing care retirement communities and hospice.

Most people do not understand all the forms of care and how they interact. Determining which care level is appropriate for your loved one is very confusing with facilities providing different but often overlapping levels of care. Some accept Medicare, some accept Medicaid, some accept neither or both.

Managing Cost and Protecting Assets

The average monthly cost of caring for a resident in a Philadelphia area nursing home can be $14,000 per month. This is neither the highest or the lowest in the nation. It is, however, an amount that can quickly bankrupt a family and destroy the quality of life for the spouse who is still healthy and living in the community. It can decimate whatever legacy you want to leave to your children, friends, family and the charitable beneficiaries of your choice.

There are legal tools that can be used to protect the assets you worked for so your spouse and loved ones are protected, and yet still allow you to obtain excellent quality care.  If you know the answers to the questions posed here, you do not need an Elder Law attorney. However, if you have questions, do not delay. This is one area in life where the cost of delay is most certainly high.

Podcast Interview: Honestly Aging by VigR Health

You can learn more about Advanced Planning in this Podcast interview with Elder Law Attorney, Rob Slutsky.  The Podcast is Friends Life Care’s own Honestly Aging hosted by Cheryl Proska. You you can find it on YouTube, Friends Life Care’s website, Podbean, and all the major podcast platforms and apps.

Listen or watch this episode as Rob Slutsky informs us what older adults and solo agers need to know about advanced planning to set themselves up for success. He covers powers of attorney, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care planning, and more.  Getting your affairs in order can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

Contributed by: Slutsky Elder Law

Robert Slutsky is an experienced and trusted elder care attorney, and he can give you the right advice about trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, and more.

When Rob began practicing in 1992, he realized how much he enjoys counseling families and helping them navigate the maze of eldercare laws. Rob understands how overwhelming the probate system and estate process can be. Over the decades he has become known for his softer, more empathetic approach when dealing with families confronting an eldercare crisis.

Elder care attorney Rob Slutsky volunteered his time and services for many years at the Montgomery County Office of Senior Services until he was offered the role of solicitor due to his extensive knowledge and professional responsiveness. In this position, he has aggressively advocated for the elderly since 1999.  The best time to choose an elder law attorney is before you need one.

Rob has been named the #1 TOP Elder Law Attorney by Main Line Today Magazine for several years running.

For More Information

Call (610) 940-0650 or go to our website to submit a request to schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney in Montgomery County, PA. Slutsky Elder Law has been proudly serving Chester, Philadelphia, Delaware, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties for more than three decades.

 

Friends Life Care  posts on the eMeetinghouse blog. as another way to share health, wellness and prevention information with aging adults.  Friends Life Care is a mission-driven Quaker value based nonprofit that — for over 30 years — has been helping older adults — especially Friends Life Care members — to thrive at home as they age.  If you are not yet a Friends Life Care member, connect with us and get the answers you need from one of our Plan Counselors on the benefits joining.  

Membership is open to people aged 40 – 85, in reasonably good health who are residents of southeastern Pennsylvania or Delaware.