Sean W. Scott, Esq.
Are you part of the sandwich generation?
Are you caring for an elderly parent and putting your children through college? Do you wonder where all the money will come from to manage this?
When faced with the situation of caring for a loved one who needs more care than can be provided by family members alone, it becomes a daunting task to determine how this care will be paid for and where to receive the best and most appropriate care. There are many obstacles in this planning process. If you are not careful you can become lost in the maze and never find your way out.
When to plan
Often the most challenging question for clients is not how to solve the problem of paying for long term care, but when to begin to plan. The majority of clients fall into one of three categories when it comes to Medicaid planning: The planner client, the writing on the wall client, and the emergency client. Which one are you?
- The planner client takes great solace and peace of mind with having all the details worked out well in advance.
- The writing on the wall client has had some indication that a problem looms ahead, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s, for example. Steps should be taken at this time to address the future need and payment for care.
- The emergency client, or the “Uh-oh” client. Uh-oh as in “Uh-oh, my loved one is in the nursing home and I don’t know how I am going to pay for it.” The good news is that even if you have waited until nursing home placement, it is still not too late to preserve the person’s assets and obtain Medicaid benefits to help pay the cost of care.
It seems to come out of nowhere, this freight train of trauma that can blind-side the unprepared. After 50 years of marriage, a wife watches as her husband deteriorates into near-total dependence. Her goal is to keep him at home as long as possible, but she has her own limits, whether admitted to or not. A loving daughter attempts to be a caregiver for her parents while juggling her own family and work commitments. She watches as her work and family life suffer, but knows that she must deal with the core human issue of her parent’s needs in their final years.
In order to succeed in achieving the highest level of care and the highest quality of life, you must become educated in how the Medicaid system works. The key is knowing what to do and when to do it. This is an area where the experience of a qualified elder law attorney can be invaluable. It takes elder law attorneys years to understand how to counsel their clients and guide them through the long-term care maze. Do not make the mistake of thinking you can do this alone.
My name is Sean W. Scott, Esq. and I have been helping seniors and their families plan for their future for more than 27 years. In that time I have qualified more than ten thousand clients for Medicaid benefits to help them defray the costs of care in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and care in their homes, while protecting their assets. Visit our website at FLMedicaid.com for more information about saving thousands of dollars and investing in quality of care and quality of life. Share this information so you can help others.
