Elder Law FAQ's for Florida
Elder Law Attorney Provides Answers to FAQs
Jacksonville elder law attorney, C. Randolph Coleman, provides answers to Elder Law FAQs and provides other valuable information about elder law in Florida, including planning for Medicaid spend down to reserve family assets when long term care is needed, how to qualify for Veterans Benefits, including Basic Pension and Aid and Attendance to help pay for long term care, and other legal issues related to the legal rights of the elderly in Florida.
The following information is presented through video responses to various elder law questions, as well as information provided through our blog, “The Florida Estate Planning, Elder Law and Asset Protection Blog.” Our Jacksonville elder law attorney has over 30 years experience working with legal issues involving and affecting the elderly in Florida. The answers to FAQs and other information provided is based on the experience gained over those 30+ years and is designed to help you understand some of the basic issues associated with long term care planning and other provisions of the law affecting elder members of our community.
If you need information or have questions that are not directly addressed in this material, please call our Jacksonville elder law attorney at (904) 448-1060, or toll free at 966-510-9099, or email us at Info@TheColemanLawFirm.com.
When Is The Best Time For Estate Planning? Before Incapacity or Death!
People often ask us: "When is the best time for estate planning?" The best answer to that question is: Before you die, or become incapacitated! If you can tell me when you are going to die, I can tell you the ideal time to engage in the art and science of good estate...
What Can a Special Needs Trust Pay For?
A special needs trust, sometimes called a supplemental needs trust, is designed to provide a person with a disability the funds to enhance her quality of life while at the same time allowing her to remain eligible for needs-based public...
Guns and Dementia: Dealing With An Elderly Loved One’s Firearms
Having an elderly loved one with dementia can be scary, but if you add in guns and firearms, it can also get dangerous. To prevent harm to both the individual with dementia and others, it is important to plan ahead for how to deal with any weapons. ...
Helpful Tips for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease
November is National Family Caregivers Month. More than 15 million American family members care for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease. Here are some tips provided by the Alzheimer's Association to help those providing care for family members who have Alzheimer's...
Five Practical Uses for an ABLE Account for Disabled Children and Their Parents
ABLE accounts allow many people with disabilities or their families to establish tax-free savings accounts that won’t affect their ability to qualify for, or remain on, government assistance as long as the account balance does not exceed $100,000. But ABLE accounts...
The Complex Modern Family Requires a New Estate Planning and Elder Care Model
A new book suggests that estate planning and elder care and a loved one's death are especially important for today's complex modern families. In Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss, the authors contend that the current approach to estate planning and...
The Top 2 Ways the Court Gets Involved in Your Estate, and How to Avoid Probate
No one wants unnecessary court involvement in their life. But without careful and proactive estate planning, chances are that some aspect of your estate will end up being decided there. With proper planning, you can avoid probate and a living probate. Here are two of...
New Book Offers Guidance Through the Medicare Maze
Philip Moeller. Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs. Simon & Schuster. New York, N.Y. 2016. 29. Medicare is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it provides guaranteed coverage for Americans over age 65 or who are disabled, and...
Why Estate Planning for Long-Term Care Pays Off
For most people, thinking about estate planning means focusing on what will happen to their money after they pass away. Death and taxes! But that misses one pretty significant consideration: the need for estate planning for long-term care. The last thing any of us...
Beware of Non-Lawyers Offering Medicaid Planning Advice
In recent years many non-lawyers have started businesses offering Medicaid planning services to seniors as an alternative to Medicaid planning lawyers. While using one of these services may be seem to be cheaper than hiring Medicaid planning lawyers, the overall costs...
Top Reasons Why You Need a Comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney
The benefits of a highly detailed, comprehensive power of attorney are numerous. Unfortunately, many powers of attorney are more general in nature and can actually cause more problems than they solve, especially for our senior population. This post highlights the...
Cost of Long Term Care Rises Slightly in 2016
The cost of long term care continues to rise, even if slightly for 2016 compared to 2015. The median cost of a private nursing home room in the United States has increased slightly to $92,378 a year, up 1.24 percent from 2015, according to Genworth's 2016 Cost of...
When Is The Best Time For Estate Planning? Before Incapacity or Death!
People often ask us: "When is the best time for estate planning?" The best answer to that question is: Before you die, or become incapacitated! If you can tell me when you are going to die, I can tell you the ideal time to engage in the art and science of good estate...
What Can a Special Needs Trust Pay For?
A special needs trust, sometimes called a supplemental needs trust, is designed to provide a person with a disability the funds to enhance her quality of life while at the same time allowing her to remain eligible for needs-based public...
Guns and Dementia: Dealing With An Elderly Loved One’s Firearms
Having an elderly loved one with dementia can be scary, but if you add in guns and firearms, it can also get dangerous. To prevent harm to both the individual with dementia and others, it is important to plan ahead for how to deal with any weapons. ...
Helpful Tips for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease
November is National Family Caregivers Month. More than 15 million American family members care for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease. Here are some tips provided by the Alzheimer's Association to help those providing care for family members who have Alzheimer's...
Five Practical Uses for an ABLE Account for Disabled Children and Their Parents
ABLE accounts allow many people with disabilities or their families to establish tax-free savings accounts that won’t affect their ability to qualify for, or remain on, government assistance as long as the account balance does not exceed $100,000. But ABLE accounts...
The Complex Modern Family Requires a New Estate Planning and Elder Care Model
A new book suggests that estate planning and elder care and a loved one's death are especially important for today's complex modern families. In Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss, the authors contend that the current approach to estate planning and...
The Top 2 Ways the Court Gets Involved in Your Estate, and How to Avoid Probate
No one wants unnecessary court involvement in their life. But without careful and proactive estate planning, chances are that some aspect of your estate will end up being decided there. With proper planning, you can avoid probate and a living probate. Here are two of...
New Book Offers Guidance Through the Medicare Maze
Philip Moeller. Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs. Simon & Schuster. New York, N.Y. 2016. 29. Medicare is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it provides guaranteed coverage for Americans over age 65 or who are disabled, and...
Why Estate Planning for Long-Term Care Pays Off
For most people, thinking about estate planning means focusing on what will happen to their money after they pass away. Death and taxes! But that misses one pretty significant consideration: the need for estate planning for long-term care. The last thing any of us...
Beware of Non-Lawyers Offering Medicaid Planning Advice
In recent years many non-lawyers have started businesses offering Medicaid planning services to seniors as an alternative to Medicaid planning lawyers. While using one of these services may be seem to be cheaper than hiring Medicaid planning lawyers, the overall costs...
Top Reasons Why You Need a Comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney
The benefits of a highly detailed, comprehensive power of attorney are numerous. Unfortunately, many powers of attorney are more general in nature and can actually cause more problems than they solve, especially for our senior population. This post highlights the...
Cost of Long Term Care Rises Slightly in 2016
The cost of long term care continues to rise, even if slightly for 2016 compared to 2015. The median cost of a private nursing home room in the United States has increased slightly to $92,378 a year, up 1.24 percent from 2015, according to Genworth's 2016 Cost of...