Long-term care costs can add up quickly. But for veterans and the surviving spouses of veterans who need in-home care or are in a nursing home, help may be available. The Veterans Administration (VA) has an underused pension benefit called Aid and Attendance that provides money to those who need assistance performing everyday tasks. Even veterans whose income is above the legal limit for a VA pension may qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit if

All hospitals must now give Medicare recipients notice when they are in the hospital under “observation.”  The notice requirement is part of a law enacted in 2015 that just took effect. Signed by President Barack Obama in August 2015, the law was intended to prevent surprises after a Medicare beneficiary spends days in a hospital under “observation” and is then admitted to a nursing home. This is important because Medicare covers nursing home stays entirely for

A little-known insurance option can be an answer for some people who might need care but are unable to buy long-term care insurance. Short-term care insurance provides coverage for nursing home or home care for one year or less. As long-term care premiums rise, short-term care insurance is gaining in popularity. This type of insurance is generally cheaper than its long-term care counterpart because it covers less time. Purchasers can choose the length of coverage they

Obama-era rules designed to give nursing home residents more control of their care are gradually going into effect. The rules give residents more options regarding meals and visitation as well as making changes to discharge and grievance procedures. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid finalized the rules, which are the first comprehensive update to nursing home regulations since 1991, in November 2016. The first group of new rules took effect in November. The rest will

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, it is important to start planning immediately. There are several essential documents to help you once you become incapacitated, but if you don’t already have them in place you need to act quickly after a diagnosis. Having dementia does not mean that an individual is not mentally competent to make planning decisions. The person signing documents must have “testamentary capacity,” which means he or

Seniors with pricier homes now have an increased ability to get a bigger reverse mortgage in order to raise cash for retirement. As the housing market has improved, so-called jumbo reverse mortgages are becoming more popular even though they carry some risk. Reverse mortgages allow homeowners who are at least 62 years of age to borrow money on their house. The homeowner receives a sum of money from the lender, based largely on the value of

A durable power of attorney is an extremely important estate planning tool, often more important than a will.  If you become incapacitated due to dementia or some other reason, this crucial document allows a person you appoint (your “attorney-in-fact” or “agent”) to act in place of you (the “principal” ) for financial purposes.  The agent under the power of attorney can quickly step in and take care of your affairs. But in order to execute a

For young families, life insurance can be a great help in replacing lost income.  But as people get older it can also serve as part of an estate plan. Historically, one main reason to buy life insurance as part of an estate plan was to have cash available to pay estate taxes. Now that the estate tax exemption is so big (in 2016, estates could exempt $5.45 million per individual from taxation), most estates don’t pay

The term “life estate” often comes up in discussions of estate and Medicaid planning. Life estates can be used to avoid probate and to give a house to children without relinquishing the ability to live in it.  They also can play an important role in Medicaid planning.  But what, exactly, does the term mean and how are life estates used? A life estate is a form of joint ownership that allows one person to remain in