Walnut Creek Elder Law Blog

I practice Elder Law and represent the older client and their families. When clients come to see me, their concerns are not so much about what happens when they die, but more about ’What happens if they don’t die.’

Of course, they want to make sure that their assets pass to their family with a minimum of expenses and taxes. But the bigger and more complicated question is, “What happens if I don’t die?” As we know, Americans are living longer all the time. The infirmities of old age may require that we have in home care assistance, or go to an assisted living facility, board and care home or eventually a to a nursing home.  We are of course concerned about how we pay for these costs. A regular estate plan does not address these needs. An elder law attorney can prepare a long term care plan for you, and address these needs. He will also address the concern of passing assets to their family.

To put it another way, a regular estate plan insures that if you die, your assets will be passed on to your family the way you want. The operative word is “if”. A  regular estate plan will not help preserve assets so that hopefully there will be something left when you die to pass on to your family. As we know, the assets of the older client could be depleted by a nursing home stay or lengthy illness, which could leave their spouse or heirs with nothing.  

If you have sufficient assets to pay for long-term care or nursing home costs without running out of funds, then a regualr estate planning attorney may be all you need. However, if you cannot afford the cost of a lenghty nursing home stay, of around $90,000 per year or $180,000 per year for a couple, or more, then an elder law attorney would be able to help you.

For a real life example, Mary and Jim have about $300,000 in assets and a home worth around $500,000. Jim needs assistance and uses a wheelchair. Mary has been providing for his care, but recently has shown signs of forgetfulness and confusion. She has been diagnosed by her doctor as having early signs of dementia.   

An estate plan is of course important to Jim and Mary, but this won’t help them deal with the problems they are presently dealing with. They want to tackle the issue of how they will be able to afford the cost of nursing home care should either one or both of them need it. They want to establish how they will be taken care of should Mary’s dementia become more advanced. They want to find out if if they can stay in their home with assistance.

This couple needs a life plan, specific to them, to meet their needs for the future. Jim and Mary need to seek the advice of an elder law attorney.

Written Michael J. Young, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc. Mr. Young advises clients regarding Medi-Cal, nursing homes, asset protection, the VA Aid and attendance pension benefit, and long term care planning. Mr. Young is a Concord Elder Law Attorney with offices in Walnut Creek, CA.

In California, civil and criminal Elder Abuse Laws pertain to persons 65 years of age or older. Under the criminal statutes, elder abuse can occur when someone causes the elder to suffer mentally or physically. Under the civil statutes, abuse can mean neglect, causing financial abuse, abandonment, and physical harm or mental suffering. In addition, under the civil statutes, elder abuse can mean deprivation of care by the custodian of goods or services that the elder needs to avoid mental suffering or pain.

There are red flags to be on the outlook for regarding possible elder abuse, which many of us have seen. One red flag could be that the older person is not given the opportunity to speak for herself. Another red flag could be that the care giver or family member expresses anger toward the elder. A painful red flag is the isolation socially, of the older person. If you see signs of elder abuse, you should report it.

This information is not to be taken as legal advice, and you are encouraged to see an elder law attorney for your particular situation. 

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

When finding a nursing home for your loved one is necessary, it is important to decide what is important for him or her. Things such as location, religious orientation and  access to hobbies should be considered. You should request brochures from several facilities you are interested in, and you should tour several of the the facilities. After you have narrowed your choices, plan on visiting the facilities during business hours, and during off hours. The atmosphere and staff may be quite different, and not what you expected during the off hours.

When you visit the facilities, pay attention to your instincts. Do you feel welcome? Did you have to wait to meet a representative? Did the representative seem genuinely interested in your particular situation? When visiting the facility, do not be afraid to ask as many questions as you can think of. If you are shy about asking questions, bring someone with you to encourage the questions, or they can ask the questions for you. Ask if the facility has survey results you can review, and ask if they have been prohibited from accepting new residents by the state at any time.

You will be under great stress at this time, so it is important that you take a deep breath and understand that there are positive things that you can do for your loved one. Also, do not neglect getting your ducks in a row through the help of an elder law attorney, regarding asset protection, estate planning, public benefits planning and long term care planning for your loved one. 

This information is not to be taken as legal advice, and you are encouraged to see an elder law attorney for your particular situation. 

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

I can’t help myself talking about our grandkids, at least one more time. My wife and I have two grandchildren, a boy 4 and a girl 2 ½. Both kids “stayed over” a couple of weekends ago. They arrived on Saturday morning with their little suitcases packed, which included their swimsuits. They wanted to swim with us in our community pool, but that plan was thwarted when we found out the pool pump was broken.

We felt horrible, and did not have a little pool for them. What we did have was a large plastic storage container, which held about 20 gallons of water. We also had large and small “Super Soaker” squirt guns, and Grandma had all sizes of plastic measuring cups. The kids put their swim suits on, filled the storage container with water, and climbed inside the container! They played with the hose, the squirt guns and the measuring cups for hours. Every once in awhile they would climb out of the container and lie on their towels in the sun to dry off. When they were dry they would climb back into the container and have more fun! I guess we don’t really need a pool, but I am off to Target to find something for them to use at our house.

There is probably no legal point to all of this, (other than to include your grandchildren in your estate plans) but I just had to share with you how fun it is being grandparents!  

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

This information is not to be taken as legal advice, and you are encouraged to see an elder law attorney for professional advice.

It is highly recommended for the older person, that their estate planning documents be put in place as early as possible, in order to help guard against elder financial abuse. It is when the older person begins to show signs of a loss of mental capacity, that financial predators step in to take advantage of the older person. We have been seeing more and more of this lately, possibly because of a downturn in the economy.  

Older persons should consider preparing their estate plans right away, especially for instance, if there are beginning signs of dementia, a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease or cancer, or if the older person has fallen. You will be able to pick who you know and trust as your health care agent and agent under your financial durable power of attorney while you still have good mental capacity.

If you are uncomfortable with appointing family members for these rolls, consider appointing a professional fiduciary. California has a rigid licensing program for professional fiduciaries, and they can be used in these positions in order to avoid financial abuse. Professionial fiduciaries are able to assist early on with bill paying and money management.

Unfortunately, the highest percentage of financial abuse and exploitation of the older person, involves the elder’s family members. Many times it is a child who has been dependent for support on the older parent. This child is usually unemployable, in financial straights, won’t work and many times has substance abuse problems. Many times they will badger their parent into giving them money. The parent gives in, just to get them off of his or her back. I have seen children who are completely exasperated that their parents are living so long! The children want their inheritance now, and don’t see why they should have to wait!

Other signs of elder financial abuse can include large bank withdrawals that the older person cannot explain, or a new friend or housekeeper gaining access to bank accounts. Another sign of problems is that bills are not being paid.

When the estate planning documents are being prepared, also consider asset protection and government benefits planning language to be included in the various documents. If the older person loses capacity, the asset protection plan can still be implemented.

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

This information is not to be taken as legal advice, and you are encouraged to see an elder law attorney for professional advice.

Most (perhaps 99%) of all revocable living trusts and financial durable powers of attorney are defective for asset protection and government benefits planning, when incapacity occurs.
 
For the older client, we become focused on how we will pay for in-home care,  board-and-care, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing home costs. We are concerned about how to make our assets last longer for our own care. We want to protect assets, and we would like to hopefully leave something to our loved ones.
 
We become concerned with how to qualify for and utilize Medi-Cal  and VA benefits for our care. 
 
The standard language in the revocable living trust and financial durable powers of attorney do not allow for asset protection, protection of the home from a Medi-Cal lien, transfers of assets between spouses (including the home), transfers to children or to other trusts for government benefits planning, if incapacity occurs.
 
Updating the revocable living trust and financial powers of attorney  before incapacity occurs is good planning. 

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

Most estate planning documents are prepared for what happens when we die. They are not prepared for what happens if we don’t die. With regard to the trust, if one spouse dies, for instance, everything goes to the other spouse. When the second spouse dies, everything goes to the children. During the lives of the spouses, all assets stay in the trust. If any gifting is allowed, it is not to exceed $13,000 per year per child. If there is no trust, the financial durable power of attorney will usually not provide for any gifting or asset protection.

But what if we want to do Medi-Cal or VA Aid & Attendance Benefit planning, and the makers of the trust or the makers of the financial durable powers of attorney have lost their mental capacities. For this planning, we at times will transfer assets, including the home,  from the ill spouse to the well spouse. We might also make transfers of various assets from parents to the children or to other loved ones.  The language to do this type of planning, 99% of the time, is not included in the typical estate planning documents. If the makers of the documents have lost their mental capacities, we cannot do this planning, and may have to go to court to reform the documents. As a result, long term care planning should include updating the estate planning documents to include government planning and asset protection language.

This blog is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should consult an elder law attorney for your particular case, and before you proceed with any planning.

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

When choosing an assisted living facility for a loved one who suffers from dementia, certain things should be taken into account regarding the facility. More and more assisted living facilities can now accommodate residents with various levels of dementia. Some facilities have separate wings or dementia units. I have visited many assisted living facilities, and have many clients with loved ones in assisted living facilities. In addition, I have made personal observations about the quality of care for persons with dementia in these facilities.

Music: My wife’s mother, who is 89, has advanced Alzheimers disease, and has been in an assisted living facility for a number of years. Although she does not seem to recognize her children, she does respond very positively to music. When music is played for her, or if someone performs or sings for her, her face lights up. She smiles, and tries to sing. I have noticed this for many residents with dementia, when I have played jazz piano for them in various facilities. Also, on researching the subject, it seems that music is processed and understood through a different part of the brain, usually with positive results.   As a result, find out if the facility you are interested in arranges for music to be played or performed for the residents on a regular basis.

Religious Services: Another item to take into account, is whether the facility is consistent with your religious beliefs. If the resident and family are religious, it will be important for them to have the facility provide religious services for their loved one during all phases of dementia. When my father, who was Catholic, was in an assisted living facility,  I know that he cherished receiving communion every week.  

Behavior: Find out whether the facility will be able to accommodate your loved one during all stages of the disease process. Plan for the future, as the disease may progress and become worse. Ask the facility what behaviors would trigger them to say that they can no longer accommodate your loved one. Also, ask how they would handle the behavior of your loved one if he or she becomes aggressive, loud, or acts out. You will find out more if you are very specific.  

 Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young, who also advises on Medi-Cal qualification, asset protection, nursing homes and the VA Aid & Attendance qualification, serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in CA, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

The surviving spouse of a wartime Veteran may be eligible for the VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit. This benefit can help pay the costs of in home care, board and care and assisted living facilities for the surviving spouse. We must be able to show that the surviving spouse had been married to the Veteran for at least one year, or had children by the Veteran if married less than one year.

The surviving spouse is not eligible if he/she has remarried. Also, the surviving spouse must have been living with the Veteran at the time of the Veteran’s death, unless they were separated because of  medical or military reasons. The Veteran must have a discharge from the military that is other than dishonorable.  The pension rate for the surviving spouse may be as much as $1,056 per month, or $12,681 per year. 

Each VA claim is different and unique, and there are never any guarantees that any claim will be granted by the VA. When we plan for the VA Aid and Attendance Pension benefit, we also plan for Medi-Cal at the same time. Both benefits have different qualification rules, which must be coordinated.

This blog is general in nature, is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should consult an elder law attorney for your particular case, and before you proceed with any planning.

Written Michael J. Young, lawyoung1@gmail.com, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young, who also advises on Medi-Cal qualification, asset protection, nursing homes and the VA Aid & Attendance qualification, serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in CA, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc.

The language used in estate planning documents for asset protection and government benefits planning for the older client, is very different from the language used in regular estate planning documents. In fact, I would say that 90% or more of all revocable living trusts and financial durable powers of attorney do not contain the right language, and are defective for this type of planning, if the maker or one of the makers of the documents loses mental capacity.

As an example, if we are going to protect the home from a Medi-Cal lien, because of an imminent stay in a nursing home, we may want to transfer the ill spouse’s interest in the home to the well spouse. Or, in the case of a single person, we may want to transfer that person’s interest in the home to a child. Or, we may want to liquidate the cash in value of a life insurance policy, and gift that interest to a spouse or a child.

If the person who owns the interest has lost capacity to make the transfer, the language in the trust and financial durable power of attorney, in most cases, does not allow for this type of transfer. As a result, we may have to go to court to obtain an order to reform the estate planning documents. This process can be costly.

The alternative is to do pre-planning, and have the revocable living trust and financial durable powers of attorney updated by an elder law lawyer, who practices in the areas of Medi-Cal planning, VA planning and nursing home planning. By doing pre-planning, and including the correct language in these documents, we can save costs and headaches later on.       

This blog is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You should consult an elder law, asset protection and government benefits attorney for your particular case, and before you proceed with any planning.

Written Michael J. Young, elder law attorney in Walnut Creek, CA. www.WalnutCreekElderLaw.com mike@WalnutCreekElderLaw.com. 1931 San Miguel Dr., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. 925-256-0298. Mr. Young serves Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, including the cities of Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, Concord, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Clayton, etc. Mr. Young advises clients regarding Medi-Cal, nursing homes, asset protection, the VA Aid and attendance pension benefit, and long term care planning.