Valencia
Elder Care Law Legal Services
Unfortunately, most seniors think if they have done some estate planning, have Medicare and are collecting social security, they’re covered. Nothing could be further from the truth however. You see, while medicare, supplemental health insurance, and a prescription drug plan generally covers medical issues, they DO NOT cover long term care issues. Sure there is some overlap between medical care and long term care, but if you do not want to become impoverished as you age, you should seriously consider speaking with an elder law attorney about your long term care options.
Our Elder Law Legal Services Include:
- Medi-Cal Planning. While Medi-Cal in California has many different components, in the elder law world, we are focused primarily on the long care benefits offered. You should know that when it comes to just Medi-Cal long term care, there are numerous types of benefits available. But in our elder law practice, we're focused on getting people the care which helps them remain in their least restrictive environment. In other words, our philosophy is to help seniors continue to live safely and affordably in their own home. While there are many ways to achieve this objective, we're most proud when we help people obtain In Home Care Support Services, with no share of cost (i.e., for free). Sometimes in so doing, we can even get family members paid to provide their loved ones with that care. On the other end of the elder care continuum, when skilled nursing facility care cannot be avoided, we help people obtain the highest level of care, without going broke. Finally, in between these two extremes, we often help people obtain a whole host of other Medi-Cal long term care benefits.
- Veterans Aid & Attendance Pension Assistance. Similar to Medi-Cal long term care benefits, the benefits available under VA Pension are many and varied. In our practice, we find that most Veterans are aware of “Compensation Claims” and also have a vague notion about lifetime military pension benefits. But what Veterans (or their widows) need to know is that there is an entirely different benefit out there which helps people pay for long term care. This benefit is known as VA Pension, and when it is enhanced, or rather when a Veteran (or his spouse) needs lots of help, we help them go after the enhanced benefit known as Aid & Attendance. Without a doubt, VA Aid & Attendance Pension Benefits can be extremely helpful to Veterans (and/or their widows) who wish to remain in place at home but can’t afford to do so. Likewise, Aid & Attendance is extremely effective in helping people pay for an assisted living level of care.
- Medi-Cal & Veterans Asset Protection Trusts. Figuring out how to best qualify for Medi-Cal or Veterans’ Pension Benefits usually involves creating either a Medi-Cal Asset Protection Trust or Veterans Asset Protection Trust, and then carefully moving assets that we want to be protected into that Asset Protection Trust. Besides enabling our clients to avail themselves of Medi-Cal and/or Veterans Pension Benefits, these trust simultaneously help people avoid a California probate and/or conservatorship proceeding – which are two of the main reasons to set up a revocable living trust and ancillary documents thereto, in the first place.