Elder Law / Medicaid

To our valued clients and friends,

WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT DURING THIS TRYING PERIOD, WE ARE STILL COMMITTED TO WORKING FOR OUR CLIENTS

Governor Pritzker's executive order requires businesses, except for "'Essential Businesses," to cease operations.  Under the order, legal services are included in the definition of "Essential Businesses."  Therefore, we are allowed to keep our office open.  However, we will  also operate remotely in order to protect the health of our employees and clients, especially the elderly. Fortunately, we are experienced with remote workplace operations and have the appropriate technology to continue our business operations. Accordingly, we are pleased to inform you that we are working regular business hours.   In the meantime, we ask that you call or email us before stopping by.  We are limiting in-office appointments to one client per day as a precaution.

This has been an interesting week!  Just about everything is uncertain right now with COVID-19 . We want to discuss two things regarding estate planning:

1) We are Prepared to Remain Open and Serve Our Clients During The Crisis

At Krupp & Krupp we remain concerned and vigilant regarding  COVID-19. We want to let you know that we are monitoring the situation daily. Our disaster preparedness plan is in place (yes, we have one), and we will, if necessary, work remotely to serve our clients.

At this time no one in our office (and none of our immediate family members) is symptomatic.
Read more . . .

According to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance 2019 price index, a married couple who are both 55 years old would pay an average of $3,050 a year combined for a total of $386,500 each of long-term care insurance coverage when they reach age 85. But the percentage difference between the lowest-priced and highest-priced policies for such a couple is 243 percent, meaning that a consumer could wind up paying more than triple what they might have paid for similar coverage. 

The price differences between policies for single people were lower but still significant, according to the index.
Read more . . .

The linked article, "Winning Against a Stacked Deck," provides a chilling and frustrating account of an elder law attorney's attempts to fight a Medicare/Hospital decision to discharge her mother.  Between the bureaucracies of the government and the hospital-industrial complex, the deck is stacked against patients.

For many people, their house is their most valuable asset.  Our new clients always ask, “How do I save my house from being lost to nursing home costs?” The answer in many situations is through the use of an asset protection trust designed for Medicaid purposes.

Assets placed into an asset protection trust are not required to be spent down to qualify for Medicaid benefits, nor are they subject to Medicaid estate recovery after death.  Once you are past the state’s five year look-back, there will be no penalty if you apply for Medicaid.

The power of attorney is a crucial estate planning document—it allows a third party to step in and make important financial decisions for you if you are no longer able to make those decisions for yourself. The person you appoint to do this is called the agent.  Having a comprehensive power of attorney can keep your family out of guardianship court when it comes to your financial affairs, and save thousands of dollars in legal fees and court costs.  This is a simple solution to an expensive problem - if you have the right durable power of attorney.