ELDER LAW 101- COMMON MISTAKES WHEN ADVISING CLIENTS ON LTC PLANNING

1247 Smallman Street,Pittsburgh PA 15222

07 April, 2022

Description

An overview of the areas where elder law attorneys focus their practice and how those differ from general estate planning guidance. REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST START AT 8:30AM APPROVED FOR 2 CLE CREDITS What is Elder Law? You may be advertising it…but are you really practicing it? We will give an overview of attorney liability and malpractice concerns when advising clients on how to protect their money and assets from long term care exposure through estate planning. Estate Planning with Long Term Care in Mind We will discuss the important differences in drafting simple estate planning documents versus those same documents for individuals who may be contemplating long term care. We will review the essential language that must be included in these documents with regard to gifting provisions and the authority to change ownership and beneficiaries in order to avoid Medicaid Estate Recovery. Medicaid Eligibility We will discuss general eligibility requirements for single individuals and married couples, what constitutes countable and non-countable assets, and pre-planning techniques when clients are concerned about future Medicaid needs. Medicaid Crisis Planning We will discuss in detail what to do if your client has not pre-planned for long term care or if their initial pre-plan fails due to an unexpected illness or event. We will discuss how a penalty period is calculated and share strategies for ways to pay through that penalty period. We will also examine specific instances of gifting that may be permitted, such as customary gifts or gifts at a time when an individual would have no way of knowing that he or she may require nursing home care. Helpful tips for working with DHS caseworkers, supervisors and office of the general counsel on appeals will all be discussed.