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Come out to the Winter Park Community Center on August 9th at 4:00 pm to hear Heather C. Kirson, Esq. and Patti Fuller, Esq., B.C.S. speak on topics such as Medicaid Planning, VA benefits and Estate Planning. If you or someone you know is having to face the issue of how to pay for long-term care, this could be the perfect opportunity to learn how you can get help to pay for it! This is a free event and is open to the public. Please call (407) 422-3017 for more information.

A. Striped wallpaper or vertical blinds can lead people to feel incarcerated- and plan escapes!

B. Mirrors or photographs can lead to paranoid behaviors and increased hoarding behaviors.

How will the new health care reform affect Medicaid? Read this article provided by ElderLawAnswers to find out! One of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the new health reform law, gives money to states to expand Medicaid to adults and families with low incomes – a total of about 17 million additional people. However, the Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal government cannot effectively coerce states into accepting the Medicaid expansion by withdrawing all a state’s Medicaid funds if it refuses.

By Jim D Sarlis, Esq Here are some common scenarios where people die without Wills — the outcomes may surprise you:

Why hire an attorney to help with your Medicaid Planning? According to ElderLawAnswers, this is why:

Do you need an attorney for even “simple” Medicaid planning? This depends on your situation, but in most cases, the prudent answer would be “yes.” The social worker at your mother’s nursing home assigned to assist in preparing a Medicaid application for your mother knows a lot about the program, but maybe not the particular rule that applies in your case or the newest changes in the law.

Elder Law Answers provided this helpful article to those who face the question, “Should we marry or just live together?”

Finding love later in life may be unexpected and exciting, but should it lead to marriage? The considerations are much different for an older couple with adult children and retirement plans than for a young couple just starting out. Before deciding whether to get married or just live together, you need to look at your estate plan, your Social Security benefits, and your potential long-term care needs, among other things. Whatever you decide to do, you may want to consult a lawyer to make sure your wishes will be carried out.

Check out this informative article from the Orlando Sentinel:

Elderly people who suffer from a marked decline in memory function that falls short of dementia are more than twice as likely to die within five years than are those with normal cognition, researchers told the Alzheimer’s Assn.

This informative article provided by Elder Law Answers helps explain when the use of  Annuities for Long-Term Care Planning is and is not appropriate!

Insurance agents and financial institutions often advertise annuities as the perfect way to generate retirement income. While annuities can be a valuable retirement tool, if you are buying an annuity as part of a Medicaid planning strategy, you need to fully understand what you are getting.

Read this article about the importance of getting your advance directive drafted before it’s too late! Article provided by Elder Law Answers.

Millions of people are affected by dementia, and unfortunately many of them do not have all their estate planning affairs in order before the symptoms start. If you or a loved one has dementia, it may not be too late to sign a will or other documents, but certain criteria must be met to ensure that the signer is mentally competent.In order for a will to be valid, the person signing must have “testamentary capacity,” which means he or she must understand the implications of what is being signed.

Last Updated: 4/5/2012 2:42:38 PM

A documentary film about financial abuse of the elderly that stars Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney and features Florida ElderLawAnswers member attorney Ira Wiesner is opening April 13, 2012, in New York City.The film, Last Will and Embezzlement, was inspired by the experiences of one of the film’s writers and producers, the author Pamela S. K. Glasner, whose own elderly parents became victims of financial exploitation.      They were not alone.  Older Americans are losing $2.9 billion annually to elder financial abuse, according to a 2011 MetLife study, and the figure is climbing.