Many people believe Medicaid is only for low-income people to pay for routine medical treatments, and many people believe that elder law services are only for seniors. Both of these beliefs don’t represent the whole truth. Medicaid is also a leading payer of nursing home costs in Indiana and throughout the United States, while elder law services are for people of all ages who want to protect their assets, family, and future.
O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. can provide you with the truth about elder law and Medicaid and can offer you a comprehensive array of elder law services, including assistance with Medicaid planning. To find out more about what is involved with elder law or about why you need a Medicaid plan, give us a call at 219-865-2285. Our Schererville, Indiana elder law and Medicaid planning lawyers can offer you invaluable assistance with making your plans and can also answer questions you may have including:
- What kinds of services does an elder law attorney provide?
- What does elder law have to do with Medicaid?
- How can a Schererville, Indiana Medicaid planning and elder law attorney help?
What Kinds Of Services Does An Elder Law Attorney Provide?
The services an elder law attorney provides are related to asset protection, legacy plan, incapacity planning, and estate planning. Because these types of services are things that seniors tend to think about more often than people of other demographic groups, the category of law is called elder law. However, seniors are not the only ones who need to be concerned with what could happen if they get sick or pass away.
If you have anyone depending upon you, from a pet to a child to a spouse to elderly parents or a disabled relative, you need to make a plan in case something happens to you. If you have any assets that you wish to protect or that you wish to provide to people you love or to causes you care about, you need an estate plan. If you have concerns about your own medical care in case of incapacity, you need to work with an elder law attorney.
An elder law attorney provides you with advice on steps you need to take to secure your assets, your family’s future, and your own future. An experienced attorney gives you the guidance you need to use legal tools in the most effective ways possible to prepare for a good life and to plan for tragedy. These legal tools can include wills; trusts; powers of attorney; advanced directives; and more. An attorney can even provide you with financial planning advice, including advising you on the use of IRAs and the steps you need to take to achieve a secure retirement.
What Does Elder Law Have To Do With Medicaid?
Two of the most important things an elder law attorney assists you with include legacy planning and incapacity planning. In both of these areas, asset protection is very important. One of the key steps of asset protection is making sure you do not have to spend all of your money on the costs of nursing home care if you must be admitted to a nursing home.
Nursing homes cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you aren’t going to be able to get these costs covered by most insurers under most circumstances. Medicare and private insurers can sometimes offer very limited coverage for certain nursing home services, if you require skilled care on a temporary basis. For the routine care most people need when they get old or sick, Medicare and private insurers pay for nothing. That’s where Medicaid comes in.
Medicaid and private pay are the only two options for covering nursing home costs for most seniors and for people with disabling conditions who need care. The problem is, Medicaid is a means-tested program and it is only for people with few resources. For seniors and those who have acquired a nest egg which they want to make part of their legacy, resource limits can be a big problem.
One important service that an elder law attorney provides is helping to protect your assets through strategic structuring of asset ownership using tools like trusts. This process is called Medicaid planning and it is something that O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. can help you to do as part of the other elder law services we offer.
How Can A Schererville, Indiana Elder Law And Medicaid Planning Lawyer Help?
O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. helps many individuals and families with planning ahead for retirement, end of life issues, incapacity, and death. We are here to provide you with the guidance you need to be 100 percent prepared for whatever comes your way. Give us a call at 219-865-2285 or contact us online to find out more about the assistance a Schererville, Indiana elder law attorney can offer.
