A couple of months ago, a veteran who is receiving care in an assisted living facility and receives Aid and Attendance called to ask whether the receipt of a personal injury settlement would affect his benefits. He was involved in a car accident about two years ago, and the case was finally coming to a close and he was going to receive a settlement
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Medicaid provides Medical coverage to low income individuals and families. The state and federal government share the costs of the Medicaid program. Medicaid services in Florida are administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Medicaid eligibility in Florida is determined either by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or the Social Security Administration (for SSI recipients). DCF determines Medicaid eligibility for: Low income
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I was reading a Forbes magazine article the other day entitled “Make a New Year’s Resolution to Give Your Estate Plan a Checkup” by Deborah L. Jacobs, and I was reminded about how much people dislike going to visit their estate planning attorney (I think we’re right up there with dentists, probably higher). One may wonder what is the point of planning ahead, and
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Tampa Attorney, Laurie Ohall, was named one of three instructional speakers at the upcoming National Business Institute Seminar “What Every Attorney Needs to Know About Medicaid, Medicare and Long-Term Care” on January 25, 2012. About the Course: Understand How the Public Benefits System Affects Your Practice Barbara and Bill have been married for 40 years. Bill is a Korean War veteran. He starts developing
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Some good news for Seniors Social Security announced a 3.6 percent increase in benefits for 2012. This is the first cost-of-living increase since 2009. What does that mean to you? If you are receiving social security, your increase will start with checks issued in January, 2012. The average recipient receives $1,175 per month according to the Social Security Administration, and the benefit could increase
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Did you know that if you or a family member served in the armed services during a time of war that there may be a benefit available to help pay for nursing home care (or assisted living or other medical expenses)? A little known pension benefit payable to veterans and their surviving spouses or unmarried child of a deceased wartime veteran (also commonly called
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As the number of family members providing care for aging parents increases, the solutions to find help with loss of income because of time off from employment for caregiving has become a major concern for many. The demands on both the time and energy needed to provide the needed care can make it impossible to maintain both a full time job with full time
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I had a phone call today from a lady who was concerned about some “Medicaid planning” she had received through a non-elder law attorney firm. The nursing home in which her father resided had suggested she go to this firm of non-attorneys to discuss obtaining Medicaid qualification for her father. These people call themselves “Medicaid eligibility specialists” (an attorney cannot call themselves an expert
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I am a big advocate of using geriatric care managers to help families, especially when the elder’s children live out of state or far away. A geriatric care manager (GCM) can help families cope with the challenges such as helping the family to identify problems or assistance which the elder may need, helping to arrange for in-home help or services, offering crisis intervention, making
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How is someone found to be incapacitated? Any person can file a petition with the court stating that they believe an individual to be incapacitated. The court then appoints an examining committee of three people to evaluate the individual and render an opinion of whether the person is, in fact, incapacitated. Usually, the committee consists of a doctor, a psychologist or RN and a
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