F. Paul Maloof, Esquire
A partner with Redmon, Peyton & Braswell LLP
Elder Care Law
As your parents and loved ones, or perhaps even you, grow older, you'll discover a whole new universe of laws, regulations, estate planning issues that you need to be aware of to avoid traps of being over-taxed, over-charged, and under-served by government programs. Elder Care law covers a lot of ground.
Some of the legal topics that affect Senior Citizens include:
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Long term health insurance coverage
- Nursing home contracts
- Pension rights
- Social security rights
Other aspects of elder care law relate to estate planning, and include preparation of a Last Will and Testament, preserving your estate, gift giving as an estate planning technique, preparation of a durable power of attorney, applying for the appointment of a conservatorship, applying for a guardianship, and preparation of a living will.
If you already have a living will, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, has set strict standards about who can and cannot see or discuss your medical information, and it is critical to update all of your medical documents to bring them into compliance with this law in order ensure that your instructions regarding your care are followed.
And even if wills, trusts, or estates are already in place, it is never too late to improve on a situation that involves elderly estate planning. The most important concern is to recognize that you want to preserve the estate that you or your parents worked so hard to establish over the years and to pass it on to your family without incurring a big bite from government taxes.
There are many elderly estate planning techniques that may be useful to an estate plan, such as setting up a trust into which your assets can be placed to avoid taxes. Other techniques may be used to accomplish generation-skipping transfers that are permitted by law, and to avoid the trap of a gift made in contemplation of death.
It is critical that you or your loved ones know their rights under federal and state laws. Having a plan in place before the situation arises where you or your loved one need elder care will free you from needless worry and strife.
F. Paul Maloof and his colleagues at Redmon, Peyton & Braswell LLP have assisted senior citizens with elder care law issues for many years. They would like to be able to help you as well. Please contact us by filling in the form below, or call us at the number at the top of the page.
F. Paul Maloof
510 King St., Suite 301
Alexandria, VA
22314-3132
Tel: 703-684-2000 Ext. 54