Disability can strike without warning, and determining how to pay for the costs of long-term care can be daunting. Regardless of your circumstances, you are likely to have more — and better — options, the earlier you start planning. To help identify our clients’ long-term care planning needs, we engage them in our pre-meeting questionnaire (pdf) to help create a clear picture of all the information needed to reach their goals.
Midlothian Estate & Elder Law provides comprehensive Long-Term Care Planning services, including:
- Identifying and evaluating appropriate residential options based on the necessary level of care (e.g., in-home care, adult day care, respite care, independent living, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and continuing care retirement communities)
- Identifying and evaluating financial and insurance options to pay for long-term care:
- Medicare, Medicaid, and private medical insurance
- Disability insurance and long-term care insurance
- Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Reviewing and resolving care management issues
- Arranging for the services of a geriatric care manager
- Preparing care agreements
- Assisting with nursing home admissions and discharge issues
- Medicaid eligibility and appeals
Long-Term Care Planning. Our goal at Midlothian Estate & Elder Law is to help families find a long-term care plan that is flexible enough to meet their needs and comprehensive enough to ensure quality care in the best possible environment. Although nursing home care may be necessary in some cases, with appropriate planning, it is often possible to receive the care you need while remaining in your own home.
Medicaid Eligibility. Midlothian Estate & Elder Law has extensive experience regarding Virginia Medicaid eligibility. In some cases, applying for Medicaid eligibility is the only possible solution to the high costs of long-term care, especially when nursing home care is necessary. Unfortunately, before turning to professional legal assistance, many individuals receive well-meant but incorrect advice from relatives, friends, neighbors, nurses, discharge planners, and even attorneys who do not practice in the areas of Elder Law and Medicaid Planning. Such misguided advice can result in denial of Medicaid benefits for months or even years, not to mention anxiety for the family. Careful and comprehensive elder law planning, as well as precise and timely plan implementation, is crucial to establishing and keeping Medicaid eligibility.
Medicaid Appeals. Midlothian Estate & Elder Law can also assist families in cases where Medicaid eligibility is denied or terminated. If you have received a Notice of Action or Advance Notice of Action denying or terminating Medicaid benefits, you have a limited amount of time to appeal that decision. You should immediately contact an attorney with experience in the area of Medicaid eligibility and appeals.
