It’s never easy to watch our parents get older and lose the capabilities to do certain tasks independently. It’s even harder for those whose parents have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia while raising a young family of your own simultaneously. Not only does this diagnosis guarantee a parent’s eventual loss of skills and independence, but it could also mean a loss of personality traits and characteristics of the person who raised them.

Below is a letter I think unfortunately many of us can relate too. Written by a member of the Sandwich Generation to sociologist and coach Christine Carter about her struggles with feeling overwhelmed, sad, and stuck.

“My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago, just before I got pregnant with my second daughter. I was fortunate to have a stellar short-term therapist available through a pregnancy program at work to help me come to grips with my mom’s...

How old should you be before you get powers of attorney? In this video, I was inspired right after leaving a court hearing to answer this VERY important question about why it may not be when, or why, you think.

Use The Amazing Legal Tools Available To Protect Yourself, and Those You Love. 

How?  Contact us Today: (248)278-1511

Prefer to read this information? Below is the video transcript.

So how old should you be before you have a power of attorney?

Hi, I'm Nicole Wipp, the founder and lead attorney of the Family and Aging Law Center.

I'm sitting here in my car after I literally just got out of court in that building right there today, and I got so inspired to make this video because of what happened in court today.

You know, the reason that I was there is because I was representing a woman that is younger than me. She has a husband that got in a terrible car accident, and now is completely unable to make any decisions for himself related to finances and related...

As an elder law attorney, I see with much more frequency than most how certain issues related to aging cause financial distress in ways that families never expected...and certainly didn’t prepare for. That being said, even I was surprised to read some findings recently put out by the The Federal Reserve’s survey of consumer finances, via the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, about the drastic increase in bankruptcy filings for older Americans (age 65-74).

This study found that filings by older Americans increased by a whopping 204% in the years between 1991-2014. The reasons why, unfortunately, are not surprising to me - but they may be to you.  

It is very important to understand that these reasons, especially the two outlined below, are ones that can happen to any family - even families that were financially “secure,” or thought they were.  That is why it is so important to understand the root causes of this massive increase - so that we can be...

Avoid Nursing Home Poverty & Spend Down - Jane's Story

The story below has been changed in order to protect the client's confidentiality, while retaining the truth of the details.  While the Family & Aging Law Center cannot guarantee results, we can say that the results below are typical for our office. 

Video Transcript:

Hi everybody, Attorney Nicole Wipp here with the Family & Aging Law Center.

So, today, I'd love to share with you a story about our client, Jane (*not her real name!). Jane, like so many of our clients, needed nursing home level care. Yet, her family was so scared - because they did not know what to do, just like so many people don't know what to do. They had been being told, "you HAVE to do a spend down, you have to spend down her money to $2,000 before she can receive benefits for care...she can't have two houses (which is what she had). She can only have one house! You've gotta sell one!" All of these things were being told to the...

...About Maintaining Control When It Comes To Estate Planning & Asset Protection

Listen as attorney, Nicole Wipp, discusses these three critical considerations when it comes to protecting yourself and your family.

1. The Law
2. The Issues
3. Your Options

You may also like: Last Will and Testament - The Facts

Questions? Need Help? Contact Us Today (248) 278-1511

The information in this video is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.

I’m not an Elder Law attorney – and I don’t play one on TV. That being said, I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Family & Aging Law Center since December of 2015. What I’ve learned has been eye-opening – even shocking. As a well-educated person, I always thought I knew just enough about estate planning and elder law. I was wrong.

~Julie Taylor

First, I’m going to tell you a little bit about what I’ve learned about long term care in Michigan – which is, for most, also surprising. Generally speaking, the cost of skilled long term care can range anywhere from $8,000 - $14,000 a month (or more!). Shocking, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t have that kind of money! If my husband or I were ever faced with one (or both) of us needing care, I wouldn’t want to see everything we’ve worked for disappear. Even worse, what happens after our life savings goes to the cost of care?...

With PACE, teams of health care professionals focus on the unique needs and circumstances of participants, and their families, to make sure participants receive the coordinated care they need.

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a program that helps seniors meet their health care needs at home & in their community as an alternative to a nursing home or other care facility.

SERVICES

With PACE, an individualized plan of care is developed and maintained by a team of health care and service professionals to meet specific needs. These services include all Medicare and Medicaid-covered services and may include, but are not limited to:

• Primary and Specialist Care (including Women's Health)
• Medications
• Medical Transportation
• Therapy (Occupational, Physical, Speech)
• Recreational Day Center Activities
• Home Care
• Hospital & Emergency Services
• Dental
• Vision
• Hearing
• Foot Care
• Nursing Home
• End of Life Supportive Care

In Michigan, the areas serviced by PACE...

Individuals seeking to obtain Long-Term Care services outside of a nursing home must navigate a different set of Medicaid eligibility rules, depending on the type of services required.

One of the primary goals expressed by our clients is to remain in their own homes or at least in the most independent setting possible.

Navigating the maze of community care requires an in-depth knowledge of the services available in the home, and in adult homes and assisted living facilities, and an ability to manage income and resources to maximize their value, while utilizing Medicaid services wherever available to supplement the care provided by the individual and their family. Learn more about elderly care here.

Community-based Medicaid services are available through the MI Choice Waiver. Generally, however, Medicaid does not pay for adult home or assisted living care, which under existing rules must be paid for privately.

In order to access community-based...

Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trusts With David Zumpano (Part 2)

Irrevocable trusts, traditionally, are estate tax planning devices. Very few Americans need estate tax planning, however – less than 2%. Why, then, would you want an irrevocable trust?

This two part series, including part one, focuses on a new type of irrevocable trust known as the irrevocable pure grantor trust.

Let's Continue...

Irrevocable pure grantor trusts are mainly used to protect assets from creditors and predators, and can be an excellent pre-planning tool for elder law attorneys and their clients.  Understanding what they are, and how they differ, from traditional irrevocable trusts is essential.

In this episode, David Zumpano, a nationally recognized expert on asset protection and elder law planning (also a CPA & attorney) discusses this irrevocable trust, who it is for, and why you may want one.

Learn how this type of trust is one of the best ways to truly keep your money “safe.”

...

This article about nursing home spend downs by Michigan estate planning and elder law attorney Nicole Wipp and the Family and Aging Law Center is not legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For legal advice on your situation, consult with a qualified elder law attorney.

How Do We Avoid A Total Nursing Home Spend Down?

Family & Aging Law Center paralegal Sharon Kwolek and attorney Nicole Wipp show a nursing home medicaid application - 272 pages long - saving the client $250,000.00 ++.  This could not have been accomplished by the clients themselves - they needed a qualified elder law attorney!

Q: I’ve been told that if either of my parents needs nursing home care, we have to spend all of their money.  Is this true?  Can we legally protect some of my parent’s money?

A: The answer is, without a proper, legal plan, you do have to engage in what is called a “Spend Down.”  How much your parents are allowed to keep...