Americans are living longer than ever before, helping to make elder law a rapidly growing and increasingly important area of the law. Elder law focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities that come with growing older. It encompasses a number of practice areas, including asset protection, estate planning, Medicaid planning, Veterans Benefits, and more. At the Law Office of Mark C. Metzger, our goal is to help seniors remain independent for as long as they can, protect hard-earned assets from the high cost of long-term care, and provide thoughtful counsel in a Medicaid crisis situation.
Medicaid Planning
Did you know that approximately one out of every two women, and one out of every four men, will enter a nursing home at some point in their lives? Or that nursing home costs in Illinois will run between $6,000 and $9,000 a month? Or that roughly two out of three families exhaust their life savings within a single year of entering a nursing home?
Does all of this mean you are destined to go broke if you or your spouse requires long-term care? Not if we can help it. And we can. How? By designing a plan in advance to prepare for the expense of long-term care, and/or finding ways to help you get assistance from Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, and other sources.
Pre-planning
Pre-planning, also known as non-crisis Medicaid planning, is for people who are healthy now but want to have a plan in place to protect their life savings if they become incapacitated in the future. We can create and implement a plan that allows you to preserve your life savings in the face of high long-term care costs, as well as adequately manage your financial and personal affairs in the event of incapacity. With such a plan, you can get the care you need, protect your assets and enjoy greater peace of mind.
A Medicaid Crisis
This is a situation in which a person has been admitted to a nursing home, or told they must enter one very soon, and been informed that he or she has too many assets to qualify for Medicaid assistance. What you need to know is that just because a friend, relative, nursing home employee, or Medicaid worker has told you that you are not eligible for assistance, chances are they do not understand the complex and ever-changing laws governing Medicaid eligibility. We do. Contact us as soon as possible if you or someone you love is facing a Medicaid crisis. We have helped many families receive the assistance they need, even those who have been denied benefits in the past or are already in a nursing home.