Elder Rights - Simms Law Firm

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has all of us facing our own mortality. Some of us are realizing that we do not have the basic estate planning documents.

To protect yourself and your loved ones now’s a good time to make sure that you have the following four documents prepared and updated.

A will or revocable trust.
- We need to leave instructions as to who will inherit our assets and who will be in control of our estates. Revocable Trusts are a good tool to avoid probate.
Beneficiary designations on financial accounts.
- Many assets do not pass through a will or trust, such as an IRA, 401(k) account, or life insurance policy, and instead the proceeds go to the person you name as the beneficiary of that account.
Advance Directive for Health Care.
- This document will give the person you designate as your agent the ability to make the medical decisions you specify on your behalf.
Financial durable power of attorney.
- In the chance that you become incompetent, financial responsibilities continue. You can designate a trusted person to handle your financial and legal affairs if you cannot.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more. We are currently offering free consultations via video conference to assist you with your needs.

This blog post is not case-specific and is provided only for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Blog topics may or may not be updated and entries may be out-of-date at the time you view them.

NURSING HOME MYTHS AND REALITIES

Many of my clients are worried about long-term costs if they ever need a nursing home. Most do not have any type of long-term care insurance.

These clients typically ask: Will the nursing take my house? Or they say: I don’t want to give all my hard-earned money to a nursing home!

What they are really asking me is how to get on Medicaid! Medicaid is the government assistance program that pays for long-term care. It is meant for folks with low income and few assets.

But… the Medicaid rules are complicated and there are ways to become eligible and keep many of your assets. For example, in Florida, your primary residence does NOT count as an asset when computing eligibility. There are many other types of assets that do not count as well. And if your income is too high, there is a type of income Trust you can create and still become eligible for Medicaid.

However, there is another reality here. Not all facilities accept Medicaid. And you are not likely to get your own room in a Medicaid facility. Further, you will not be able to use your own doctors. For health care, Medicaid patients must be in a managed care plan. And not all treatments and therapies are paid for by Medicaid.

So, no, you don’t need to give your house to the state, but Medicaid is a needs-based program and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you might want.

Do you have questions or need help with planning for your future?

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Spending Time With Pets is Good For You!

Most seniors want to stay at home while they age, but social isolation is a common problem. A new survey done by a senior home care agency reports that one in five senior Americans reports feeling lonely. The survey concludes that seniors who own pets are healthier and happier!

Survey results found that senior pet owners cited stress relief, sense of purpose and exercise as leading benefits to owning a pet. Pet owners are also more likely to have lower blood pressure and pets have even been shown to aid in recovery after a heart attack.

Research also shows animal interaction can help perceptions of pain and discomfort, and improve motivation for treatment protocols for diseases such as cancer by helping individuals feel more focused and positive moving forward.

Seniors should be encouraged to be safe and happy in their own homes for as long as possible. That may include helping them with their pets, taking them to dog parks or visiting pet-friendly businesses.

And what about those seniors who want to move to a senior living community?

Eight-two percent of senior animal owners surveyed said they would not consider moving to a senior living community without their pet.

Some senior living facilities accept pets and almost all encourage visits from pets.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Do You Have a Will?

A Will is the primary legal document for determining how your assets will be distributed and what would happen to your minor children on your death. But you can’t just place your Will in a fire safe box and forget about it: Review and update it regularly to reflect changes in your personal circumstances as well as other events.

For instance, you might add to or subtract from the list of beneficiaries, possibly because of births of children and grandchildren and marriages or divorces of family members. Or, you might want to replace the Personal Representative (Executor) you initially named in the Will. Also, your Will may need to be amended if and when significant tax reforms are passed.

And remember, don’t wait until it’s too last. You will no longer be able to change your Will if you are suffering from a disability that affects your thinking, such as a stroke or dementia.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Why Seniors Should Not Share a Joint Bank Account with an Adult Child

Case Study: 85 year old Mom comes to see me because she received a notice from her bank that her entire savings account is frozen. There is a court judgment against her by VISA credit card. Mom does not have a Visa account. Grown-up son does. Mom put grown-up son on her bank account so he could “take care of her” if she got sick. What Mom didn’t know is that she made HER money now her son’s money, too. What Mom also did not know is that son did not pay his Visa credit card.

Beware seniors: you might think that by putting your child’s name on a bank account (or home) you are saving a trip to the lawyer’s office. Why do you need a power of attorney or will if your child is already on the account?

As you can see by the illustration above, adding a child to a bank account may expose the parent’s hard earned money to that child’s creditors.

Another reason not to take this short cut, if the child is married, and then gets divorced, YOUR money is his money and is subject to division in the divorce.

Need another reason? For even the best intentioned child, the temptations of money may be too great. Maybe they have an alcohol or drug issue? Maybe they need to pay off debts. The child may feel that there is no true harm by taking some money “early”.

Think again, Mom. Keep your money safe.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

CAN TECHNOLOGY KEEP YOU SAFE FROM ELDER ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION?

Elders lose millions of dollars per year according the latest statistics from the National Adult Protective Services Association. Ninety percent of the abusers are family members or trusted others. Sadly, it is also reported that only 1 in 44 cases of financial abuse are reported to the authorities. And 1 in 10 cases are so devastating that the elder victim must turn to Medicaid because their savings are deleted.

To help vulnerable adults, several companies are now offering concierge bill pay services, and some companies also monitor bank and investment accounts and credit cards. These companies establish a baseline from the elder’s historical spending and saving behavior so they can then identify erratic activity, like unusual withdrawals, missing deposits, and changes in spending patterns.

Elder Law attorneys can also assist victims by bringing lawsuits for civil theft on a vulnerable adult. Florida law allows the elder victim to recover triple damages in these types of suits.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Many of us tend to procrastinate about making hard decisions. Unfortunately, with estate planning and elder care, this can have dire consequences.

Recently, an 80 year old lady came to see me about doing her Will. She was clear in her mind about who she wanted to leave her money to when she died and who should take care of her finances if she became too ill. And, she knew what kind of care she wanted if she could no longer live alone.

I was hired to do a basic Estate Plan for her – Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, and Living Will. I prepared the documents and called her to come in to sign. No Answer. Next day, No Answer.

It turns out my client had a stroke and was unlikely to recover. She had no legal documents in place to authorize any of her children to handle her finances or make decisions regarding health care. The children could not agree, and a guardianship case was opened in court while my client remained in the hospital unable to communicate.

This is an all too familiar story in my Elder Law practice.

Why do people procrastinate about these important planning tools? It’s simple:

No one wants to think about mental incapacity or death.
No one likes to pay attorney fees.
No one likes to expose their personal life to another person, even an attorney.
No one wants to give a child the authority to “put them in a home”.
Sometimes it’s not easy to decide how to divide your estate.

It’s wise to start your estate planning early. Here are some top reasons:

The top reason, of course, is my 80 year old client. You might lose your ability to sign documents.
Like my client, you might lose your ability to communicate your wishes to your family or doctors.
Keep harmony among family members – my client’s children could not agree what to do – they went to court!
You might need someone to handle your finances if you cannot.

After watching my client and many others like her, I know how important it is to plan ahead.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Protect Yourself Against Elder Abuse!

Florida is home to many senior citizens. Unfortunately, this makes Florida a magnet for criminals who take advantage of the elderly.

Many elder abuse scams take the form of offering estate planning or financial services to vulnerable elderly adults. The scammers convince victims to pay them thousands of dollars for various types of estate planning services such as in-home personal care and companion services, and insurance policies to cover long-term care.

Earlier this year, the Florida Attorney General sued a Broward County couple who allegedly stole a quarter of a million dollars from senior citizens throughout the state of Florida by offering long-term care programs and services. The bulk of the funds were diverted to the scammers for their personal use. The Attorney General’s office is suing under “deceptive practices” laws. The case remains pending.

Proper estate planning can help protect against such abuse by ensuring there is a designated agent available to manage a vulnerable adult’s personal and financial affairs. A Durable Power of Attorney or Trust are excellent tools to manage such situations.

If you need advice on preparing such documents, call the Law Office of Debra G. Simms today at 386.256.4882

A Dementia Living Will is specifically designed to address advance care planning in cases of dementia. In order to be effective, the document must be combined with a Designation of Advance Healthcare Surrogate and a Living Will.

For many people with dementia, there can be a number of years between losing the ability to make medical decisions and the point at which a living will would take effect. Multiple medical issues can occur during those years, and a lack of information leaves your healthcare surrogates unprepared.

The purpose of the Dementia Living Will is to provide information to your health care surrogate in case you develop dementia. It is intended to serve as a communication tool so your surrogate is aware of your medical choices regarding medical issues that are common during dementia.

The document can be completed by anyone over the age of 18 and is particularly helpful for those who are concerned about a diagnosis of dementia in the future and those individuals who have been diagnosed with early dementia are still capable of making their own medical choices.

Disclaimer: If properly drafted and executed with witnesses the document should comply with Florida law. However, with any new legal document, there may be some legal issues. In the case of any challenge to legality, a signed and witnessed documents will provide a presumption of “clear and convincing evidence of the principal’s wishes”.

The Law Office of Debra G. Simms now offers a Dementia Living Will.

Questions? The Law Office of Debra Simms is here to help. Call us today 386.256.4882

I help a lot of Senior citizens and their families find placement in Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes. I make it my business to know about the quality of care in the facilities in my community. This is part of my job. But most families have no idea how to obtain reliable information about nursing homes and often make regrettable decisions.

Most of us have heard about the 12 nursing home residents that died from heat and neglect in a South Florida nursing home after Hurricane Irma. But lesser known examples of nursing home neglect abound throughout the State of Florida, a state with over 70,000 nursing home residents.

Last February, an Orlando nursing home sent 9 of its residents on an outing to a supermarket with only one assistant to supervise. All of the residents needed round the clock care and five of them were in wheelchairs. The story ends with all of the residents suffering from neglect and one falling and breaking his hip. The facility was fined for this and for other actions, including failing to provide kidney dialysis to another resident.

The Trump administration is pushing to soften fines against the nursing home industry. And the State of Florida has begun making nursing home inspection reports less transparent to the public. State law requires these facilities to carry liability insurance, but not at specific levels. Many nursing home resident advocates say that residents in nursing homes have far fewer rights than someone living outside one.

All of this has prompted a proposal to revise the Florida Constitution to include a Nursing Home Bill of Rights. It is Proposal 88, and if approved by the state’s Constitution Revision Committee, after a series of public hearings, it will go before voters in November. The proposal is being opposed by the Florida Health Care Association, which represents the nursing home industry.

To learn more about this proposal or for information on attendant at the public hearings, visit: Nursing Home Bill of Rights

The Law Office of Debra G. Simms will be glad to assist you with your elder care and estate planning questions. Call us today at (386) 256-4882.

Contact Us

Port Orange Office:
Prestige Executive Center
823 Dunlawton Ave. Unit C
Port Orange, FL 32129
Local: 386.256.4882
Toll Free: 877.447.4667

New Smyrna Beach Office:
817 E. 7th Ave
New Smyrna Beach FL, 32169
Local: 386.256.4882
Toll Free: 877.447.4667