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Advance Directive for Health Care

Question of the Day on ElderCareMatters.com: "I am an Elder Care Professional with 15 years experience in helping families with their elder care matters. Should I be listed on ElderCareMatters.com?"

Answer:  If you are a professional who helps families plan for or deal with ANY of their elder care matters, then you owe it to yourself to be listed on America's #1 online source for "Elder Care Experts"….

ElderCareMatters.com

ElderCareMatters.com is where you will find more than 2,000 competent, caring elder care experts located across America, including:

  • Elder Law Attorneys
  • Estate Planning Advisors
  • Financial Planners
  • Investment Advisors
  • Geriatric Care Managers
  • Insurance Professionals
  • Life Care Planners
  • Professional Organizers
  • Reverse Mortgage Lenders
  • Senior Move Managers
  • Senior Real Estate Professionals
  •  Tax Advisors
  • Aging in Place Professionals
  • Daily Money Managers
  • And other elder care experts with long and successful careers working with seniors and their families

This is also where you will find some of America's best:

  • Assisted Living Communities
  • Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities
  • Continuing Care Retirement Communities
  • Home Care Agencies

Together, we provide families across America with:

  • Unparalleled professional expertise
  • Up-to-date elder care information & answers to your elder care questions
  • Competent, caring assistance with a wide range of elder care services

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional who helps families with ANY of their elder care matters, then request today an Application for Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance and get listed on ElderCareMatters.com - America's #1 source for "Elder Care Experts" plus information and answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters, LLC
ElderCareMatters.com

 

 

 

Question of the Day on ElderCareMatters.com: "What is the difference between a Power of Attorney and a Guardianship?"

Answer:  A power of attorney is a legal document signed by you that grants another individual power to act and make decisions on your behalf. It may be general or limited to specific matters, such as finances or healthcare.

A guardianship, on the other hand, is a power granted by a court at the request of a third party to take control over your person, with or without your prior or current consent.

Generally speaking, a guardian has the same powers over his ward as a parent has over a minor child, unless those powers are specifically curbed by the court that granted them.

A power of attorney is generally preferable to a guardianship. Powers of attorney can be setup quickly and inexpensively and allow you to choose who will have powers over you, while guardianships can be long and expensive to put in place and leave the choice of a guardian in the hands of the court.

To find competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online resource to find elder care experts plus elder care information & answers to your elder care questions.

Janna Dutton, Attorney at Law
Founding Partner
Dutton & Casey, P.C.

Chicago, Illinois  60603
312-899-0950
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Question of the Day on ElderCareMatters.com: "Is there a form that would spell out my wishes for my care if I become disabled physically or mentally?"

Answer:  A health care power of attorney would be important if you became mentally incompetent–authorizing an agent to make health care decisions for you.

To locate competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online source to find elder care experts plus information & answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

John E. Settle, Jr., Esq.
John E. Settle, Jr., Attorney at Law 
Bossier City, Louisiana  71111
318-742-5513
Member of the ElderCare Matters Alliance, Louisiana chapter

This Week's Featured Elder Care Expert on ElderCareMatters.com is John E. Settle, Jr., Attorney at Law, member of the Louisiana chapter of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance

John E. Settle, Jr., Attorney at Law

John E. Settle, Jr., Esq.
1915 Citizens Bank Drive    
Bossier City, LA 71111
Telephone: 318-742-5513
e-mail:   
Send E-Mail
website:
http://www.SettleLawFirm.com

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert is John E. Settle, Jr., Attorney at Law, Member of the Louisiana chapter of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance (a network of 1,450+ elder care experts) and Founder of the Law Office of John E. Settle, Jr., a law firm in Bossier City, Louisiana, a firm that specializes in Elder Law, Estate Planning, Elder Abuse Litigation and closely related practice areas. 

Every day this week (M-F), Mr. Settle will answer one of your questions about his areas of expertise (Elder Law, Estate Planning, Elder Abuse, Probate, etc), and this selected question along with Mr. Settle 's answer will be posted on the Featured Elder Care Question of the Day section of ElderCareMatters.com.

So if you would like to ask Mr. Settle a question about one of your elder care matters, just send a short email (a few sentences only please) to: questions@ElderCareMatters. com.  And remember to bookmark ElderCareMatters.com and check back often to see if your question is our Featured Elder Care Question of the Day.

Question of the Day on ElderCareMatters.com: "I am eighty years old and in excellent health. I have family and friends who can act as executors of my Will and Living Trust. I also have a power of attorney and a Health Care directive However, I don't feel that they would have the expertise to administer my estate (modest though it is). Do I need an Elder Care Lawyer or an Estate Planning Lawyer to help my executors in the case of a serious illness or my demise? What is the cheapest way to get the service that I need?"

Answer:  It is a great idea to have a relationship with an elder law attorney so that your family and friends know who to turn to if something were to happen.  The attorney can help them with decisions if you have a serious illness or require extended care.  The attorney can also help them through the estate administration process after you pass away.  Creating a relationship with a good elder law attorney does not have to be expensive.  Many attorneys either charge a fixed fee for their help or charge hourly only for the work they do for you.  When you meet with an attorney, he or she can talk about how they charge and help work with you to make sure that you are comfortable with how things would be handled.

To locate competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online source to find elder care experts plus information & answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

Angela N. Manz, Attorney at Law
The Law Firm of Angela N. Manz
Virginia Beach, VA  23452
757-271-6275
Member of the ElderCare Matters Alliance, Virginia chapter

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert on ElderCareMatters.com is Angela N. Manz, Attorney at Law

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert is Angela N. Manz, Attorney at Law, Member of the ElderCare Matters Alliance (a network of 1,450+ elder care experts) and Founder of the Law Office of Angela N. Manz, a law firm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that specializes in Elder Law, Estate Planning, and closely related practice areas. 

Every day this week (M-F), Ms. Manz will answer one of your questions about her areas of expertise (Elder Law & Estate Planning), and this selected question along with Ms. Manz 's answer will be posted on the Featured Elder Care Question of the Day section of ElderCareMatters.com.

So if you would like to ask Ms. Manz a question about your elder care matter, just send a short email (a few sentences only please) to: questions@ElderCareMatters. com.

And remember to bookmark ElderCareMatters.com and check back often to see if your question is our Featured Elder Care Question of the Day.

This Week's Featured Elder Care Expert is Dennis Duncan, Attorney at Law

Get FREE advice every day about elder care matters from one of our 1,375+ elder care experts (and our team of experts is growing daily).

Families now have FREE access every day to the advice of one of our 1,375+ ElderCare Matters Alliance experts, offering YOU not only answers to your elder care questions but also providing you with up-to-date, useful articles about a wide range of elder care matters. This is information that will help YOU plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging.

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert is Dennis Duncan, Attorney at Law, from Macon, Georgia.  Mr. Duncan provides legal assistance in the areas of Elder Law, Elder Care Planning, Asset Protection Planning, Social Security, Medicaid/Disability Planning, Wills and Trusts, Advance Directives, Probate Law, Guardianship/Conservatorship, and Annuities.  Mr. Duncan will answer a different question each day about his areas of expertise, and a selected question along with Mr. Duncan's answer will be posted on the Featured Elder Care Question of the Day section of www.ElderCareMatters.com.

So if you would like to ask Mr. Duncan a question about an elder care matter, just send a short email (a few sentences only please along with your first name and City & State) to: questions@ElderCareMatters.com

And remember to bookmark www.ElderCareMatters.com and check back every day to see if your question is our Featured Elder Care Question of the Day. 


Special Offer for ALL Elder Care Professionals:  The next 125 elder care professionals who apply for Lifetime Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance will receive a 25% discount off the regular price of $450 for lifetime membership.  (Just $337.50 for a "lifetime membership")  This is a very cost effective way to "get the word out" to literally hundreds of thousands of families across America about how you and your company can help families with their elder care matters. 

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

To request a Membership Application, send an email to: info@ElderCareMatters.com

www.ElderCareMatters.com – Experts, Information & Answers

At last, families across America have one resource they can tap into daily to relieve the stress of aging…

ElderCareMatters.com

 

ElderCareMatters.com, along with the 1,350+ members of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, provides families with the elder care resources they need to plan for and deal with their issues of aging.  In fact, here is where you will locate, by state, some of America's top elder care professionals who provide a total of 68 different elder care services that will help you plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging, including:

  1. Advance Medical Directives
  2. Aging In Place Services
  3. Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities
  4. Annuities 
  5. Arbitration 
  6. Asset Protection Planning
  7. Assisted Living Communities 
  8. Assisted Living Referral Services
  9. Bankruptcy
  10. Caregiving Education 
  11. Consumer Law
  12. Continuing Care Retirement Communiities
  13. Crisis Intervention
  14. Daily Money Management / Bill Paying
  15. Disability Income Insurance
  16. Elder Abuse Litigation Services
  17. Elder Law
  18. ElderCare Planning / Long-Term Care Planning
  19. Estate Administration
  20. Estate Liquidation
  21. Estate Planning
  22. Financial Planning
  23. Geriatric Care Management
  24. Guardianship / Conservatorship
  25. Health Insurance
  26. Hoarding Clean Up and Coaching Services
  27. Home Care
  28. Home Downsizing Services
  29. Home Health Care
  30. Home Modifications
  31. Hospice Care
  32. Independent Living Communities
  33. Investment Services
  34. Life Care Planning
  35. Life Insurance
  36. Litigation
  37. Long-Term Care Insurance
  38. Medicaid / Disability Planning
  39. Medical / Healthcare
  40. Medical Alert Systems
  41. Medical Claims Processing
  42. Medical Equipment & Supplies
  43. Medicare Consulting
  44. Medicare Supplemental Insurance
  45. Medication Therapy Management
  46. Moving / Relocation Services
  47. Personal Finance / Accounting / Tax Preparation
  48. Powers of Attorney
  49. Probate
  50. Public / Non-Profit Resources
  51. Real Estate Services
  52. Rehabilitation Services
  53. Residential Psychiatric Care
  54. Respite Care
  55. Retirement Planning
  56. Reverse Mortgages
  57. Securities Arbitration & Litigation Services
  58. Senior Move Management
  59. Senior Move Planning
  60. Social Security Disability Services
  61. Special Needs Planning
  62. Tax Law
  63. Tax Planning
  64. Transportation Services
  65. Trustee / Fiduciary Services
  66. Trusts
  67. VA Benefits
  68. Wills

 

If you and your family need help with your elder care matters, this is where you will find competent, caring elder care experts located near you who provide a total of 68 different services that will help you plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging.  Whether you are looking for:

  • an elder law attorney in Philadelphia
  • a geriatric care manager in South Florida
  • a long-term care insurance professional in Fort Worth,
  • a home care provider in Southern California, or
  • an assisted living community in Phoenix (as shown in the photo above)…

you can count on www.ElderCareMatters.com to help you find the Elder Care Experts and services that you will need in ALL 50 states (plus the District of Columbia).


 

Special Offer for ALL Elder Care Professionals:  The next 125 elder care professionals who apply for Lifetime Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance will receive a 25% discount off the regular price of lifetime membership.

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer and pay only $337.50 for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.   

To request a Membership Application, send an email to: info@ElderCareMatters.com.

Question of the Day: "What provisions in a will or revocable trust are appropriate for a child or parent who is unable to care for his or her own needs?"

Answer:  A last will and testament becomes effective only upon death and does not contain provisions for planning at incapacity.  However, a properly drafted trust appoints a successor trustee to make distributions to or for the benefit of the Settlor at his incapacity (and this can be expanded to provide for others as well upon the incapacity of the Settlor (such as the Settlor's spouse and children).  Also, a power of attorney for healthcare and property can be used which names an agent to make healthcare and property decisions for a person should they become incapacitated.  These can be drafted with very broad powers, or the powers of the agent can be as limited as desired.  Also, the power of attorney for property can include provisions which allow the agent to make gifts and other estate planning decisions on behalf of a person who has become incapacitated, if that is desired.

NOTE:  The information provided above is not intended to be nor should be relied upon as legal advice.  Peck Bloom, LLC is located in the State of Illinois and the attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Illinois and Florida.

To locate experts in your state who can help you with this elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com/statechapters.htm

Kerry R. Peck, Managing Partner
Peck Bloom, LLC
Chicago, Illinois  60603
1-877-845-1743

Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Question of the Day: "For how long and where should I keep all my original legal documents, including my original will? I’ve heard that I should not keep them in my safety deposit box."

Answer:  You should keep the most recent version of your legal documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney) forever (or until any administration on your estate after you die is complete). If you get a new document done, you can destroy the old one.  You can definitely keep the documents in your safety deposit box; however, make sure someone other than yourself has access to the box. That way, if something happens to you, someone can get into the box to obtain your documents.

Ben A. Neiburger, JD, CPA
Neiburger Law, Ltd.
Elmhurst, Illinois  60126
630-782-1766
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Question of the Day: "What exactly does Elder Law include?"

Answer:  Legal problems that affect the elderly are growing in number.  Our laws and regulations are becoming more complex.  Actions taken by older people with regard to a single matter may have unintended legal effects.  It is important for attorneys dealing with the elderly to have a broad understanding of the laws that may have an impact on a given situation, to avoid future problems. 

Unfortunately, this job is not made easy by the fact that Elder Law encompasses many different fields of law.  Some of these include:

  • Preservation/transfer of assets seeking to avoid spousal impoverishment when a spouse enters a nursing home
  • Medicaid
  • Medicare claims and appeals
  • Social security and disability claims and appeals
  • Supplemental and long term health insurance issues.
  • Disability planning, including use of durable powers of attorney, living trusts, “living wills,” for financial management and health care decisions, and other means of delegating management and decision-making to another in case of incompetence or incapacity.
  • Conservatorships and guardianships
  • Estate planning, including planning for the management of one's estate during life and its disposition on death through the use of trusts, wills and other planning documents
  • Probate
  • Administration and management of trusts and estates
  • Long-term care placements in nursing home and life care communities
  • Nursing home issues including questions of patients’ rights and nursing home quality
  • Elder abuse and fraud recovery cases
  • Housing issues, including discrimination and home equity conversions
  • Age discrimination in employment
  • Retirement, including public and private retirement benefits, survivor benefits and pension benefits
  • Health law
  • Mental health law

Most Elder Law Attorneys do not specialize in every one of these areas.  So when an attorney says he/she practices Elder Law, find out which of these matters he/she handles.  You will want to hire the attorney who regularly handles matters in the area of concern in your particular case and who will know enough about the other fields to question whether the action being taken might be affected by laws in any of the other areas of law on the list.  For example, if you are going to prepare a new will and your spouse is ill, the estate planner needs to know enough about Medicaid to know whether it is an issue with regard to your spouse’s medical care planning.

David F. Anderson, Esq.
David F. Anderson, P.A.
Miami Lakes, Florida  33016
305-825-4052
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Florida chapter

New Member Spotlight: Steven H. Peck, Esq.

Steven H. Peck, Attorney at Law
Law Offices of Steven H. Peck, Ltd.
300 Saunders Road
Suite 100
Riverwoods, Illinois  60015

Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Steven H. Peck is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and is married with three daughters. Mr. Peck graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard College. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.

Mr. Peck is licensed to practice law in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and six federal jurisdictions, including the United States Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Peck has been involved in the estate and tax planning field for over 19 years and is devoted full time to the practice of estate planning. He is a member of the Illinois Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys as well as Wealth Counsel, a nationwide group of attorneys committed to bringing their clients the finest estate planning advice and documentation possible. Additionally, he is a member of Elder Counsel, which is devoted to the practice of elder law and special needs planning. Mr. Peck is also listed in Nationwide Register’s, Who’s Who in Executives and Businesses.

Mr. Peck has presented several hundred seminars on the topic of estate planning for the public and various private organizations across the country. He was also a faculty member for National Business Institute’s professional education seminar “Handling the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax”.

Prior to estate planning law Mr. Peck practiced real estate development law and spent four years active duty as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Additionally, he has a substantial knowledge of the insurance field having spent several years as an insurance broker prior to practicing law.

Question of the Day: "How can I become one of the Elder Care Experts on www.ElderCareMatters.com and help families across America plan for and deal with their issues of aging?"

Answer:  If you are an elder care professional and you would like to "get the word out to thousands of families across America in a cost effective way about how you can help them plan for and deal with their issues of aging", then you should join our 1,250 elder care experts as a lifetime member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.  And, now, if you are one of the next 250 members, you will receive a 25% discount off the regular lifetime membership price.

This 25% discount is available only to the next 250 elder care professionals who join the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer and pay only $337.50 for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) to the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

To request an Application for Lifetime Membership, send an email directly to: psanders@eldercarematters.com

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters, LLC
1-877-379-4500
www.ElderCareMatters.com

Special Offer: Next 250 Professional Members Receive 25% Discount

If you are an elder care professional and you would like to "get the word out to thousands of families across America in a cost effective way about how you can help them plan for and deal with their issues of aging", then you should join our 1,250 elder care experts as a lifetime member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.  And, now, if you are one of the next 250 members, you will receive a 25% discount off the regular lifetime membership price.

This 25% discount is available only to the next 250 elder care professionals who join the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer and pay only $337.50 for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) to the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

To request an Application for Lifetime Membership, send an email directly to: psanders@eldercarematters.com

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters, LLC
1-877-379-4500
www.ElderCareMatters.com

Question: When you need a quick answer about an elder care matter, who can you ask?

Answer:  The experts of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

ElderCareMatters.com is now offering a NEW Ask an Elder Care Expert service.

Each week one of our 1,200 experts will answer your family's important questions about elder care matters – from legal, financial, housing, health care, etc.

If you would like to ask one of our Elder Care Experts a question about his/her areas of expertise, just send a short email (a few sentences only please) to:  Questions@ElderCareMatters.com

Every day we will post one of your questions along with an answer provided by our Featured Elder Care Expert of the Week to the homepage of www.ElderCareMatters.com (which is currently visited by thousands of families each week).  Yours may be one of the questions posted.

So bookmark www.ElderCareMatters.com and visit us daily as questions about a wide range of elder care matters are answered by some of America's top elder care professionals with years of experience helping families plan for and deal with their issues of aging.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters
1-877-379-4500
www.ElderCareMatters.com

ElderCare Matters Alliance now has 1,200 professional members

The ElderCare Matters Alliance is a national organization of 1,200 elder care experts who help families across America plan for and deal with their issues of aging, including providing families with a host of elder care resources that can be found on www.ElderCareMatters.com

If you are a competent, caring elder care professional – you need to belong to the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

To request a Lifetime Membership Application to the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, send an email to psanders@ElderCareMatters.com

www.ElderCareMatters.com – America's online source for elder care experts who help families plan for and deal with their issues of aging.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters
www.ElderCareMatters.com

“My family and I live in Georgia and are now planning for our elder care matters. We would like to know: What is an Advance Directive for Health Care and how implementing such a document can help us?"

Answer:  An Advance Directive is a written statement that is made in advance of (before) a serious illness or injury. An Advance Directive indicates your choices about how you want medical decisions made to be made about your health IF you are unable to make the choices on your own. Most people understand the term “Living Will” which is the earliest form of an Advanced Directive. Another common form of an Advance Directive is a "Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care." Although these two documents share a common objective, they are different. People often ask their attorney if both are needed (possibly in an effort to save a few dollars on their Estate Planning fees). The way the documents were initially crafted by state legislatures, the answer is that you have better protection when you execute both documents. Now Georgia and many states are combining these documents into a single Advance Directive document. In Georgia that document is called the Georgia Advanced Directive for Health Care and it became effective on July 1, 2007.

The Georgia Advanced Directive for Health Care allows you to make your choices for your health care and to name someone to make those choices for you, IF you become unable to make decisions about your medical treatment. The law expressly recognizes the right of an individual to control all aspects of his or her personal care and medical treatment, including:

the right to insist upon medical treatment,
decline medical treatment, or
direct that medical treatment be withdrawn.

In other words, the Georgia Advanced Directive for Health Care enables you to have some control over your future medical care. You can say "yes" to treatment you want, or say "no" to treatment you do not want to have performed on you.

David E. Danta, Attorney at Law
Atlanta, Georgia 31141
770-938-0977
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Georgia chapter