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Metlife recently released their study confirming that nursing and assisted living rates increased nationwide between 2009 and 2010. For Maryland, in the Baltimore region nursing home costs for semi-private rooms ranged from $6,200/month to $8,742/month. Nursing home costs for private rooms ranged from $6,510/month to $11,005/month. Statewide, assisted living costs in 2010 ranged from $2,800/month…
Use of Medicaid Recipient’s Income to Pay Existing Nursing Home Expenses The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released a critical Medical Assistance eligibility update (MR 154). The changes in this update are profound. It now allows a nursing home Medical Assistance recipient to use her income to pay for nursing home related expenses (up…
Once a resident is settled in a nursing home, being told to leave can be very traumatic. Nursing homes are required to follow certain procedures before discharging a resident, but a facility may occasionally attempt to “dump” an undesirable resident by transferring the resident to a hospital and then refusing to let the him or…
Transferred to Pooled Trust Can Be Used to Save Assets For the past number of years there have been questions as to whether Medicaid transfer-of-assets penalties would apply to transfers to pooled trusts by individuals age 65 and older. A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) memo dated April 14, 2008, from Gale Arden…
If My Sister and I both File for Guardianship for our Mother, who has Priority? The starting point is what type of guardian do you seek. There are two types of guardians. The first is the guardian of the person. It is this person that makes medical related decisions on behalf of the disabled. The…
Online Legal Forms Company Sued LegalZoom, one of the most prominent sellers of do-it-yourself wills and other estate planning documents, is the target of a class action lawsuit in California charging that the company engages in deceptive business practices and is practicing law without a license. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court,…
Maryland Power of Attorney Upon review of the new financial power of attorney statutory language for both the short and long form, there are many good aspects with the new provisions. There are enforcement provisions in this new law. Before, a bank could refuse to honor your power of attorney and there would be virtually…
Maryland Power of Attorney The Maryland General Assembly just passed and the governor signed into law sweeping new changes regarding Maryland financial powers of attorney (Maryland Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Loretta’s Law). There are a whole host of changes including new execution requirements, new statutory language, enforcement provisions, financial agent disclosure and non-disclosure…
Adult contested guardianship can occur when a parent losses the ability to make decisions for her health and/or her financial well-being. Is There a Need for a Guardian? Having a properly executed financial power of attorney and advance directive can certainly avoid the need for guardianship in many instances. But, what happens if the financial…
The use of Pooled Trusts just became more viable as a method by which to protect assets from nursing home expenses.