AL Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Are you prepared for Medicare open enrollment? If you or a loved one are enrolled in Medicare, now is the time to review your healthcare plan and your medical needs to see if you need to make changes to your current Medicare coverage. 

Every year in September, Medicare plans send out an Annual Notice of Change letter or an Evidence of Coverage letter outlining your plan benefits and notifying you of any changes to coverage.  It can be important to review these notices closely because Medicare insurance policies make changes every year.  Those changes may include changes in premium pricing, co-pay amounts and requirements, or even changes in coverage. 

It is also important to spend some time thinking about your own healthcare needs for the year as you prepare for Medicare open enrollment.

Planning for death or incapacity may not be something that is typically on the forefront of our minds and can often be pushed to the backburner as we tackle our daily lives.  Have you considered, however, the fact that the COVID-19 crisis and the risk it has imposed on many members of the community may have forced more Americans to face the reality that they should make sure they have a plan in place for the possibility that they suffer a tragedy such as a severe case of this new virus? 

Every year in October is Estate Planning Awareness Week, and estate planning practitioners try to raise awareness of the importance of creating a comprehensive estate plan and executing key documents meant to protect you, your family, and your assets in the event of your death or incapacity.  This year, in light of the pandemic, the week seems to hold extra significance.

Due to social-distancing and other restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19, it may be even more difficult for families to gather and make financial and healthcare decisions during a crisis.  This may be one reason why now, more than ever, it can be essential to have a comprehensive estate plan in place.

Recent events are causing many of us to consider our mortality and how we can ensure our loved ones are taken care of, especially if the unexpected happens. Life insurance can be an affordable way to provide for our children, a spouse, a sibling, aging parents, and other loved ones. Life insurance can provide heirs numerous benefits: extra income to help pay ongoing household bills; funds to pay off a mortgage, credit cards and other debt; money to pay for college, or money to pay funeral costs and other final expenses. For business owners, life insurance also plays a vital role in business succession planning.

A simple way to determine the amount of life insurance needed for income replacement purposes is to multiply the annual income to be replaced by the number of years it will be needed.
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It’s an unfortunate truth that seniors can be prime targets for financial abuse and scams. Sadly, the elderly are often taken advantage of by strangers — and sometimes even their own family members. That’s why it’s important that planning is in place to help seniors protect themselves and their assets.

Long term care insurance was sold aggressively in the 1980s, 90s and thereafter to offset the costs of seniors needing to live in a nursing home, assisted living or needing at home health care.

Home ownership is the American Dream. People work hard all their lives to own a home, and it is often their most valuable and significant possession. So, when health begins to fail and the need for long-term care arises, we often get this fear-filled question from our clients: will they take away my home?

There is a wide range of home health care services available from daily household tasks to medical care.