A Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is a document that is designed to allow terminally ill individuals and those experiencing an emergency to indicate to health care professionals what they desire to happen in life-ending situations. A POLST is NOT a subst [...]
One of the largest challenges in the modern practice of elder law and estate planning consists of issues surrounding capacity to sign documents. Our population is living longer than ever before and we now have one of the largest senior populations of all time. This number is [...]
Many people have heard of both Wills and Trusts, but do you understand what makes them distinct from each other? As with numerous estate planning topics, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish what the differences between the two are and when one is more appropriate than th [...]
Medicaid is a government program that provides health coverage to low-income and disabled individuals. Even though they have similar names, Medicaid and Medicare are distinct from one another. For example, all people age 65 and older are eligible for Medicare, while only thos [...]
There is a special legal term for when someone passes away without a Will. It’s called dying intestate. When somebody dies intestate, there is a standardized process by which the probate court distributes the deceased’s estate. This means that even if someone doesn’t undertak [...]
Understanding a Power of Attorney What is a Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives someone the ability to make financial decisions and enter into transactions on your behalf. In signing a Power of Attorney, you are considered the “Principa [...]
DNR/DNI stands for “Do Not Resuscitate/Do Not Intubate.” An individual’s wishes for DNR/DNI orders can be written in a Health Care Directive, a POLST form (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment), or on a DNR/DNI order. If a patient chooses DNR, it means that in the [...]
Sure, many of us have planned a surprise birthday party for a friend or a surprise visit to our parents for the holidays, but have you ever thought about planning ahead for your funeral arrangements? While it is not nearly as entertaining, planning for funeral arrangements ca [...]
Medicare is a program for which all Americans age 65 and older qualify. It is not means-tested or limited to the financially needy; however, it has specific coverage limitations that are not always known to those who rely upon Medicare for care. There are four parts to Medica [...]
What It Is One of the issues most of us will face as we get older is the possibility of a critical and/or debilitating disease that may limit our independence, ability to experience a high quality of life, and increase the risk that we will outlive a fixed income. This is wh [...]
