Texas Estate Planning

Help Wanted: Daughter to Inherit Fortune

It is ordinarily assumed that wealthy people will leave the majority of their assets to their children. However, if a wealthy person does not have any children, then something else needs to be done with the assets.

Most people in that situation have some idea of what they want to do. They have someone else in mind to inherit the assets or they have charitable causes they want to benefit as their legacy.

In China, a woman has decided to go a different route. She has taken out an advertisement for someone to be her adult daughter and to eventually inherit her wealth. The story was reported by Global Times in an article titled "Wealthy doctor posts ad seeking daughter to inherit fortune."

The idea of adopting an adult to be your heir is not new. It used to be somewhat common in ancient times.

However, with modern estate planning in the United States you do not need to make someone your child for them to inherit your assets. You can designate whomever you wish in your estate plan.

If you would like to know how, contact an experienced estate planning attorney. He or she can provide you with the wisdom and experience that comes with having “seen it all” when it comes to estate planning.

Reference: Global Times (January 27, 2015) "Wealthy doctor posts ad seeking daughter to inherit fortune."

Hospice Still Waiting on Help from Medicare

U.S. health care has been in flux since 2010, with many aspects of health care reform still on hold. Hospice is one area that is still waiting for help with protecting the elderly and those in end-of-life care.

As reported quite recently through the Kaiser Health News, hospice care has yet to be expanded under the Medicare project set out three years ago.

The article titled “Medicare Lags In Project to Expand Hospice” examines the very real conflict between “curative” treatment and “palliative” treatment. The former is meant to cure a condition and thereby prolong life, and the latter is meant to ease the pain caused by a condition without a focus on effecting a cure.

Naturally, the curative and palliative treatments are often considered opposites. In fact, choosing palliative care would mean giving up all hope on curative care. Consequently, it is only natural that rapidly declining patients delay their entry into palliative hospice care.

The 2010 law was to begin inroads into exploring combined care, the possibility of both curative and palliative concurrently. Logically, this should ease transitions without forsaking hopes, likely reducing costs in the process. To date, however, this has not happened.

Health care planning is complicated, and since so much is at stake be sure to consult a professional when exploring your options. 

Reference: Kaiser Health News (May 9, 2013) “Medicare Lags In Project to Expand Hospice”

Medicare Won’t Pay Your Claim? Appeal It!

Few things are more frustrating than battling bureaucracy. But if you’ve had a Medicare claim denied – and about 10 percent of Medicare claims are denied – you’re well-advised to hang in there and fight the good fight! Reuters recently published an article explaining “How to appeal when Medicare won't pay.” It is not an uncomplicated process, but if Medicare refuses to pay for services your doctor recommends it’s certainly worth your while to fight. The numbers are fairly enlightening: In 2010, 40 percent of Part A appeals and 53 percent of Part B appeals were granted, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers Medicare (CMS). Even in the case of big ticket durable medical equipment appeals, 44 percent of appeals were successful. More than half of appeals to Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans are successful, too. Medicare consumer advocates offer these tips for filing an appeal: 1. Send a letter. Your paper trail starts with the summary notice of coverage you get in the mail. Take this notice, circle the erroneous denial, and write out why you think it should be covered. Make a copy, and mail one. 2. Don’t waste time. You have 120 days to file an appeal for Medicare Part B claims, and only 60 days for Medicare Advantage or Part D. If you filed for pre-approval and were denied, you have only 14 days to initiate your appeal. 3. Be persistent. You have a right to four levels of appeal, so don’t quit until you have exhausted all of your options. 4. Get help. For appeals beyond the first level, you may want to seek help from an elder law attorney. Reference: Reuters (November 13, 2012) “How to appeal when Medicare won't pay”

Houston, Tx Seniors and Singles Without Family – Consider A Care Committee

I’ll never forget my first Medicaid client. After two months of her assuring me she had no one to help her out, running her to the bank for documents, spending hours with her insurance company on my cell phone at the nursing home so she could give them permission to talk to me, and then finally getting the application filed, she tells me she actually has children in the area who refused to help her through this. The Care Committee concept would have truly helped my client in her crisis planning.

Unfortunately for many elderly and single persons the legal system and, perhaps to an even greater extent the healthcare system, are designed around family-based persons. The primary caregiver and decision-maker for so many of our elderly is an unpaid family member, usually an adult child. So, to whom can the single elderly person turn when they have no children?

This is a question that comes up often, but the answers tend to be sparse and inadequate. Enter a relatively new development: the Care Committee. The New Old Age Blog on the New York Times recently addressed this concept in an article titled Care by Consensus.

More likely than not, an elderly person without children already turns to other people in his or her life for advice and counsel. These other people serve as surrogate family members. In a sense, that is all a Care Committee is, with the added benefit of legal organization.

Here’s how it works: You ask and appoint members of your Care Committee and task them with carrying out your intentions when you are not able to articulate them yourself. Accordingly, they assume these powers only when you are incapacitated. Think of it as establishing an extended type of living will, or advanced directive. You can even spell out your intentions and simply ask your committee to follow them, or else appoint a guardian or care manager to follow them instead.

It is at least one possible solution for a fairly intractable problem. Nevertheless, committees always have their drawbacks, especially when there are disagreements. Of course, your family members also can (and likely will) disagree at times.

Another practical problem concerns the very friends you would appoint to your Care Committee. Unless they are significantly younger, they may have their own medical care emergencies and concerns, causing you to constantly revise and refine your committee choices.

Nevertheless, forming a Care Committee may be a solid option for an elderly person in the right situation. Certainly, this is an option worth considering. I would commend the original article for your reading. At any rate, if you are considering a Care Committee, be sure to engage competent elder law counsel to help evaluate this option and prepare the proper legal instruments.

Give us a call at 713-429-0218 or stop by our website for more information on Elder Planning, www.ardlawfirm.com

Reference: The New York Times (March 21, 2012) “Care by Consensus”

 

Give the Ard Law Firm, Pllc a call for a consultation, 713-429-0218. Or visit our site for more information on your family's options! www.ardlawfirm.com