Aging is a Legal Puzzle

When a former colleague called me from her nursing home bed, it was out of the blue. We hadn't spoken in years. The conversation covered a maze of legal issues.

Here was a smart person being pressured by a non-attorney "Medicaid company" to sign an agreement for Medicaid planning. The Medicaid planning seemed to overlook important issues like my colleague's real estate and her goals for her estate. There are nursing facilities that partner with these "Medicaid companies" or directly tell residents that the residents do not need to hire an attorney. My colleague, and many like her, needed an attorney.

Other aging adults need an advocate. What if a relative is using the power of attorney to steal money from your loved one? Should the relative with the power of attorney inherit any money when your loved one dies? If our long-term ca ...