As a Santa Clara elder law attorney, I get this question quite a bit. Should I invest in long-term care insurance? The answer is… maybe. Let me explain. First, you should consider the fact that the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that anyone reaching the age of 65 has a 40% chance of […]

By Gary Brainin, Bay Area elder lawyer As a Bay Area elder lawyer, I help people plan for long-term care costs on a regular basis. Long-term care can include any service that helps people who have a prolonged illness. The illness can be a physical disability or a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease or […]

Elder lawyers in Santa Clara are well-versed on the ins and outs of nursing home expenses, and they continually work with seniors to determine how best to lower costs and protect assets.  One recommendation that does not always get enough attention is to spend a little on remodeling your home to save big on nursing […]

The cost of long-term care is one of the most common dangers to the life savings of senior citizens. The fear of losing assets, possessions, and homes drives people to search out ways to protect themselves from the enormous costs associated with long-term care. Many seniors turn to long-term care insurance, which is supposed to […]

As Santa Clara elder law attorneys, our answer to this question is yes and no. In most cases, it depends on where the adult children and the elderly parent live in the country. Technically, more than half of states have laws on the books that require adult children to pay for their parent’s nursing home […]

Yet another great speaker at the most recent American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Summit was Elaine McIntosh, President and CEO of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care. Her talk covered a wide range of matters, but I wanted to share a few: Hospice care is related to general palliative (pain- or problem-relieving) care, and […]

National Health Care Decisions Day is on April 16th, and it’s an important reminder for every adult to begin having difficult conversations with loved ones about their most private wishes for medical and end-of-life care. Far too many people assume that their families would make the choices they would want in an emergency. Yet every […]

Last fall, the governor signed California’s “End of Life Option Act,” making California the fourth state to pass such a law. However, due to a quirk of legislative procedure, it was uncertain until recently exactly when the new law would take effect. Due to the recent end of the “extraordinary session” of the legislature, we […]

In general, Americans are very uncomfortable talking about end-of-life issues. It can be hard for people to think about (and plan for) their own death, let alone the death of their loved ones. I get it. Yet by not discussing these issues, you are leaving your future caregivers (most often your adult children) in an […]

One of the most common issues that Santa Clara elder law attorneys deal with is how to help clients when it comes to both short-term and long-term care.  Folks are living longer than they ever have before, due to advances in both health care and technology.  Certainly, this is what people have been hoping would […]