Blog

MassHealth Applications—How to Avoid a Calamity on the Rails

by

Pam_144pxEach year, I have the pleasure of chairing the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) seminar on The MassHealth Process from Application to Appeal.  While preparing for this year’s seminar which is scheduled for November 10, 2015, I began to think about the complexity of the process, how daunting it is for families and the myriad of mistakes that are made every day which often result in tens of thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses for seniors.  It often feels like a runaway train, careening out of control as the forms, notices and lists of requested information take control of the gears.

Here’s the scenario—Anxious, emotional and weary family members set forth on a journey to secure Medicaid benefits (known as MassHealth in Massachusetts) which will allow their ill and frail loved ones to receive much needed care.  These sons and daughters, husbands and wives have careers of their own.  They are focused on caring for a loved one and maintaining their own family, yet the MassHealth application takes over, controlling every free moment of time.  The stakes are always high (at $12-$15K per month in private pay) and the terrain is frequently uncharted.  When the train falls off the track, which it often does, the nursing home is left holding the bag for the uncovered medical care it has already rendered and they look to these family members for answers (and possibly restitution).

So what can be done to avoid the head-on collision before it’s too late? Hiring an elder law attorney to be your guide through the long and rocky course can prove invaluable.  We can assess an application from the outset and determine where the traps lie along the way.  Were there gifts to family members within the lookback period? Were assets transferred into or out of a trust? How were the funds spent down to qualify for the program? Often a good elder law attorney can give the family an honest answer on how these factors may affect the success of the application and provide a strategy for how to resolve the issues before facing a denial.  We also help to keep the train running smoothly and on schedule—interpreting and responding timely to requests for further information from MassHealth and filing an appeal when necessary.

At end of the journey, the train eventually reaches its destination—the nursing home costs are covered, all is well.  Our goal during the journey is to minimize the burden to the family, keep open lines of communication with the nursing home and MassHealth, and ensure a smooth ride to approval for benefits.  If you need assistance with the MassHealth application process please feel free to contact one of the attorneys at Samuel, Sayward and Baler.

November 2015

Five  Conversation Starters for the Thanksgiving Table

by

Sue_144pxThanksgiving is often a time when family members both young and old come together to eat too much good food and watch too much football.  What better time to start a discussion about estate  planning than Thanksgiving, when the family is gathered together?  Here are five questions to get the conversation started.

  1. Have you planned for how you will pay for long-term care if it’s needed? Many children find it awkward and uncomfortable to bring up the subject of money with their parents.  However, planning ahead for the possibility that a parent will need long-term care is crucial.  The cost of long term care, whether at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home is very high.  The monthly cost of a nursing home in Massachusetts is around $12,000 and the cost of round-the-clock care at home is often more than that.  Long-term care costs are not generally covered by health insurance (Medicare).  These costs are generally paid through a combination of: 1) paying privately for care; 2) long-term care insurance; or 3) Medicaid.   Paying privately means that the care recipient simply writes a check for the cost of the care each month.  Long-term care insurance is insurance purchased for the purpose of paying for long-term care.  Medicaid is the state and federally funded program that will pay for long-term care if a person meets the financial eligibility criteria of the program.  In general, this means having not more than $2,000 in so-called countable assets.  If you are over age 60 and have never thought about how you would pay for long-term care, now is a good time to explore your options.
  1. Do you have a Will and Trust to protect your young children if you die? It’s not just older folks who need to think about planning for the future.  Many young parents put off estate planning because they’re too busy, they can’t agree on who should be named as guardian for their minor children, or their budgets are tight.  However, as parents our job is to protect our children.  Making sure that your children are not the subject of a protracted custody battle in the event of your death by choosing the person, or people, who would raise your children if you could not, is a fundamental duty of all parents.  Further, many people are surprised to learn that the law considers 18 the perfect age at which to receive an inheritance, regardless of the amount.  For many parents, the thought of their child receiving $5,000, never mind $50,000 or $500,000, at age 18 is terrifying.  A trust is an excellent way for parents to protect assets for children and designate appropriate stewards (Trustees) to manage the money until the children have matured.
  1. Do you have a Durable Power of Attorney? A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document in which the maker (the principal) designates a person (the attorney-in-fact) who will have the authority to manage the principal’s financial affairs.  It is used to address the possibility of a future incapacity.  Since anyone could experience a period of incapacity regardless of age, every adult, whether age 18 or 88, should have a Durable Power of Attorney.  Without a Durable Power of Attorney in place, your family will be forced to pursue a conservatorship through the probate court if you are in an accident or suffer a medical event that renders you unable to pay your bills, manage your investments, file an application for long-term care benefits, sign a tax return, etc.
  1. Do you have a Health Care Proxy and have you discussed your wishes for care with your Health Care Agent? As with a Durable Power of Attorney, every adult should have an advanced directive designating the person (the Health Care Agent) who is authorized to make health care decisions in the event of incapacity.  In Massachusetts, that is called a Health Care Proxy.  However, it is not enough to simply sign a Health Care Proxy; you should have a serious discussion with your Health Care Agent regarding your wishes for managing your health care if you are not able to speak for yourself.  Many people think of the Health Care Proxy as the “pull the plug” document.  However, the reality is that there are many types of decisions that need be made for a person who is incapacitated.  These decisions may affect the quality of your final days.  A great resource to help you dive deeper into this discussion is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, M.D.  Check it out here and start the conversation.
  1. When is the last time you reviewed your estate plan with your attorney? As we all know, time rushes by.  This seems especially true as we get older.  It is not unusual for clients to say, “I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since we were here – it seems like it was just a couple of years ago.” Your estate plan is a work in progress and it needs to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Life happens; things change.  It may be that issues that were not of concern when the documents were signed are now important.  This could include the need for long-term care planning, tax planning, or creditor protection planning for a child who is getting divorced.  Ask your parents to take a minute to check the date on their estate plan documents to see when they last updated them with their attorney, and then do the same yourself.  If it’s been more than five years, chances are a review is in order.
  1. Bonus question: Once you’re done covering the hard stuff, you can wrap up with, ”So how ‘bout those Pats?” 

To all of our readers from all of us at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, warm wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Attorney Suzanne R. Sayward is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, a private organization whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  She is a partner with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC.  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

November 2015

Off to College – Hopefully with a 529 Plan!

by

Maria_144pxSending my first and only child off to college this fall has given me a new appreciation for the value of Section 529 Plan accounts.  Many of our clients set up these accounts for their children or grandchildren when they are young, with the intention that the account will be there to be used when it’s time to pay for college.  I will take this opportunity to say thank you, on behalf of all of the beneficiaries of 529 Plans out there, to those of you who have had the foresight to set up these accounts.  When paying for college, every little bit of assistance helps!

It is important to understand that 529 Plan accounts are not treated the same for all purposes.  In addition, the identity of the owner of the account can affect how the account is treated. From an estate and gift tax perspective, the law views the amount contributed to a 529 Plan account as a gift to the beneficiary of the account (the child or grandchild).  If the owner of the account passes away, the balance of the account is not added to the owner’s other assets when determining if an estate tax must be paid or when calculating the estate tax due.  That being said, the owner of a 529 Plan account retains certain rights, such as the right to change the beneficiary of the account, and to withdraw the contributed funds from the account (although if withdrawals are made for reasons other than to pay for education expenses income tax plus a penalty will be due on the withdrawn amount).

New Year2From a long-term care planning perspective, the funds in a 529 Plan account will be considered “countable” assets in determining the owner’s eligibility for Medicaid benefits (the public benefits that pay for long-term nursing home care).  Depending upon the owner’s situation and the value of other assets, the 529 Plan assets may have to be spent on the owner’s care before the owner will be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits.  For this reason, if the owner’s goal is to ensure the funds in the 529 Plan account are available for education, and the owner is willing to give up control of the account and access to the funds in the future, it may be advisable to transfer ownership of the account to the parent of the beneficiary/child or grandchild.  This should not be done hastily as the transfer of the ownership of the account will be a disqualifying transfer for Medicaid eligibility purpose.  In addition, careful consideration should be given to whether the prospective new owner is financially responsible, and, if relevant, the impact on financial aid if the account is owned by the student’s parent vs. grandparent.

Finally, keep in mind that the owner of a 529 Plan account has the ability to designate a successor owner.  This is something that should be done in all cases.  Without a successor owner named, the account will be subject to probate at the account owner’s death, which involves cost and delay in access to the funds for a period of time. Probate can be easily avoided by designating a successor owner.

Five Examples of DIY Estate Planning Gone Bad

by

Sue_144pxSelf-sufficiency and resourcefulness are admirable traits – knowing how to change a tire, wallpaper a bathroom, or use duct tape to fix any number of problems can save both time and money.  However, not all tasks should be tackled at home – dental work, anything to do with electricity, and getting bats out of the attic are examples of tasks for which most people should hire a professional.  With the proliferation of DIY (do-it-yourself) kits and forms available online these days, estate planning may seem like one of those items that could be handled at home and save a lot of money.  Beware – the consequences of not getting it right can be worse than a do-it-yourself root canal!  Here are five real examples of DIY estate planning gone bad.

  1. DIY Power of Attorney resulted in the need for a court conservatorship. The children of an elderly woman who was in a nursing home contacted me to undertake planning to protect assets against complete spend down on long-term care costs.  Because of this family’s situation, there was an opportunity to preserve the home by transferring it out of mom’s name even though she was already incapacitated and in a nursing home.  Unfortunately, a few years earlier, the children had helped mom “save money” by having her sign a Power of Attorney form they found on the Internet.  The Power of Attorney did not include the authority they needed to undertake the planning that would allow them to preserve mom’s $800,000 home against a lien for long-term care Medicaid benefits. Because mom no longer had the capacity to execute a new Power of Attorney, we had to file for a Conservatorship with the probate court. This took a long time, required a number of medical certificates from mom’s doctors, and was expensive.  Further, the court appointed another attorney to represent mom’s interests, paid for by mom.  All told, it cost more than $7,000 and took approximately eight months to accomplish what could have been done in less than a week for a fraction of the cost if there had been a comprehensively drafted Power of Attorney in place (which would have cost far less than $7,000).
  1. DIY long-term care planning meant loss of home to Medicaid lien. I recently had a very sad situation where a family lost the home that had been in their family for more than 100 years because they did not seek the advice of an elder law attorney when the mother of my client went into a nursing many years ago.  Although Medicaid imposes a period of ineligibility for long-term care nursing home benefits if assets are given away within five years prior to applying for benefits, there are exceptions to that rule.   This family would have qualified for one of those exceptions and the home could have been transferred to my client without any penalty.  Had that been done, the home would have belonged to my client free and clear of any claim by the state for the cost of the mother’s nursing home care.  Unfortunately, I was not consulted until after the mother had passed away.  At that point, the Commonwealth had a lien against the ancestral home for an amount that exceeded the value of the property.  Once the mother passed away, the opportunity to transfer the home to the daughter under one of the exceptions to the transfer rules and free of the Medicaid lien was lost.  The house was sold and the family received nothing – all of the proceeds went to the state.
  1. DIY estate planning meant loss of benefits for beneficiary with disabilities. I had a client contact me to help her settle the estate of her brother who had passed away at the age of 45 having never married and leaving no children.  The brother had prepared his own Will leaving his estate to his two siblings.  While it was good that he had the foresight to create a Will, it was not so good that he did not consult with an estate planning attorney.  It turned out that one of the siblings was receiving needs-based governmental benefits because of a disability.  Unfortunately, this sibling’s entitlement to an inheritance caused him to lose those benefits.  While we were eventually able to requalify him for those benefits, we needed to go to court to do so.  Further, the solution to the situation most likely means that a large part of the inherited wealth will be taken by the state when the disabled brother dies.  With planning, the deceased brother could have created a trust that would have provided for his disabled sibling and ensured that any amounts remaining at his sibling’s death were distributed to his sister and not to the state.
  1. DIY Will Necessitated Court Permission to Sell Real Estate. I had a client who came to see me because he was named as the Personal Representative (Executor) of his aunt’s Will.  The Will left everything to four nieces and nephews, including my client.  It was a fairly simple estate – aunty had only her home and a bank account.  However, the Will did not grant the Personal Representative the authority to sell real estate.  That meant that in order to sell the house, we had to file a petition with the court seeking permission to sell the real estate.   This delayed the process and cost the estate several thousand dollars more than it would have cost to have a proper Will prepared by a lawyer.
  1. DIY Realty Trust created defect in title to property. In the course of updating an estate plan for an new client whose husband had passed away and who had done all of their legal documents for them (no, he was not a lawyer), it was discovered that he had created a defect in the title to their home as a result of a series of transactions conveying their real estate in and out of trust.  We had to engage the services of a real estate attorney to clear the title and record a variety documents with the Registry of Deeds.  The cost of this was about $4,000 – far more than it would have been to engage an attorney to do it correctly from the beginning.

The above are just five examples of what I see in my practice on a regular basis.  While it’s great to save money, be careful about being “penny-wise and pound-foolish” – getting it right the first time will usually save a lot of time and money in the long run.  And remember, getting it right the first time requires seeking the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney.  Next to DIY documents, documents created by attorneys who do not practice primarily in this area can also create more problems than they solve.

Attorney Suzanne R. Sayward is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, a private organization whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  She is a partner with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC.  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

October 2015

Fresh Notebooks, Sharpened Pencils and a Shiny New Estate Plan—September is Filled with New Beginnings!

by

Sue_144pxFor many of us, September has that same ‘new beginning’ feeling as January, no doubt a result of all of those years of going back to school this time of year.  Even though it may be many years since we were in school ourselves, or even had children going back to school, that new beginning feeling persists.  Regardless of your age, or the age of your children, take advantage of that new beginning energy to put your affairs in order.  Here are 5 reasons to address your estate plan regardless of your age or stage in life:

  • If you are a parent you know that feeling of wanting to protect your children at all costs. If you have school-age children and you don’t have a Will, or if you haven’t reviewed your estate plan for a few years, take the time to do that now.  As a parent, making sure your children are taken care of in the event you are not able to do so is of vital importance.
  • If you have children heading off to college, encourage them to sign a Health Care Proxy and HIPAA Authorization that will ensure you are able to obtain information about your child if she gets sick or has an accident while at school. There’s nothing more frustrating to the parent of a college student than being told that Mom and Dad are not entitled to any information about their child who is in a hospital hundreds or thousands of miles away.
  • If you are at the stage where your children are out of the nest and finding their way in the world, it may be time to revisit the fiduciary appointments in your documents and consider whether your children are ready to step into those positions. This includes serving as the Personal Representative of your Will (formerly called ‘executor’), or acting as your attorney-in-fact under a Durable Power of Attorney and/or as Trustee of your Trust.  If your out-of-the-nest children are not as financially responsible as you wish they would be, consider incorporating asset protection into your estate plan for assets protection purposes.  A Trust can protect an inheritance from the reach of your child’s creditors such as a divorcing spouse, bankruptcy, credit card debt, a lawsuit, a failing business, or other issues young adults may encounter.
  • If you’re retired with adult children who have children of their own, consider the distribution provisions of your plan. If your children are well off in their own right, generation skipping trusts which avoid taxation of an inheritance in your child’s estate may be appropriate.
  • If you or your spouse are experiencing age-related health issues and are concerned about protecting assets against having to be spent down on long-term care costs make an appointment to consult with an elder law attorney to learn what options and opportunities are available for paying for care and protecting assets.

While I will miss the slow, lazy feel of summer days, I love the ‘back to school’ energy that September brings.  Put that energy to good use reviewing your estate plan and taking steps to update it if necessary!

September 2015

Five Facts You Need to Know about the Social Security Website and Your Social Security Choices

by

Steve_144pxSocial Security’s website (www.ssa.gov) has made great strides in communicating the overwhelming options when it comes time to choosing your Social Security strategy. Information is located in two places: on its public website and through a private portal accessible by personal login. It’s worth reviewing the website well in advance of age 65 as it will allow you to consider different options prior to making strategy decisions. Below are some tips to help you navigate through the website as you make benefit decisions that are right for you.

  1. Your Work History

Social Security has your earning history available on the private side of the website; however, you’ll want to review it for accuracy. When logging into the website, it displays your earnings records from when you were first employed. Any changes you make will need to take place prior to filing for benefits. Often there are gaps in employment income where an employer may have sent incorrect earnings information to the Social Security office. Given that Social Security takes into account your top 35 years of earnings to calculate your benefit, you’ll want to verify the accuracy of that information. If it’s incorrect, Social Security may allow you to provide proof of your earnings with past tax returns. You can also request that the Social Security office review its documentation for errors.

Your earnings records can be found when looking at the home page through the private portal and by clicking on the “Earnings Record” tab at the top of the page.

  1. Benefits at Different Ages

When logging into Social Security’s website, your personal retirement, disability, family, and survivor benefits are outlined. If you have enough credits to qualify for benefits, the retirement section provides an overview of what you would receive at:

  1. a) your early retirement age (age 62),
    b) your full retirement age (between ages 66-67), and
    c) age 70

This information is displayed on the “Estimated Benefits” tab located on the home page.

The public site also offers calculators to assist in planning your future. These calculators include a Retirement Estimator (estimates monthly benefits), Life Expectancy Calculator, Quick Benefits Calculator (displayed in today’s and future dollars), and Full Retirement Age Calculator.

  1. Rules for a Variety of Situations

On the public site, you can find detailed information on a specific situation by choosing “Benefits” on the top bar. Here you can learn detailed information about the kind of benefits offered. These include benefits based on a spouse’s or former spouse’s work record, survivor benefits for widows and widowers, benefits for children with parents who are disabled, retired, or deceased, coordination with disability benefits, and same sex-marriages.

  1. Social Security‘s Not So Well Known Good Benefits

Most people file for Social Security benefits without looking into what is available. There are so many hidden benefits that are outlined in Laurence Kotlikoff’s book, “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.” The book includes the chapter, “50 Good News Secrets to Higher Lifetime Benefits.” Here are two of those 50 good secrets  that might apply to you, which you could lose if you leap into Social Security without looking first.

  • Most people know that spouses married for ten years or more can apply for “spousal benefits” equal to one half the amount their spouse receives, without affecting their spouse’s benefits. But you might not know that if your spouse has filed for retirement benefits and you’ve reached full retirement age at 66 (for those born between the years 1943 — 1959)  and age 67 (for those born after 1960),  you can file for “spousal benefits” and collect them until age 70 and then switch to your own retirement benefit amount.
  • Some people start receiving Social Security after full retirement age and because of income from work or reduced expenses, realize they could have waited and had their benefit amount increase 8 percent per year. They might not know that after full retirement age, they can ask Social Security to stop payments and then restart any time up to age 70 at the higher rate.
  1. Social Security’s Not So Well Known Traps for the Unwary

Even though the Social Security Administration has many resources available to help you make the right choices, they do not provide guidance on everything. This can lead people to make costly decisions. The Social Security Administration does not help you develop a strategy for taking your benefits so you receive the maximum dollar amount (there is third party software available for this). Kotlikoff’s book has “25 Bad News Gotchas” that can reduce Social Security benefits significantly and forever. For example, when filing for spousal benefits before full retirement age, Social Security considers you to be applying for both spousal and your own retirement benefits. You will receive the larger of the two benefits, and this cannot be changed – even after full retirement age. This will cause you to lose the option to switch to your own retirement benefits after full retirement age, which may at that time be higher than the spousal benefit.

August 14, 2015 was the 80th anniversary of Social Security. It is one of America’s great social programs and a key part of retirement income for all but the super wealthy. It will serve you best if you take time to look into the details of your many choices carefully before you make decisions that will affect you for all your retirement years. Prior to making important financial decisions, visit socialsecurity.gov or a Social Security office and consider consulting a trusted financial professional during or near retirement.

Samuel Financial LLC is located at 858 Washington Street, Suite 202, Dedham, MA 02026 and can be reached at (781)461-6886.  Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, member FINRA/SIPC, a registered investment adviser. www.samuelfinancial.com

September 2015

Five Reasons to Examine Your Power of Attorney     

by

Maria_144pxYour Power of Attorney is the unsung hero of your estate plan.   A Power of Attorney appoints someone (an “attorney-in-fact”) to make financial decisions if the maker (the “principal”) becomes incapacitated.   But most people pay little attention to the terms of their Power of Attorney, focusing instead on the documents that get top billing in an estate plan, like their Will and Trust.  However, many people will suffer some period of incapacity prior to death.  It is during this time that a well drafted Power of Attorney is crucial.  As you age, your estate and long-term care planning begin to intersect.  A Power of Attorney drafted 10 or 20 years ago for the purpose of making sure your spouse can pay your bills and file your income tax returns is not sufficient to allow your spouse to deal with assets you may now own, take steps to ensure your estate plan will operate as intended, or preserve your assets should you need long-term care.

Here are five crucial things a good Power of Attorney will address:

  1. Real Estate Transactions. Most Powers of Attorney will allow the attorney-in-fact to sell real estate and sign deeds, but this “power” contemplates an arm’s length sale to a third party.  Long-term care planning often requires changing the ownership of real estate from joint names into one spouse’s individual name.  Although a Power of Attorney may include a general power to sign deeds, if one spouse needs to transfer jointly owned property into her own name using her spouse’s Power of Attorney, the transfer will not be considered valid from a title perspective unless the Power of Attorney includes a provision specifically authorizing “self-dealing” — the ability of the attorney-in-fact to take actions that may benefit herself, even if she is acting in the principal’s best interest.  If the problem is discovered before the deed is recorded, a conservatorship proceeding can be brought in the probate court to obtain authorization for the transfer.  This is costly and will delay the timing of the transfer.  Further, there is no guaranty that the court will grant the request.   If the problem with the Power of Attorney is not recognized before the transfer is recorded with the registry of deeds, a title issue may arise when the property is sold.
  1. Estate Planning Powers.   The laws, especially the tax laws, change frequently.  In addition, family situations change over time.  For example, a child may become disabled, pass away, or become involved in a nasty divorce or lawsuit.  These are circumstances that merit a review and update of an estate plan.  If you are unable to undertake those updates because of incapacity, a Power of Attorney that specifically authorizes your attorney-in-fact to update estate plan documents can ensure your plan will continue to operate as intended. A Power of Attorney may also allow your attorney-in-fact to make gifts of your assets, if necessary, for estate planning, long-term care planning, or income or estate tax planning reasons.  Without specific provisions in the Power of Attorney authorizing such actions, family members are faced with seeking authority from the probate court to do so.
  1. Life Insurance, Annuities, and Retirement Accounts – A general power to deal with your bank and investment accounts will not be sufficient to allow your attorney-in-fact to deal with institutions in which you have other types of accounts. If you are incapacitated, it may be necessary to change the ownership of a life insurance policy or make an inquiry concerning the beneficiary designation or cash value of a policy.  It may also be necessary to transfer or surrender an annuity, or to annuitize the annuity contract.  If you are over age 70½, each year it will be necessary to direct the custodian to make minimum required distributions to you from your IRA, or request the distribution of additional funds if necessary.  All of these actions require specific provisions in your Power of Attorney.
  1. Digital Assets – Many of us now have online accounts. Some of these accounts are just online extensions of bank accounts that have been opened at a local bank. Others reside only online. If you become incapacitated, your family may be unable to access your online accounts unless you have authorized your attorney-in-fact to do so in your Power of Attorney.  A well drafted Power of Attorney will authorize your attorney-in-fact to access your digital assets as needed to assist you.
  1. Naming Successors – We often see Powers of Attorney that name a spouse or other responsible adult as attorney-in-fact, but either do not name a successor attorney-in-fact, or name someone who is no longer able, or appropriate, to serve. Because of this, it is important to create a Power of Attorney that names one or more people to serve, in succession, to act for you if the previously named person is unable, and to review and update the document as needed.

If it has been more than five years since you have reviewed your Power of Attorney with your estate planning attorney, or if you don’t currently have a Power of Attorney, meet with an experienced estate planning attorney to create a Power of Attorney tailored to your circumstances.  If you are concerned with long-term care planning, it is best to have your Power of Attorney prepared by an attorney who is also experienced with elder law matters and familiar with the types of powers necessary to protect you as you age and allow for long-term care planning as appropriate.

Attorney Maria Baler is an estate planning and elder law attorney and a partner with the Dedham law firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC. She is also a director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA). For more information, visit www.ssbllc.com or call (781) 461-1020.  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney.

August 2015

The Peaceful, Loving and Humane Decision

by

Pam_144pxThis month’s blog post comes from a personal place.  At the end of May, my husband and I made the difficult decision to put our eight year old rescue dog, Ruby, to sleep.  After fighting cancer and Addison’s Disease with grace for years, Ruby’s quality of life began to slip away.  We found ourselves in the vet’s office at 11 am on a Sunday morning (with our three-year old in tow) asking the only questions that mattered: “Is Ruby suffering? Is she in pain?”  The vet gave us the honest answer we had long dreaded. “Ruby’s not comfortable anymore. You have done all you can.  If she were mine, I would let her go.” And just like that, we did.  It was peaceful, loving and humane.  Just like everyone said it would be.  Although my heart was broken, I knew it was the most kind and civilized decision we could have ever made and that gave me a huge sense of relief.Ruby

Through the tears and heartache, the elder law attorney in me almost immediately began to contemplate—why can’t it be this easy for people? Every day I hear clients tell me in no uncertain terms that when their mind is gone, when their body fails them and when they are too weak and sick to carry on with any sense of dignity, “please, just let me go peacefully.”  Such an uncomplicated and widely held sentiment fraught with so much difficulty.  Health care proxies, living wills, advanced health care directives, do not resuscitate orders and a MOLST form—all legal and medical documents created so that skilled doctors and loving family members are convinced to stop saving a life at all costs and instead accept that sometimes enough is enough.  It’s something most of us want for ourselves and our loved ones, yet the natural instinct is to keep going because we hate to say goodbye.

I have always known and tried to impart upon my clients how important end of life care planning is for everyone—the old, the young, the sick, the healthy, the risk-takers and the risk-averse.  Appointing trusted decision makers and outlining care plans for our clients before the crisis comes is some of the most important work we do.  Even more important is revisiting the plan every few years with our clients to make sure that it still reflects their wishes.  While no one can anticipate what the future holds, the best we can do is to plan and prepare our clients so that they get a shot at having things play out in the most peaceful, loving and humane way.  That was Ruby’s gift to me and I felt like it was worth sharing with all of you.

August 2015

Wills • Trusts • Elder Law • Long-Term Care Planning • Estates

©2026 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLP. All Rights Reserved. The information presented on this website should not be construed to provide legal advice, nor does it constitute the formation of an attorney/client relationship. Read the disclaimer.