Nursing Home Protection
Support At Every Step of Your Healthcare Journey
From navigating the admission process to ensuring quality care and preserving assets, our dedicated team stands by your side every step of the way. We safeguard your interests and ensure dignified, supportive care for you or your loved one.
Your Partner When Facing Long-Term Care.
Cleveland Elder Law has over 30 years of legal experience helping families plan for nursing home protection, including:
Asset Protection: Protection of your assets from being depleted by nursing home costs, ensuring you have the resources needed for quality care.
Medicaid Planning: Navigation of Medicaid eligibility requirements and developing strategies to qualify for benefits while preserving assets.
Estate Planning: Integration of nursing home protection strategies into your overall estate plan, ensuring your wishes are upheld and your assets are managed appropriately in the event of incapacity or death.
Contract Review: Review of nursing home contracts to ensure they are fair and protect your rights, preventing any potential disputes or issues down the line.
Advocacy: For your rights and interests in interactions with nursing homes, ensuring you receive the level of care and treatment you deserve.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to questions we hear most often about Nursing Home Protection.
I’ve added my child’s name to our bank account. Are half of the accounts now exempt?
No. The entire amount is counted unless you can prove that the other person on the account actually contributed some or all of the money.
This rule applies to cash assets such as:
Savings and checking accounts
Credit union share and draft accounts
Certificates of deposit
U.S. Savings Bonds
Are there legal strategies I can use to make sure I receive quality care in a nursing home?
In our healthcare system, knowledge is power. While there are laws requiring Medicare and Medicaid facilities to provide treatment that will lead to a patient’s highest level of functioning, it often does not happen. Too often, we see excuses for poor care, and it will not change unless family members have the information that can lead to advocacy for better outcomes.
What should I look for when reviewing nursing home contracts to protect my rights?
Paying for a nursing home for a couple of years can easily cost more than your last home. Having such an important contract reviewed by an attorney is a very good idea. Both Ohio and Federal laws contain laws protecting residents’ rights. It is not uncommon for these rights to be ignored in long-term care resident agreements. Additionally, it is not at all uncommon for family members to become personally liable for a relative’s nursing home debt due to contract provisions that do not need to be signed. Having an elder law attorney review the admissions agreement is a good idea.
How can I integrate nursing home protection into my overall estate plan to ensure my wishes are upheld?
If your wish is to avoid paying for a nursing home, a traditional estate plan containing a Will and/or revocable trust will not be enough. If an irrevocable trust is not employed, Medicaid usually can demand that your assets be used before Medicaid pays for care. Without an irrevocable trust, we recommend a power of attorney with “hot powers” be part of your estate plan to allow family members to preserve some of your assets for your use, or your spouse or family’s use.