Recently, we caught up with Robert Scalise Jr., President of ESM, PC, an elder care and estate planning legal firm serving Connecticut with offices in Avon and New Britain. Below Robert shares insight on common questions his firm receives.
Planning for the future — whether yours or an aging parent’s — often raises more questions than answers. Elder law covers the legal issues that tend to come up as we age: who can make
decisions if you can’t, how to protect your home and savings, and how to make sure your wishes are honored. Below, the attorneys at ESM, PC answer some of the questions Connecticut families ask most often.
What is elder law, and how is it different from estate planning?
Estate planning focuses on what happens to your assets after you pass away — typically through a will, trust, or beneficiary designations. Elder law is broader. It addresses planning during your lifetime, including incapacity planning, long-term care and Medicaid planning, guardianship, and protecting assets from the high cost of nursing home or home care. Many families need both, and the two areas often overlap.
At what age should someone start elder law planning?
There’s no magic number. The best time is before a crisis — a fall, a diagnosis, or a hospitalization — forces decisions to be made quickly. Many people begin in their 50s or 60s,
while they’re healthy and can think through options clearly. That said, it’s never too late to put a
plan in place, even after a health event has occurred.
What documents does every adult need, regardless of age?
At minimum: a Durable Power of Attorney (so someone you trust can manage your finances if
you’re unable to), a Healthcare Representative designation or health care proxy (so someone can make medical decisions on your behalf), and a Living Will (to express your wishes about end-of- life care). A basic Will is also important to direct how your assets are distributed. Without these, family members may need to go to court to get authority to act for you.
What happens if a loved one becomes incapacitated without these documents in place?
If there’s no Power of Attorney or Healthcare Representative in place, family members typically
must petition the Probate Court for conservatorship — a legal process where a judge appoints
someone to manage the person’s finances and/or personal affairs. This is more time-consuming, more expensive, and more public than having documents already in place, and the court — not the family — has the final say over who is appointed.
How does Medicaid factor into paying for long-term care?
Long-term care, whether at home or in a facility, is expensive, and Medicare generally does not
cover extended custodial care. Medicaid can help cover these costs, but it has strict income and
asset limits, along with a five-year “look-back” period on transfers of assets. An elder law attorney can help structure finances in advance — or even in a crisis situation — to help a family qualify for benefits while preserving as much as legally possible for a spouse or family.
Can someone qualify for Medicaid and still keep their house?
In many cases, yes. Connecticut Medicaid rules generally allow an applicant to keep their
primary home, particularly if a spouse, a minor or disabled child, or certain other relatives continue to live there. However, the state may seek reimbursement from the estate after the
Medicaid recipient passes away through a process called estate recovery. There are legal
strategies that may help protect a home from estate recovery, which is why early conversations
with an elder law attorney are valuable.
What’s the difference between a power of attorney and a guardianship/conservatorship?
A Power of Attorney is a document you create yourself, while you’re competent, naming someone to act on your behalf. A conservatorship is a court-supervised arrangement that becomes necessary only when a person can no longer make decisions and has not named an
agent in advance. Establishing a Power of Attorney while you’re able to do so is one of the
simplest ways to avoid the time and expense of a future conservatorship proceeding.
When should a family bring in an elder law attorney?
Sooner is almost always better than later. Ideal moments include: when a parent receives a new
diagnosis, when a family starts researching home care or assisted living, when someone is hospitalized and discharge planning begins, or simply when adult children realize their parents
don’t have updated legal documents. An elder law attorney can also step in during a crisis, but
early planning generally creates more options and better outcomes.
If you have questions for Attorney Scalise or his firm please reach out to his offices at 860-854-3809.
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every
family’s situation is different, and Connecticut elder law rules can change. For guidance specific
to your circumstances, consult a licensed elder law attorney.
