Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

Re: Financial handling

It sounds like you need an attorney to draft a comprehensive elder law plan to meet your mother's needs. The main 2 components of this would be the following:

1. Having your mother "spend down" her assetts so she qualifies for medicare to pay for her 24-hr care and other medical needs, and;

2. For now having her sign a Power of Attorney to allow you to pay immediate bills from her checking account.

Both of these steps (especially the first) must be done according to strict federal laws.

This will probably cost you from $2,000 to $5,000 in legel fees depending on the complexity of your mothers estate (including her cash, real estate, etc.) Some of this could be paid back to you later under medicare.

If you would like to talk, please call my office at (917) 257-3341.

Eric Kochel, Esq.

Re: Financial handling

It sounds like your mother-in-law needs placement in a nursing home. If she has more than $3850 in assets, that money can be spent to pay for her care. After she spends down to $3850, she will be eligible for Medicaid to pay for her care.

If she can sign a power of attorney form, she can designate someone to write the checks for her. If not, someone may need to apply to the Supreme or County Court for the appointment of a Guardian under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law.

If you are the petitioner, you will have to pay the legal fees, and although you can be reimbursed from her funds if you become Guardian, if she doesn't have sufficient funds you will get stuck with the bill. To avoid this, you may want to contact Adult Protective Services in your county and see if they will take care of nursing home placement and the guardianship.