Illinois Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Hospice Care/Medicare
Hospice care is designed for terminally ill persons and is covered by Medicare Part A. Hospice programs will care for patients in a hospice facility or whenever possible in their homes and emphasize relieving pain and managing symptoms rather than undertaking curative procedures. An individual may elect to receive hospice care rather than regular Medicare benefits for the management of his/her illness.

Power of Attorney for Property
This is a document in which you select someone, and at least one back-up person, to handle your business and legal affairs for you if you are unable to manage on your own. A property drafted Power of Attorney should include the authority to do long-term care planning.

Power of Attorney for Health Care
A document in which you select someone, and a least one back-up person, to handle your health care decision-making if you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.

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Continuing Care Retirement Community
This type of housing alternative, sometimes called a life care community, generally requires that an individual be able to live independently upon becoming a resident in the community. As a resident begins to need more assistance, specific additional services are made available. Most CCRCs offer three basic levels of housing on an as-needed basis: fully independent living, assisted living (personal care services) and skilled nursing care.

Living Will
This is a document in which you state your wishes about end-of-life care. Many living wills specify that artificial medical intervention be avoided or discontinued where there is no hope of meaningful recovery from a vegetative state or terminal illness.

Nursing Homes
There are two types of Nursing Homes: Skilled Nursing Homes and Custodial Nursing Homes. A skilled nursing home provides skilled nursing and rehabilitative care. A custodial nursing home provides assistance with activities of daily living (i.e., bathing, dressing, eating), but do not provide specific or ongoing skilled nursing services or rehabilitative care.

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Adult Day Care
Adults with mental or physical limitations can spend the day in a supervised environment that offers recreation, meals and other services. Having a safe place for the ailing person to go can provide the care giving family member with much needed respite.
Transportation to and from the site is usually provided.

Geriatric Care Manager
This professional, often a social worker, registered nurse or psychologist, coordinates the services that help people remain in their homes for as long as possible. They are equipped to assess the needs of the elderly; arrange for services; review legal, financial and medical issues to avoid problems and unnecessary expenses; coordinate the various government, private and community services available; offer counseling; and act as liaison for distant families.

Reverse Mortgage
This allows senior citizens who are house rich and cash poor to obtain a loan based on the equity in their home. They retain title to their home as long as they continue to live there and receive nontaxable income. With the terms of most mortgages, the loan, interest and other costs do not have to be paid back until the owner vacates the property through a move or death. Almost all reverse mortgages provide a guarantee of lifetime tenancy. Most reverse mortgages are a nonrecourse loan that means the lender can look only to the value of the home for repayment.

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