Making Decisions about Long-Term Care and Medicaid Eligibility

Ensure Your Loved One is Provided For: Long-Term Care Planning

Nursing Home and Medicaid Planning • Miller Trusts • Guardianships • Powers of Attorney

Long-term care planning is one part of an estate planning process for couples or singles in their later years for which a key consideration for the future is the possibility of nursing home or in-home medical care.

Specialists in Estate Planning Issues such as Disability Planning…and Listening

At the El Paso law office of Hobson, Stribling & Carson, LLP, we have helped hundreds of families in West Texas and southern New Mexico make important decisions about caring for loved ones in later years and through illness and disability.

Texas elder law attorney Stancy Stribling has more than 20 years of experience in the area and is board-certified in estate planning and probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She and Karin Armen Carson are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. They are also members of the Texas and National Guardianship Associations.

Contact the West Texas elder law lawyers of Hobson, Stribling & Carson, LLP, for customized solutions that work for your situation.

Crafting Custom Solutions

Everyone likes their independence and privacy. The best solution is the least intrusive solution, given the specifics of your family situation. We take the time to listen and understand your needs, your family situation, and your plans for the future. Nursing home care may be unavoidable. Ask your elder law attorney about advanced planning for Medicaid eligibility while ensuring that there are still assets for a healthy spouse to stay at home.

The right tools to accomplish your goals might include:

• Disability planning
  • Medical powers of attorney
  • Statutory durable powers of attorney (for financial decisions)
  • Living wills (directives to physicians)
  • HIPAA privacy notices
  • Special needs or supplemental needs trusts to allow a beneficiary to retain governmental benefits
• Long-term care and Medicaid planning
  • Miller trusts
  • Protection of your home
  • Annuities
  • Irrevocable trusts
  • Ladybird deeds
  • Reverse mortgages

Our many years of estate planning experience allow us to customize solutions to fit your particular circumstances. We invite to contact our El Paso law office.

Guardianships

A guardianship proceeding might be necessary if an individual is unable to make some or all of his or her own medical (guardian of the person) or financial decisions (guardian of the estate). For example, if a minor inherits assets outside of a trust, a guardian of the estate might need to be appointed to manage the assets for the minor. If a disabled or mentally incapacitated adult is unable to make decisions, a guardian of the person and estate might need to be appointed to legally be able to make medical and financial decisions for the incapacitated adult.

Our guardianship attorneys can assist you with the guardianship process which includes the filing of the application for the appointment of a guardian, providing notice to the necessary interested parties to the case and attending the court hearing. If a guardian of the estate is appointed, we will assist you with compliance with the duties and legal requirements of a guardian of the estate. The duties include:

• Preparing the required inventory
• Filing a notice to creditors
• Applying for monthly allowance
• Filing a management plan
• Filing annual accountings
• Applying for the sale of the ward’s assets

Other related proceedings that might be considered are:

• Probate Code Section 867 Trust
  • allows corporate management of assets in trust and eliminates need for guardianship of the estate
  • allows trust for a minor to exist until the minor reaches the age of 25
  • allows for the trust to be drafted as a special needs trust retaining governmental benefits for the incapacitated individual
  • allows for the assets to be managed until the individual regains capacity or until death if the individual does not regain capacity
• Property Code Section 142 Trust
  • allows for management of assets in trust without the appointment of a guardian
  • often used for settlement funds passing to a minor or incapacitated individual from a personal injury suit
  • allows trust for a minor to exist until the minor reaches the age of 25
  • allows for the trust to be drafted as a special needs trust retaining governmental benefits for the incapacitated individual
  • allows for the assets to be managed until the individual regains capacity or until death if the individual does not regain capacity.

We invite you to contact Hobson, Stribling & Carson, LLP, in El Paso to discuss your options regarding guardianship.

Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. We are conveniently located one block off Interstate 10 at the Executive Center. We will make hospital and home visits for clients who cannot come to our office.

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Hobson, Stribling & Carson, LLP

4110 Rio Bravo Street, Suite 220
El Paso, TX 79902
Telephone (915) 351-9886 • Fax (915) 351-9887
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From our law office in El Paso, the estate planning and elder law attorneys of Hobson, Stribling & Carson, LLP, serve the legal needs of the people of West Texas and southern New Mexico, in communities such as El Paso, Ruidoso, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and Deming in El Paso County, Dona Ana County, and Otero County.