Law Office of Paul Black - October 2018

Law Office of Paul Black - October 2018

404.410.6820

www.Georgia-EstateLaw.com

October 2018

A STORY WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

T hey say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I disagree. Pictures are vivid snapshots of a single moment in time, but each holds a larger story you can’t see at a glance. I keep a black and white photograph of my grandfather on my desk to remind me of this point. The portrait itself doesn’t give much away — it shows a well-dressed white man standing outside a building, smiling. There’s nothing in the photo to tell you this man just graduated law school. His smiling face doesn’t betray the struggles he endured as a boy growing up in the Great Depression. You cannot see his frostbitten legs or know he got them after lying in the Belgian snow for three days during the Battle of the Bulge. You can’t see the ways he kept quiet about the war for years. I only know these details because I had the good fortune of being able to ask my grandfather and those who knew him about these stories. I didn’t find out about his harrowing survival story in Belgium until I interviewed him for an eighth-grade history assignment. Prior to that moment, I’d barely heard him say two sentences about the war. For one reason or another, he decided that was the time to open up about those long, cold days and nights he spent lying in the wilderness as Nazi troops advanced around him.

I keep this picture of the smiling law graduate on my desk to remind me that everyone is far more than what a snapshot can capture. It’s an important philosophy to have in my line of work. If I meet a client at their home or care facility, I love to ask them about their photographs. I’ve learned that even the most

stories of your life. For younger readers, next time you visit an aging loved one, ask them about their photos, even if you’ve seen surprised where the stories lead you. Ask your loved one if they would be okay with you recording their story to help preserve it for the next generation. them a hundred times before. You might be

simple-looking portraits or landscapes have incredible stories behind them.

Just recently, I asked a client of mine in her 90s about a photograph of her as a young woman seated at a piano. By asking about that one picture, I learned that she’d been a piano teacher for 50 years, and teaching music was one of the few avenues available to her, and that she pursued it out of pure determination to let nothing stand in the way of her higher education. These are the kinds of inspiring stories that need to be preserved. So often in estate law, we talk about leaving a legacy for your loved ones. While I can help preserve last wishes and pass on assets to the next generation, I can’t pass on the greatest treasures of all: your stories. For my older clients, I strongly recommend you work with a loved one to preserve the

If you don’t have a means of making a recording yourself, the Atlanta History Center has partnered with StoryCorps to preserve and share the stories in our community. For more information, visit storycorps.org/atlanta. Stories are one of the most important things we can leave on this earth. Looking at the photograph of my grandfather, I’m so incredibly grateful to have gotten to know the man he was and be inspired by the bravery, dedication, and perseverance that

carried him through his life. Here’s to the storytellers in all of us,

-Paul Black

Do you have estate planning or elder law-related questions? Write to me at [email protected] with Asked and Answered in the subject line. Your identity will be kept confidential. The opinions offered in this column are not intended to replace or substitute any financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice.

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HOW TO REWIND LIFE’S CLOCK USING SOCIAL MEDIA

There’s an App for That?

OURTIME Dating in your 50s can be tricky, especially when many singles are looking for specific requirements in a partner. Some are seeking casual relationships, while others are looking for someone to grow old with. OurTime is a dating app that allows seniors to find partners with similar values, priorities, and passions. It’s a great way to find new people to share the golden years with. SKYPE You don’t have to wait for the holidays for your next group gathering; Skype allows you

One of the hardest challenges of aging isn’t coping with the physical changes or new limitations associated with getting older; it’s finding new groups of people with similar interests, especially for empty nesters. Many adults build their peer networks around their children, making them the focal point of conversations with other parents in similar situations. But as children grow older and eventually leave home, parents are forced to adjust to their dwindling social lives. While some adults thrive in meeting new people, many struggle to find ways to connect with their peers. Fortunately, there are apps for that. EASY FACEBOOK FOR SENIORS

the opportunity to have video chats with anyone who has a smartphone. Maybe your conversation about the football game got cut short at church, or maybe you never finished your discussion at book club. Whatever the occasion, Skype gives you the option to connect with the people around you, even when you don’t feel like leaving the comfort of your house.

The mother ship of social media can sometimes be more of a maze than a way to connect with others. Facebook took notice of this and created a simplified version of the app specifically designed for those who want to avoid all the distractions. Ease of use makes the opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests simpler than ever.

Asked and Answered: A Legal Advice Column

Dear Vexed,

a nursing home and apply for Medicaid. Then the State of Georgia’s Department of Community Health (DCH) will not pursue Medicaid Estate Recovery against that property until after the death of the caregiver child. Likewise, if a sibling provides care in the same circumstances for only one year, DCH will wait until after the death of the caregiver sibling before it seeks reimbursement for what it spent on the loved one’s care in a nursing home. Here is the challenge: The Caregiver Exception is very narrowly crafted. It only applies if one of two categories of people (children or siblings) provide care “immediately prior” to someone entering a nursing home or receiving Medicaid waiver-based services at home. Unfortunately, in your situation, as in many, the Caregiver Exception almost but not quite applies. Your mother moved into assisted living before having to go into a nursing home, which doesn’t meet the “immediately prior” requirement. Please let me know if I can explain this to you in more detail!

Dear Paul,

This is a tricky topic, so let me unpack it one piece at a time. States spend a lot of money on Medicaid. In 2016, Georgia spent nearly $10 billion on Medicaid — more than 20 percent of the state’s budget. Georgia will spend even more this year as more individuals rely upon Medicaid to help them pay for medical care (including long-term care in a skilled nursing facility). States have a clear financial interest in managing or reducing Medicaid spending. One of many ways to do this is to encourage families to care for a loved one at home as long as possible before that person moves into a nursing home and applies for Medicaid to help pay for care. As such, there absolutely is a Caregiver Child Exception under Georgia’s Medicaid Manual. If an adult child lives in the same house as a parent and provides care for that parent for two years, that delays the need for a parent to go immediately into

I am retired, and I sold my house in Macon several years ago and moved back in with my elderly mother to help care for her. I wound up living with her for three years before she moved to assisted living. She lived in assisted living for another two years before she had a bad fall, required total care, and had to move to a nursing home. We are about to apply for Medicaid for my mother to help pay for her care. A friend of mine said there was an exception for caregiver children that might protect her house after her death. Can you explain this to me?

– Vexed in Vidalia

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GOING BEYOND ‘GET WELL SOON’ 3 Meaningful Ways to Support Recovery

If you’ve ever had a friend or loved one suffer a debilitating injury, you know how powerless you can feel to help. You want to make a difference, but in the face of severe medical challenges, it can be hard to know how. It’s important to remember that, while you may not be able to have a direct impact on your loved one’s physical recovery, there are concrete actions you can take to support them in ways doctors can’t. SUPPORT THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE Traumatic injuries can make many aspects of day-to-day life difficult or impossible. Simply making dinner or taking their kids to school may now be herculean tasks for your loved one. Offering to be a volunteer driver or preparing a home-cooked meal can give that person a much-needed breather. Taking the time to help

your friend with everyday tasks is more than just a practical gesture — it lets them know they don’t have to bear the burden of their injury alone. SUPPORT THEIR EMOTIONAL RECOVERY their friends and loved ones. They may feel that others won’t understand their pain or that they should put on a brave face and not complain. You can’t force your friend to talk about their issues, but simply being there to listen to what your friend is going through makes a world of difference. Having someone who is willing to listen without judgment can provide a salve for emotional hardship. People faced with injuries, disabilities, and illnesses can feel emotionally isolated from

SUPPORT THEIR RIGHTS Sometimes an injury can leave your loved one tangled up in disputes with opportunistic insurance companies or individuals they feel are responsible for their injuries. While you may not be able to represent your friend’s legal interests in these situations, you can introduce them to someone who can. Referring your friend to a personal injury firm you trust can help them chart a path toward just compensation for their injuries.

GUEST ARTICLE LESSER-KNOWN LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE BENEFITS

In our practice, we frequently receive questions about long-term care insurance, so I asked LTCI expert Eric Burkard to write about some of the lesser-known benefits of LTCI policies. By Eric Burkard, CLTC Burkard Insurance www.burkardinsurance.com Traditional long-term care insurance (LTCI) policies sold over the last 20 years have generally been comprehensive and reimburse expenses for care at home or in an assisted living facility, nursing home, memory care facility, or even adult day care, but these policies also include other lesser- known benefits that can be very helpful. EQUIPMENT BENEFIT: Reimbursement is available for home equipment and modifications such as ramps, stair lifts, grab bars, etc. Usually, it’s the equivalent of 2–3 months of benefits. RESPITE CARE: This is care provided when the primary, unpaid caregiver needs a rest from their caregiving duties. It’s usually equal to 21–30 days each year, depending on the policy. CAREGIVER TRAINING BENEFIT: This is a reimbursement of expenses to train an unpaid caregiver who provides care in the home but requires special training to perform these duties.

BED RESERVATION BENEFIT: In the event of a temporary absence, facilities may charge the resident a fee. Insurance may reimburse these fees up to 60 days per year. WAIVER OF PREMIUM BENEFIT: The insurance company will waive premium payments as long as benefits are being paid. INTERNATIONAL BENEFITS: Many policies will reimburse a policyholder for care outside the U.S., but the daily or monthly benefit and/or benefit period are usually very limited. ALTERNATIVE CARE BENEFIT: Typical examples include in-home safety devices, Meals on Wheels, emergency medical response devices, etc. Survivorship Benefit: If a couple has been insured under a shared policy or identical individual policies with a shared rider for at least 10 years without filing a claim, when one dies, the survivor’s premium is waived for life, with no change to policy benefits. NOTE: In all cases, though, the policyholder must first qualify for benefits, which means requiring assistance from another person with at least two of the six ADLs (bathing, dressing, transferring, eating, toileting, bowel or bladder continence) or due to a severe cognitive impairment (Alzheimer’s, etc.), and this assistance is expected to last at least 90 days.

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Decatur Office Location: Main Location One West Court Square, Suite 750 | Decatur, Georgia 30030

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Don’t Just Pass On Assets; Pass On Your Story

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Turn Back Time With Social Media

Asked & Answered

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Ways to Support a Recovering Loved One

Lesser-known Long-Term Care Insurance Benefits Cloudland Canyon: Gem of the North Georgia Mountains

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GEORGIA TRAVELS

THE FALL IN CLOUDLAND Visit This Stunning State Park

As the weather turns crisp and the trees don their autumn hues, there’s no better time to get out and enjoy Cloudland Canyon. Nestled in the rolling North Georgia mountains, this beautiful gully offers some of the most beautiful hiking trails in the state. The waterfalls and breathtaking vistas offered by this state park are well worth the trip north any time of year, but the fall truly makes Cloudland a magical place. Cypress and beech trees set Cloudland ablaze with rich reds and crackling oranges that pop out through the patchwork of evergreens. And the whole scene is underscored by the rush of water. Over eons, Daniel and Bear Creeks have carved the deep gorges through the sandstone on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. The results are stunning vertical views, enchanting natural caverns,

enthusiasts of all stripes. One of the most scenic trails is a quarter- mile wheelchair-accessible route overlooking the rim of the canyon. More paved and dirt trails exist for those who want to explore the gully and its caves, though these range from easy to moderate difficulty. Cabins and yurts exist for visitors who want to spend multiple days exploring all the park has to offer, and for those who enjoy roughing it, campsites are also available. Adventurous types will be happy to hear there are also multiple mountain biking and horseback riding trails in the area. But if you like to take things slow, no worries! Guided geology tours,

fishing, and an 18-hole disc golf course are available for families or individuals who just want to unwind in nature. For a full listing of activities and reservations, visit gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon. Cloudland Canyon is a magical place, especially in the fall! If you can get away up north for the weekend before the weather gets too cold, we highly recommend it.

and waterfalls that seem straight from Arthurian myths. The base of Cloudland Canyon Falls is, unsurprisingly, a popular wedding destination. Beyond the magic of the landscape, this 3,400-acre park offers an impressive range of activities for outdoor

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