Reaching the later years of life successfully is a feat in of itself, but there is more to this time of life than simply living well. As age increases, so does the need for legal help to protect assets for various reasons. A home shouldn’t be sold simply to pay off a nursing home bill. To that end, an Elder Law Attorney in Bucks County can help find ways to ensure that assets are retained along with other concerns that older individuals need to see to.
Perhaps the biggest concern that is faced with age is the prospect of long-term care. There are no guarantees that one is going to be able to maintain their quality of living as they did in their younger years. As a result, decisions are going to need to be made as to what type of living arrangements are going to be needed. Is it a nursing home, assisted living, or a senior residence with medical staff on call? All of these cost money, and the cost can quickly drain a bank account. An Elder Law Attorney in Bucks County can take a look at the assets as they currently exist, then devise a plan to protect them when the later years arrive.
A related issue that comes up with estate planning is who is going to be the financial power of attorney. This is giving someone legal access to all of the financial accounts, giving them the power to access them as needed. Due to the nature of this kind of access, it’s imperative to give the role to someone that can be absolutely trusted, typically a family member. A lawyer can set up the power of attorney in order to make it legally binding and accepted by the financial institutions. The same goes for medical power of attorney, which gives the individual the right to make decisions regarding the medical care of the elder individual.
It’s important to have legal protections in place for the later years. Doing them sooner than later creates a framework for others to follow, and the documents can be altered as needed by the party who creates them. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to making decisions about quality of life in the golden years.
