Planning for the Future...How Smart Decisions Now Can Ensure Future Peace of Mind for You and Your Family

Can you answer the following questions?

• What are the current prognoses, diagnoses and medical needs of my aging loved one?
• Is my loved one safe and well cared for?
• When is it appropriate to get involved with my love one’s care?
• How do I find good care?
• What is the estimated cost for my loved one's current and future needs?
• How will that care be paid for?
• At what point do we need to consider a move from home to a more secure environment?
• What government and community resources may help pay for that care?

These are extremely powerful questions to ponder – aging, disability and chronic illness raise tough questions for families. As your parents, spouse or other loved ones age, the demands of care can become overwhelming. Who has time to spend hours doing the research you need to make good decisions about your loved one’s long-term care? Fortunately, there are ways to give you peace of mind through the incredible maze of long-term care.

For more that 30 years, The Hughes Law Firm has been helping clients and their families respond to the legal and financial challenges presented by proper estate planning. In 2006, the firm expanded their services to include a Life Care Plan, which will offer “total care” and provide answers regarding the legal and financial aspect of estate planning as well as the physical and psychological challengers presented by long life, illness and disability.

Under the leadership of Richard D. Hughes, the firm has pioneered an integrated care coordination and elder-centered planning approach that has redefined the practice of elder law in Colorado. 

Whether you loved one is living at home, at an assisted living facility or in a nursing home you can relax in the knowledge that his or her care is being coordinated by experts who have extensive knowledge about the costs, quality and availability of resources in the community. Based on your needs, your loved one's Life Care Plan will include some or all of the following services:

• LEGAL SERVICES
  To protect assets, coordinate public and private resources to pay for long-term care, and preserve family wealth for future generations, your Life Care Plan could include: Wills, trusts and powers of attorney, Special Needs Trusts, Probate/Estate administration, and/or Medicaid asset protection planning.
  
  
• ADVOCACY SERVICES
  To help you get the highest quality health care and long-term care for your loved one.
  
  
• CARE COORDINATION SERVICES
  Handled by experts who do whatever is necessary to protect and promote your loved one’s quality of life.
  
  
• MEDICARE & INSURANCE ASSISTANCE
  From the experienced staff who understands your options and help you make wise choices and resolve problems.

Once your Life Care Plan is written, it is a living document that changes along with your loved one’s changing needs.

A “Life Care Plan” has the answers.
A Life Care Plan describes how an Elder Law Firm will help you meet your loved one’s needs during a long-term illness or disability.  Like a traditional estate plan, a Life Care Plan includes the legal protection needed to safeguard assets, honor your loved one’s wishes, and provide for family members.

A Life Care Plan also describes how your loved one's long-term care, financial, physical and psychological needs will be met.  It’s a road map for total care with two simple goals:  to maximize your loved one’s quality of lie--until the end of life--while preserving wealth for your family’s future.

The Life Care Plan includes the services of a Certified Elder Law Attorney,  Nurse Geriatric Care Managers, and other members of the staff who work together to coordinate care, maximize quality of life, and protect family wealth for future generations.

Every Life Care Plan is designed to achieve three primary objectives:

• Help you ensure that your loved one gets appropriate care, whether at home or in a residential facility
• Locate public and private sources to help you pay for long term care while solving the asset protection problem created by the high cost of care
• Give you and your family the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your loved on is safe and getting the right care

A Geriatric Care Manager serves as your support line, your advocate, your confidante and your friend.

Your Manager will: 

• Conduct care assessments to uncover potential problems and find solutions
• Help you locate and hire in-home help or other services
• Coordinate with medical and health care providers
• Review medical issues and offer referrals to other geriatric specialists to provide appropriate care in a way that conserves financial resources
• Help you plan for the possibility of incapacity and disability
• Provide support, guidance, and advocacy during a crisis
• Arrange for alternate housing, if needed
• Provide education, counseling, and support
• Prepare and guide you and your family through the Medicaid application process
• Work in collaboration with other members of the support team serving you loved one

A Life Care Plan is a simple approach, yet it goes well beyond what the traditional asset-focused elder law attorney offers. It will give you and your family a single point of contact working with you to get the best, most appropriate care for your loved one, along with every service he or she will need during the journey down the Elder Care Continuum.  The end result for you?  It all adds up to peace of mind.