Photo: Paige Cody / UnsplashPaying for long-term care
- Family and estate
Medicare vs Medicaid for Long-Term Care: What Each Pays and How to Plan
How Medicare and Medicaid differ for nursing home and home care, what Medicare covers for short stays, Medicaid eligibility basics, spend-down, look-back rules and planning options.
3 min read - Family and estate
Elder Law and Medicaid Basics: Paying for Long-Term Care
How Medicaid covers long-term care, asset and income limits, the five-year look-back and why professional advice matters.
2 min read - Family and estate
Medicaid Planning and the Five-Year Look-Back: Paying for Long-Term Care Without Losing Everything
How Medicaid pays for nursing home care, asset and income limits, the five-year look-back rule, exempt assets, spousal protections and why to get elder law advice.
3 min read - Family and estate
Caregiver Agreements: Paying a Family Member for Care Without Hurting Medicaid Eligibility
How personal care agreements work when a family member provides care, what to put in writing, tax and Medicaid considerations, risks of informal arrangements and when to get legal advice.
3 min read - Family and estate
Free Legal Help for Seniors and Veterans: Programs, Eligibility and How to Ask
Where seniors and veterans can find free legal help with wills, benefits, housing, debt and elder abuse, including programs not tied to strict income limits.
4 min read
Nursing homes and abuse
- Family and estate
How to Choose a Nursing Home: Inspection Records, Staffing, Contracts and Red Flags
How to compare nursing homes using federal inspection reports and staffing data, what to ask on tours, what to look for in admission contracts and warning signs of poor care.
4 min read - Family and estate
Nursing Home Residents' Rights and How to File a Complaint
The federal rights of nursing home residents, signs of neglect or abuse and how to report concerns and get help.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Claims: Signs, Reporting and Legal Options
How to recognize nursing home abuse and neglect, report it, protect a loved one and understand legal claims, arbitration agreements and deadlines.
4 min read - Family and estate
How to Report Elder Abuse and Get Protection: Adult Protective Services, Police and Courts
How to recognize and report elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, how Adult Protective Services works, emergency steps, protective orders and legal options for families.
3 min read - Family and estate
Elder Financial Abuse: Signs, Reporting and Protection
Common forms of financial exploitation of older adults, warning signs and steps to report and prevent it.
2 min read
Decision-making documents
- Family and estate
Guardianship and Conservatorship: How They Work
When a court appoints a guardian or conservator for a minor or incapacitated adult, the process and the alternatives.
4 min read - Family and estate
Power of Attorney: Types, Uses and How to Choose an Agent
General, limited, durable, healthcare and springing powers of attorney explained in plain language.
4 min read - Family and estate
How to Revoke a Power of Attorney and Tell the Right People
Steps to end a power of attorney, why written notice matters, banks and third parties, and what if the agent will not stop.
3 min read - Family and estate
Living Wills and Advance Directives: Planning for Medical Decisions
How a living will and a healthcare proxy work together to state your medical wishes if you cannot speak for yourself.
5 min read - Legal documents
Medical Power of Attorney: Choosing Someone to Make Health Decisions
How a healthcare power of attorney works, who to choose as your agent and how to make it valid and available in an emergency.
4 min read - Family and estate
Special Needs Trusts: Protecting Benefits for a Person With a Disability
How special needs trusts let a person with a disability receive money without losing benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.
4 min read
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicare pay for nursing homes?
Only limited short-term skilled care after a qualifying hospital stay.
What is the Medicaid look-back?
A review of transfers made in the five years before applying, which can cause a penalty period.
Where do I report elder abuse?
Adult Protective Services, the long-term care ombudsman for facilities, and 911 for danger.
When is guardianship needed?
When a person cannot make decisions and no less restrictive tool, like a power of attorney, is in place.
Should I hire an elder law attorney?
It is wise for Medicaid planning and guardianship, since mistakes are costly.