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Elder Law

Charles Kennedy

Medical Necessity

Something every person who applies for Medicaid must prove is that there is a “medical necessity” for care. It seems rather obvious that if someone needs medical care that it is necessary, but as in all matters involving the government the obvious is not always simple.

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Charles Kennedy

Home care services through Medicaid: What you need to know

Home care services are a necessity for persons who want to stay in their home while disabled, but when it comes to home care services for persons over age 65 it’s important to understand your options because some of these programs are more popular than others. Read more.

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Charles Kennedy

Explanation of What a Qualifying Income Trust Is and How It Is Used

I get many calls from people wanting to protect assets with a Qualifying Income Trust (QIT), first called a Miller Trust. This type of Trust is very useful in Medicaid Planning and applications. It does not protect assets, but it does help qualify Medicaid applicants for Long-term Skilled Nursing Care.

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Charles Kennedy

Guardianship Law Changes and Disability

It is old news that we expect many more people to need help due to dementia over the next decade. One of the speakers at the 2016 Advanced Guardianship course noted that the number of guardianships in Texas has increased 60% since 2011. There has not been a similar increase in the number of Probate […]

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Charles Kennedy

New Bill of Rights for Guardianship wards

This is the statute. I will comment in other postings. Texas Estates Code § 1151.351 – Bill Of Rights For Wards § 1151.351. Bill Of Rights For Wards (a) A ward has all the rights, benefits, responsibilities, and privileges granted by the constitution and laws of this state and the United States, except where specifically […]

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Charles Kennedy

Social Security and Disability: What is it?

Social Security is more than the traditional retirement pension program that most of us are familiar with. The various programs are commonly described as old-age, survivors or disability insurance. I will focus on the disability programs here. The disability program is divided into two types: SSDI and SSI. Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI pays […]

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Charles Kennedy

ELDER LAW: Who is the client?

In most legal matters it is obvious to everyone who is the client. In Elder Law sometimes it is not obvious. Often when Mom or Dad ends up in a nursing home, one of the very adult children will schedule a conference with me. The number of issues involved with an emergency placement of a […]

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