Services

When a Senior is found to not have the ability to make financial decisions or pay their bills, an interested person, such as Adult Protection, a family member, or a neighbor, can Petition the Court to appoint me as a Conservator. This requires a Court appearance by the Senior and myself, and anyone interested, and an Order and Letters of Conservatorship are signed by the Judge. This offers a high level of accountability as there is an Inventory and Financial Plan due to the Court within 60 days, and a yearly report of all assets, liabilities, changes in circumstances, etc., filed with the Court by the Conservator. All accounts become restricted with the Senior no longer having access to their assets. This is best when the Senior has a considerable amount of assets or has been financially exploited previously.

Under a General Durable Power of Attorney, when someone has the mental capacity to know they need help, I come along side as their Agent and help with whatever needs to be done. This may include catching up on past due bills. If they need to move from their home or will not be able to return to their home after a hospitalization and rehab, I help find the best facility to meet their needs: move them, take care of their personal property, go through all the paperwork, documenting assets and keeping important papers. This make their world smaller by consolidating accounts and assets, hiring a company to do an estate sale, getting a real estate agent on board to market and sell the home. I can also help invest their money, pay bills, make sure they have end of life decisions made such as a Last Will and Testament, Living Will, Preneed/Prepaid Burial Plan with a reasonably priced mortuary, etc.

If there is family out of State or too busy to take care of the daily aspects of someone's needs, I also do case management. I can attend care conferences, hold facilities accountable, be the contact person for emergencies, supplies, etc., visit and listen to the Senior to see how they are doing and if they have any concerns or questions.

One of my newer experiences that I feel is very important to those on Hospice, whether they have family or not, is to quickly get their life in order financially before they pass away. The idea is to "make their world smaller" in various aspects of their life and get their business matters in order so they can pass peacefully, knowing this has been taken care of. For example: closing all but one bank account, purchasing a pre-need, pre-paid burial plan according to their wishes, prepare a Will and Living Will, taking care of personal property in the home, helping market and sell a home through a realtor, selling vehicles and preparing the Bill of Sale, etc., whatever items an individual needs taken care of. This can be done whether there is family involved or not, and if there is family, I can work with them step by step on the items that needs to be taken care of.

This involves reviewing outgoing expenses, health insurance, Medicare D Prescription programs, homeowners and car insurance, cable and telephone bills, bank fees, etc., to see where costs can be cut. I had a client that was partially blind and never watched T.V., but every month she paid her Comcast bill until I asked why since she doesn't use the T.V.; I cancelled the service. I will Oversee caregivers, helping families choose the right independent living, assisted living, or skilled nursing facility, according to assets, their monthly income, their needs. This also involves choosing one that will grow with them, whether they will run out of funds and will need to go on Medicaid, making sure they are already in a facility that will allow them to stay in their room after Medicaid.

There are times when someone doesn't have anyone that they can trust to be the Personal Representative in their Will or they may not want to burden someone with this time consuming and overwhelming task. I can be the Personal Representative and facilitate the Probate process as my paralegal background was in this area of law for 25 years and take care of their estate, according to their wishes in the Will.

The sad part about getting older is not being safe living in their own home. My biggest projects are coming along side and helping gather and document important business and financial documents, making sure anything thrown away is shredded for identity safety, gathering keepsakes and collections, deciding together what to do with family photos (one client, framed picture collages were transferred to a scrap book), taking care of the personal property, holding an estate sale with a reputable company, selling the home, investing the money, taking care of the client's needs, paying their bills, bring supplies, etc. I do whatever it takes to get things done safely, quickly and in the least expensive manner.