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The Complete Retirement Survival Guide

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Peter J. Strauss and Nancy M. Lederman. The Complete Retirement Survival Guide. 2nd. Ed. New York: Facts on File. 2003. 420 pages.

 

 

Price: $12.50 from Amazon.com -- click on book to order

This is a completely updated edition of a book that the authors -- two practicing elder law attorneys -- published in 1996 under the title The Elder Law Handbook. The Guide is one of the most thorough and informed discussions you're likely to find on legal and financial issues affecting the elderly. It is as clearly-written and well-organized as its predecessor and more user-friendly thanks to a less forbidding typeface. New chapters have been added on managed care, long-term care insurance, and IRAs, among others.

The Complete Retirement Survival Guide also is a better name for the volume because it covers topics that many other elder law books neglect. You'll find practical guidance on such subjects as choosing a hospital, how hospitals are organized, age discrimination, pensions, and tenants' rights, in addition to cogent discussions of more typical subjects like Medicaid, Medicare, powers of attorney and guardianship (although note that this 2003 book does not cover important changes in Medicaid asset transfer rules made since then).

Also helpful are the appendices that list organizations, advocacy groups and state agencies, such as each state's elder abuse hotline and nursing home ombudsman.

Given that the book covers the waterfront in its 420 pages, it can't be expected to treat each subject in depth. This is particularly true of the discussion of long-term care insurance. While the Guide offers an admirable overview in a little over six pages, those seriously considering such coverage should probably consult a book largely or completely devoted to purchasing this most complex of insurance products -- such as Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Insurance, Long-Term Care: Your Financial Planning Guide or The Complete Idiot's Guide to Long-Term Care Planning.

Despite its attention to detail, The Complete Retirement Survival Guide is clearly and engagingly written and benefits from frequent section breaks. And, although intended for the layperson, it could be of use to professionals seeking general information on areas of elder law.

 


Created date: 12/16/2006
Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

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Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

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Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

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Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

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Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

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ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

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Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

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Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

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Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

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Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

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Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

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Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

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