By William H. (Kim) Kimbrough, Jr., J.D., LL.M.

Frauds aimed at older adults are becoming more creative. Scammers stay on top of whatever is new, such as the popularity of Zoom, COVID-19 vaccines, and online shopping, and then move fast to create ploys that best fit the moment. They also capitalize on the availability of public information to bilk unsuspecting seniors.
It's not just vulnerable older shut-ins who are targeted. Everyone is--even me. That's why I wanted to give you a glimpse of two scam letters I received recently.

When it comes to elder care, Julia Price hasn’t just had a front row seat. She has been in the ring. In fact, if you look up the term “Sandwich Generation,” there’s a good chance you’ll find Julia Price’s picture next to the definition. “Six years ago, I didn’t even know that elder care law was a thing,” said Julia. Today, she helps people access public benefits to pay for long-term care in her role as a VA accredited attorney at Elder Law of East Tennessee, a Life Care Planning Law Firm with offices in Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee.

An older loved one needs care. A family member steps up. The elder’s condition worsens, and the burden on the caregiver increases. Outsiders can see that the elder needs more help, but the family caregiver can’t let go. What are the options? We posed this question to Carolyn Northrop, the elder care coordinator at Strohschein Law Group, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in St. Charles, Illinois.

You’ve moved your mom or dad into a nursing home. You’re breathing a sigh of relief. The stress of caring for your parent is now behind you. You can rest easy knowing that they’ll be well cared for by skilled nursing staff, right?

Unfortunately, long-term care is expensive. In some parts of the U.S., it can run as much as $12,000 per month. Do you know where the money will come from to pay for your parents’ care? What if your mom or dad can no longer pay the bill? Can you, the adult child, be held responsible?

Blended family situations can create challenges when a spouse needs long-term care. An attorney in a Life Care Planning Law Firm outlines the risks.

If you’ve been married more than once and there are children from former marriages in the picture, estate planning is often tricky. Things can be even more challenging when you or your current spouse need long-term care. How can blended family situations create problems?

What's a typical day like for an elder care coordinator in a Life Care Planning Law Firm? Kyra Clements, one of the elder care coordinators at Elder Law of East Tennessee, a Life Care Planning Law Firm with offices in Knoxville and Johnson City, tells the story in her own words.

The only thing typical about my day is the outcome I’m trying to achieve for my clients. My job is to ensure the best quality of life and the best quality of care for my elderly clients.

When an elderly loved one needs to be placed in a facility and the response is NO WAY, what do you do?

We posed this delicate question to Janice Fitchhorn, an elder care coordinator at Truhlsen Elder Care Law of Nebraska, a Life Care Planning Law Firm in Blair, Nebraska. Janice sees this situation quite frequently.

In the first article in this series, we talked about how Care Plans are developed shortly after an older adult is admitted to a long-term care facility. What happens with the Care Plan if the stay is longer?