Long Term Care &

Medicaid Planning

Our planning helps ensure that you or your loved one gets the best possible care and maintains the highest possible quality of life for the rest of your years. Get started today.

Plan NOW.  Don’t go broke LATER.

8000

The average monthly cost of a decent nursing in home in St. Louis County

2999

The value of assets you must spend down to prior to applying for Medicaid

5

The number of years back Medicaid looks at financial records

Hi. I’m Dana Vouga, Certified Senior Advisor and Elder Law Paralegal with Vouga Elder Law & Estate Planning.  I’m sorry to hear you have a loved one struggling with health and/or memory issues.  Whether it is your husband, wife, father, or mother, what you are going through can be one of the toughest things you will ever face.

 

If this is a recent development or diagnosis, the first thing we want to do is make sure your loved one has basic estate planning documents in place.  This ensures if or when you need to step in to make health care or financial decisions, you have the legal ability to do so.

  • If they currently have estate planning documents in place – are they as powerful and flexible as they need to be? Let’s check to make sure.

  • If there are no estate planning documents in place, or if they have documents aren’t powerful enough, does your loved have the mental capacity to understand and sign new documents?

    • Unless a doctor has already said they can’t handle their own health care and financial decisions, we will need to speak to your loved one to know for certain if they can sign new documents.

Then we want to determine how we can best support you…the family.  Do you need recommendations for in-home care?  No one ever pays us a referral fee, but we are happy to share with you who we would be comfortable having in our home.  Would your family like help locating an assisted living facility or nursing home?  We will also share with you the feedback we receive from our clients, and our experiences with independent and assisted living communities and nursing homes.

 

If you are at the point of needing to place a loved one in a nursing home, we know and understand:  the struggle – and the guilt – are very real.  It isn’t going to be easy, but it will eventually be ok.  We will make sure your loved one doesn’t go broke just because they need skilled care.  We can help protect assets – for your loved one’s quality of life, for their quality of care, or for a spouse still at home. I want you to know you don’t have to do this by yourself.  Arm in arm, hand in hand, we are here to guide you and help you to get through this.

Five Levels of Care:

In Home Care

Provided through an in-home care company or private payment to a friend or family member (Personal Care Contract needed).

Adult Day Care

Daytime supervision and companionship for seniors that includes social and recreational activities.  May include health-related services.

Independent Living Community

Apartment living that typically includes housekeeping, one or more meals a day, social and recreational activities, and some transportation.

Assisted Living Community

Apartment-living for seniors who require additional personal care support with activities such as medication management, bathing, and/or dressing.

Skilled Nursing Care

(Nursing Home)

Residential housing that provides the highest level of care for medical or cognitive needs.

Don’t Go Broke in a Nursing Home

We have seen and heard about far too many people loosing everything they have after they or a loved one enters a nursing home. It doesn’t have to happen to you.  Watch this video to learn the ugly secret nursing homes won’t tell you and how to protect your assets.

Our experience and approach is intended to give you peace of mind and allow you to maximize the time you have with your loved one. Every situation is unique, but our process most often progresses as follows: 

Step 1

Request A FREE Conference

Submitting our conference request is fast and easy and you can expect a response the same or next business day.

Step 2

We Will Call You To Schedule a Conference

Once we have received your request, our Client Services Coordinator will reach out to schedule an in-person conference to understand more about your situation and how we can help.

Step 3

Meet With A Member of Our Team

Given that everyone’s situation is unique, it is important that we gather information to help recommend that best course of action.  We will likely discuss:

  • Current estate plan documents that are already in place
  • Creating new estate plan documents if needed
  • Long term care options and protection
  • Ways to pay for long term care

The Time to "Get Your Ducks In a Row" is NOW!

Call TODAY at 636-394-0009, or use the link below, to set up a FREE, NO OBLIGATION conference!

Request Today