In this Elder Law Minute, Kaye DeSelms Dent explains why families should request a paper nursing home contract, avoid signing electronically, and have admission agreements reviewed by an elder law attorney before signing.
Introduction
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law here with an elder law minute for you. These videos are intended to educate you about the elder care journey which begins earlier in life than you might think. We hope that you find them useful and if you have further questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Request a Paper Nursing Home Contract
Today I want to explain to you why it’s very important that if you are admitting a loved one to a skilled nursing facility, in other words, a nursing home or an assisted living or similar facility, that you insist on receiving a paper contract to sign.
Do not do it electronically.
Arbitration and Mediation Provisions
Here’s some things that happen. First of all, in Illinois, you cannot be turned down for admission to a facility or evicted from a facility for refusing to agree to arbitration/mediation.
The nursing home contract that you will receive electronically if you do that doesn’t really give you the ability to opt out of the mediation. You don’t want it. It’s a bad thing for the consumer. Every elder law attorney will tell you that.
If you get the paper, you can opt out of it.
The Meaning of “Responsible Party”
Also, when you sign a nursing home contract, you’re going to be told that the term quote responsible party unquote doesn’t mean that you’ll be personally responsible for your spouses or parents or brothers or sisters bills.
Yes, you will. That’s exactly what it means.
Don’t take legal advice from non-attorneys.
Have an Elder Law Attorney Review the Contract
In fact, your best bet, get the paper contract, all 122 pages of it, if that’s how long it is, and it probably will be, and bring it to an elder law attorney for review.
Yes, you’ll spend a little money doing that, but guess how much money you can save on the back end if anything goes south, and it can.
Provisions Affecting Medicaid Planning
Other provisions we see in these contracts include prohibitions against families engaging in asset protection planning. In other words, the person signing the contract is agreeing to not do any Medicaid planning for their loved one.
This kind of planning is completely legal and it can save people tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and often times for a spouse at home put them in a much better position.
So those are one of the provisions that we don’t ever want clients to sign up for.
Closing
I could go on all day about the number of provisions that I X through all the time.
Bring your contract to an elder law attorney for review. Again, it’s very important.
If you’d like assistance with review of a nursing home or other facility contract, please give us a call at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.