by Laurie Ohall | Aug 15, 2011 | End of Life Issues, Senior Lifestyles
How important is social support as a person ages? This may seem like an easy question to answer. Most people would not choose isolation and loneliness versus spending time with companions. However, can lack of social support really hinder a person’s overall quality of...
by Laurie Ohall | Aug 5, 2011 | End of Life Issues, Estate Planning, Florida Laws, Power of Attorney for Estate Planning
Last time, I talked about some of the more relevant changes to the DPOA statute such as doing away with “springing” POA’s and how POA’s signed before the new statute is enacted (which is on 10/1/11) will be treated. Some other changes to the statute include the...
by Laurie Ohall | Jul 30, 2011 | End of Life Issues, Estate Planning, Florida Laws, Power of Attorney for Estate Planning
The purpose of a durable power of attorney (DPOA) is to provide the least restrictive alternative to having someone act on your behalf to make health care and financial decisions. The current DPOA statute (which can be found at Florida Statute Section 709.01 through...
by Laurie Ohall | May 30, 2011 | End of Life Issues, Estate Planning, Florida Laws, Probate
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May of 1999 demonstrated that independently living seniors that have pets tend to have better physical health and mental well-being than those that don’t. They’re more active, cope better with...
by Laurie Ohall | May 25, 2011 | Elder Law, End of Life Issues, Florida Laws, Long Term Care Planning, Medicaid
Some good news did come out of the Florida legislative session this year – they managed to budget for 1000 new slots under the Medicaid Diversion program (which helps pay for the cost of care in assisted living facilities) and 1250 new slots for the Medicaid...
by Laurie Ohall | Apr 25, 2011 | Elder Law, End of Life Issues, Estate Planning, Long Term Care Planning
For many seniors the equity in their home is their largest single asset, yet it is unavailable to use unless they use a home equity loan. But a conventional loan really doesn’t free up the equity because the money has to be paid back with interest. A reverse...
