by

letter-writing-300x200By Jill Brightman

I’ll admit it.  I love to text.  It’s quick and it’s easy.  And, why struggle to find the right (auto-corrected) words when I have a variety of emojis right at my fingertips?

The advent of email, text messaging, and social media have undoubtedly changed our communication style, providing a convenient and fast way for us to keep in touch with others.  But these innovations, as helpful as they are, have also left us missing something – the beauty and joy of writing and receiving the written word in the form of a letter.

Continue reading

by

house-on-sand-300x200
If you haven’t yet given thought to what will happen to your vacation home (or other real estate) once you’re gone, please read this!

Mere ownership of real property can trigger not-so-pleasant things such as creditor claims, unnecessary probate, additional tax, and most importantly – ugly family disputes.

Whether it’s a cabin in the woods, a chalet on the mountain, or a cottage by the sea, a family vacation home is the getaway that brings everyone together – a place to make memories.

Continue reading

by

iStock_000018435449Small-300x254
“My friend put her house in her childrens’ names” … “my neighbor says I should put my son on my bank accounts.”

“Should I?”

That’s a question we are often asked. So often in fact that we can usually tell within minutes whether the main motivation is mere convenience, or is to protect assets against the cost of long-term care.

Continue reading

by

StethoscopeMoneyA federal court ruled that hospitals may retain a patient in their building under “observation status” rather than formally admitting them, and that such “observation status” does not count as a hospital stay for nursing home Medicare qualification purposes.

Medicare (not to be confused with Medicaid or Title 19) provides a limited nursing home benefit. If a nursing home resident spends three nights in a hospital and then is discharged to a nursing home for some type of rehabilitation services, the nursing home resident is entitled to Medicare benefits at the nursing home for up to 100 days. Medicare will pay the entire bill for the first 20 days and, for the next 80 days, Medicare will continue to pay a portion of the bill and the nursing home resident must pay a portion. In 2021, the nursing home resident must pay $185.50/day and Medicare pays the balance (many nursing home residents have a Medicare supplemental insurance policy to cover the $185.50/day). The Medicare benefit can save a nursing home resident tens of thousands of dollars.

So what does “observation status” have to do with all of this?

Under Medicare regulations for hospitals, if a hospital admits a patient and Continue reading

by

jetsonsIn 1962, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (better known as Hanna-Barbera) premiered The Jetsons, a cartoon series about a family living their best lives 100 year in the future in the year 2062.

We’re still 42 years away from being contemporaries of the Jetsons, but many of the technologies the show predicted have already become a reality. George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy Jetson enjoyed many of the modern conveniences we now take for granted, from flat-screen TVs and tablet computers to robot vacuums and smart watches.

One of the technologies predicted by the show has taken center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic: video conferencing. While the first video conferencing phone was introduced by AT&T at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, the technology didn’t really become ubiquitous until the 2000s with the launch of internet-based video conferencing technologies like Skype.

Continue reading

by

rollercoaster-300x200Since March, life has been very, very different. It’s hard to know how to deal with all the changes. A lot of us apparently started this journey hoarding toilet paper and learning how to make sourdough starter. We attended virtual concerts starring big-name musicians who broadcast from their living rooms. We watched the news incessantly, learned how to Zoom, and tried desperately to keep up with what we should and shouldn’t be doing to ensure the safety of ourselves and our loved ones.

It has been a long, difficult six months.

No one can be blamed for having a lot of emotions right now. As people keep pointing out, this is an “unprecedented” situation. Between the disruption of our daily lives and the sky-high levels of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it’s a miracle that we’re managing to hold it together at all.

Continue reading

by

AdobeStock_41168140-300x225By Esther Corcoran

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of growing older, as many people seem to think. It is a disease that impairs memory and intellectual abilities to the point where their daily life is being affected. When people notice things in their daily life changing, there are 10 early signs to be aware of and to keep into consideration before seeking medical help. 

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life. Memory loss is one of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially forgetting recently learned information. Other instances include forgetting important dates or events; asking for the same information over and over; increasingly needing to rely on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own.

Continue reading

by

downsizing

“Downsizing” is one of those words that seems simple, but can be wrought with overwhelming and emotional baggage. While it’s easy to embrace the concept – a smaller space, fewer possessions – actually getting rid of stuff is often harder than expected.

This shouldn’t really come as a surprise since we spend most of our lives accumulating “stuff.”

Year after year, we buy and collect, receive gifts, and save mementos, and it slowly fills up every drawer, shelf, attic space, closet, and corner of the garage. And then, in the course of a few weeks or months, we’re faced with undoing decades’ worth of acquiring.

It’s not easy. Continue reading

by

This is the first in a 3-part series about the process and practice of becoming your parent’s healthcare advocate. In this part one, we talk about how to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition. 

As Bette Davis once said, “Getting old is not for sissies.”

It’s also not something that anyone should have to do alone, especially when it comes to navigating the exhaustingly complex and sometimes downright intimidating territory of personal healthcare.

Continue reading

by

 

Choice Wooden Letterpress ThemeUntil recently, there was a Catch 22 when it came to getting care in the community. If you are 65 years of age or older, the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders is available. But for younger people with complex care needs, the options in Connecticut have been limited.

The PCA (Personal Care Assistance) Medicaid Waiver is available, for example, but primarily serves individuals with limited needs and certain conditions, and the program has a cap on the number of slots available. Furthermore, other waiver programs are also limited. Continue reading

Members of:
Contact Information
Berlin Office
15 Massirio Dr
Berlin, CT 06037
Simsbury Office
92 Hopmeadow St
Simsbury, CT 06089
South Windsor Office
1741 Ellington Rd 2nd Floor
South Windsor, CT 06074
New Milford Office
15 S Main St
New Milford, CT 06776
Madison Office
64 Wall St
Madison, CT 06443
Phone: (860) 236-7673 Fax: (866) 540-4616

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2024, Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri LLC
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design
pixel