©2016 Thompson Legacy Law
Atlanta, Georgia www.ThompsonLegacyLaw.com
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WHAT IS LIFE CARE PLANNING?
Life care planning can be an important element of elder law or special needs planning. The goal of life care planning is to
support elders or others facing physical or mental limitations and illness — and their families — in making difficult long
term care and financial decisions. The following checklists are provided to make dealing with this difficult process easier.
Life Care Planning places special emphasis on ensuring that you or your loved one gets good care, whether that care
is at home or outside the traditional home setting. This is the most important of all goals, for it goes to the very heart of
your quality of life in your later years.
Your Life Care Plan is focused first on your good health, safety, and well-being.
As Life Care Planners, we help you make decisions relating to your long-term care and special needs. We are your
resource of experienced, supportive, knowledgeable, and objective advisors. We help you find sources to pay for good
long-term care. We work with you through the maze of choices and options to find the best — or, often, the most
comfortable — solution to the asset protection problem created by the need to pay for quality long-term care.
Life care planning involves a team of caring professionals — often including an attorney, a Care Coordinator such as
an R.N. or social worker, and others — who assist a family in creating and implementing a life care plan. The plan and
professional support will have goals including:
• Initiating a safe conversation among family members about an elder’s, or other loved one’s, need for care
planning
• Establishing what current care is needed, and what future care will likely be needed
• Creating a plan for funding long term care, including by locating and accessing available public resources,
including Medicare and Medicaid
• Educating on and accessing in-home nursing, nursing home, and other long-term care options in the area
• Advocating for patients and clients with caregivers and institutions to assure good care and address any
concerns
• Assisting with bills and coordinating with insurance providers
• Related estate planning or special needs planning to protect and allocate assets
• Providing any needed legal services or documents, such as powers of attorney or the creation of adult
guardianships
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• Ensuring that family members’ concerns and emotional needs are met during the difficult process of planning
and caring for an aging or disabled loved one
Life care planning answers questions for seniors and disabled adults like ...
“How long will she be able to live in her own home?”
“How do we compassionately raise his increasing limitations with him?”
“How can we avoid overburdening a family caregiver?”
“How will we afford the best care possible, without unnecessarily diminishing family resources?”
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©2016 Thompson Legacy Law
Atlanta, Georgia www.ThompsonLegacyLaw.com
WHO NEEDS A LIFE CARE PLAN?
Life care plans are often devised at a time of crisis or transition, when an illness is diagnosed or becomes worse, a loved
one can no longer function independently, existing nursing arrangements have resulted in harm or neglect, or a family
caregiver is injured or burned out. But it is also often a great relief for families to begin the life care planning process
before a time of crisis for an elderly or disabled loved one. Life care plans are often of great benefit to individuals who:
• Have Alzheimers or signs of dementia
• Have been diagnosed with cancer or another serious disease
• Are finding it difficult to care for themselves in their own homes
• Have recently suffered a major injury, such as a fall or other accident
• Experienced substandard care at a nursing home
• Are adults with lifelong disabilities or special needs
• Have aging or overworked family caregivers
THOMPSON LEGACY LAW’S LIFE CARE
PLANNING SERVICES
Life care planning is a central priority at Thompson Legacy Law. We
cannot overstate how meaningful it is to us to partner with individuals
and families to take charge of long-term care decisions — allowing families
to get back to enjoying their time together with less worry, burn-out and
unpredictable financial concerns. Our life care planning team for each
family includes an attorney, a Care Coordinator and other caring
professionals who can address every facet of you and your loved one’s
needs. We meet with life care planning clients at our Atlanta office or at their homes or care facilities, if needed.
If you would like to learn more about life care planning, we welcome you to contact Thompson Legacy Law for a free
consultation. Call (404) 795-0114, email contact@thompsonlegacylaw.com, or visit our website www.thompsonlegacylaw.
com. We serve Georgia families throughout the Atlanta area.
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The Results of Life Care Planning Include:
Better care for aging or disabled loved ones.
Fewer worries, especially for out-of-state family members, that care will be left to chance or money
will run out.
Protection of family finances.
Less stress and disagreement among family members.
Assurance that you are not alone in these difficult decisions.
©2016 Thompson Legacy Law
Atlanta, Georgia www.ThompsonLegacyLaw.com
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