For the premiere episode of Sharing Ageless Wisdom, we invited special guest Cynthia Arevalo, a local Elder Law expert to talk about all the financial benefits that become available as we age, the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, and what is the ideal plan of action to prepare for aging.
So many people are not aware of all the financial benefits that they can qualify for, and may think that they don’t qualify when they actually do. In this episode, we share stories and examples of how these benefits have helped people in different situations.
We hope you find this information useful. If you know someone who could benefit from this information, share it with them too!
You can learn more about Cynthia Arevalo at: www.arevalolaw.com
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Tap here to view the transcript for Episode 1: The Legal Connection with Cynthia Arevalo – How Elder Law Helps You Prepare for Aging, Financial Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, and Senior Care. You can also scroll to the bottom of this page to view the transcript.
What is Sharing Ageless Wisdom About?
Sharing Ageless Wisdom aims to feature senior industry experts in South Florida who will share valuable insight to help our viewers prepare for aging. We will also cover topics related to in-home senior care, caregivers, family, and more. We hope you’ll benefit from this essential information.
Sharing Ageless Wisdom is a video podcast hosted by Diana Cabassi, a Certified Senior Advisor and life coach in Broward County, Florida. Diana has over a decade of experience in caregiving and running Seniors Helping Seniors® Southwest Broward, an in-home senior care service serving families in Pembroke Pines, Davie, Cooper City, Weston, Southwest Ranches, Miramar, Sunrise, and Plantation, FL.
For more information on Seniors Helping Seniors® Southwest Broward, visit: seniorcaresouthwestbroward.com
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Transcript for Sharing Ageless Wisdom – Episode 1
The Legal Connection with Cynthia Arevalo – How Elder Law Helps You Prepare for Aging, Financial Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, and Senior Care
Diana Cabassi: Thank you for tuning into the Sharing Ageless Wisdom Podcast. Our podcast aims to feature senior industry experts in South Florida who will share valuable insight to help our viewers prepare for aging. We hope you’ll benefit from this essential information.
Hello viewers, welcome to our podcast. I’m Diana Cabassi with Seniors Helping Seniors in Home Care in Southwest Broward County. Today we will be meeting Cynthia Arevalo with Arevalo Law. Cynthia specializes in elder law and will be addressing several extremely important topics with us.
Welcome Cynthia. Thank you for coming to our show today.
Cynthia Arevalo: Thank you. Thank you, Diana. Thank you for having me.
Diana Cabassi: I’m very grateful for the important work that you do to protect us all. And, I’d like for you to share a little bit about yourself with us today. And also to, you know, tell us what it is that you do to advocate for us.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes. Thank you. So, yes, I am a practicing attorney licensed in the state of Florida for over 20 years. Our office is in Hollywood, Florida, perfectly situated so we can help everybody in the tri county area, but we do have clients throughout the state of Florida. We help them in various areas like estate planning, which is basically wills and trust incapacity planning, guardianship, probate, long term care planning, which is Medicaid, asset protection, all of these areas that really just encompass what somebody might go through in their life’s journey at different point in time. We would love for families to start planning early, and then we, you know, change that plan as they move along through life and life circumstances change. So we really do love serving our community and that area. And as you know, you and I have worked together for a long time, so we enjoy a not only a personal friendship, but a professional relationship as well, which I’m so grateful for. And really excited to be here with you today.
Diana Cabassi: Thank you, Cynthia. And, you know, I do admire Cynthia tremendously for her work and, you know, I trust her so much. She takes care of my elder issues. So, anyway, thank you Cynthia.
Cynthia Arevalo: Thank you.
Diana Cabassi: So, many people don’t know, how they’re going to pay for their long term care, and it’s not uncommon for people to be surprised when it’s time for them to get care in their homes or at a facility. And many people think that perhaps Medicare is going to cover all their care needs, but can you explain the difference for us between Medicare and Medicaid?
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah, yeah, actually that is such a misconception. I wish we could teach this class somewhere in college or something where it’s a requirement because by the time we’re adults, it’s just like, it’s too late when you come to figure out the difference between Medicare and Medicaid but nonetheless, there’s always a solution typically as we move through it.
So Medicare, we think of it as a health insurance. It’s our health insurance after the age of 65. We’ve already paid into the system, so this is something that we receive as a benefit. So it covers doctors, prescriptions, and things like that. But what it does not cover is is long term care. What do we mean by long term care? That means that we may need home health assistance, caregivers, assisted living facility, nursing care, whatever arrangement we need because at that point in our life, we need help with assistance in our daily activities, right? And so Medicare does not cover that. Medicaid covers that. And that is not a benefit that we receive automatically the way we receive Medicare.
And that’s where I think it’s really lost because everybody thinks you automatically get that too because you get Medicare. And there are requirements in order to be able to receive those benefits. And so you have to meet those requirements. Oftentimes there’s a wait list. So it’s, it’s not a real straightforward process.
You really need to work with somebody, a professional that can walk you through that process.
Diana Cabassi: So, you know, some people think that you need to be indigent and basically not have any money to your name or any property in order to be able to qualify for Medicaid. Can you give us a little bit of a knowledge there on what it is. That can be done in order for someone who has their own home and a little bit of money in their savings to qualify for Medicaid.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah, yeah, that’s a big one. I hear that all the time. Well, I own a home, so I certainly don’t qualify for Medicaid. That is untrue. Let’s say it now. Again, it is not true. You can qualify for Medicaid if you have a primary home, which is your homestead in Florida. That is what they call an exempt asset. So, you have your primary home, and you have a little bit of money, you will likely qualify for Medicaid. We may have to do some planning for that cash that you have available, but Medicaid is not something that you won’t qualify for. If you have your own home, or if you have a car, those things are So we would just have to look outside of those exempt assets to qualify somebody for Medicaid. As long as the medical need is there, then we look at their income, and then we look at their assets. Those are the three requirements. Those are the three um, criteria that they look at in order to approve somebody for Medicaid.
Diana Cabassi: That’s cool. There’s hope.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, absolutely, always.
Diana Cabassi: And I believe that there may be some other benefits that perhaps people who have served our country, would be eligible for. Can you share a little bit about the possibility of getting some help through the VA?
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, yes, those are great benefits. I tell you, some people say, Well, I can qualify for Medicaid. I don’t really need VA. but you do. The VA has extensive, extensive benefits. Many, many benefits and their surviving spouses don’t know about. Even surviving spouses don’t know. They think, “Oh, my spouse, who was the veteran, has already passed away, therefore, I don’t qualify.” That, once again, is not correct. A surviving spouse does qualify for Veterans Benefits and that’s a nice cash supplement per month. They also have additional programs, which is great. You can go to their clinics. They have all sorts of benefits that are numerous to name, but they’re great, great benefits.
Imagine having VA benefits, Medicaid benefits combined to really help somebody who really needs it. That is ideal. So, yes, those are great benefits to have.
Diana Cabassi: Yes, that’s for sure. You know, whenever I have an opportunity to sit with a family, I always ask, if one of the spouses. Served because, you know, quite often they don’t realize that they’re eligible for this benefit. And, you know, I have a story of a woman who was totally. Unaware of the fact that she was eligible for benefits through the aid and attendance pension and her husband had deceased 20 years ago.
And so I saw a plaque on her wall that led me believe that, you know, someone had benefits.
And so, you know, she did she qualified and was able to use our services without having to pay for them. And, you know, that was a tremendous benefit for her, as well. So.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah absolutely, absolutely. Yep.
Diana Cabassi: And so Cynthia, you and I have worked in common with some people can you perhaps share a little bit about a story that might come to mind?
Cynthia Arevalo: Mhm yeah, well, actually it was, I believe if I recall correctly, she was, well she was very young, which was very sad. I think she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her early 50s. And she had her brother who was kind enough to take care for her. And he was her power of attorney agent, so he sought our services first. We helped them with everything that they needed, which was powers of attorney. I think early on they needed all of those documents done. Eventually, she did have to go to memory care. But, she had Medicaid, and she had a surplus every month. And so that was eventually going to disqualify her from Medicaid because her money was starting to pile up. And her brother calls and says, “What do I do? How do I care for her? I know I can only use this money for her care. And I want to give her a really good quality of life.” And so I thought of you immediately. And your caregivers and uh, and yeah, we worked out, they worked out a plan with you to have a caregiver go and spend some time with her inside the memory care facility because that gave her one-on-one time with the caregiver.
I think they were playing games, they were going out for walks. They were just having a really, really sweet time together. Which I love to hear that because he was so happy about that. And so that’s how we work together is just finding places because it’s really um, it’s not just one person. I can take care of the legal, but I have nothing to do with the medical or the caregivers or things like that.
And all of it really works together. So that was a really, really good story um, that we were able to share and help that family.
Diana Cabassi: So, we actually, um, Cynthia worked with her until the last day of her life. And, you know, that gave me a lot of satisfaction knowing that we made a difference in someone’s life. But we would, I mean, she had an iPad that we would show her pictures of her family and play games and tell stories and you know, that’s not all that we do.
Obviously, many people need support, but because she was in a nursing home, all of her care was provided for. So, we were just there to add quality to her life. And I was very grateful that, that we had that opportunity as we have had with so many.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, absolutely. And, that one was a, was a tough one because she was diagnosed so young.
Diana Cabassi: So young. She was younger than I was. I remember going there to meet her. And I came out of the facility crying because she’s younger than me. And I’m like, Oh, my God, this is not not good.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah. Yeah. Very sad.
But…
That’s an example. That’s just an example of how we can work together. Um, And, and you’re right. There’s many of that are still at home and need even more assistance by your caregivers. And so that’s, that’s something that I always, always recommend. because it’s, it changes their life.
Many of them are isolated, they’re home alone. They have no one to talk to. Nobody really cares to hear their stories that they’ve already heard a hundred times, but it’s, it’s their story and they want to tell it.
Diana Cabassi: It’s their story.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s great. It’s important work that you guys do.
Diana Cabassi: Thank you. Um, So, you know, one of the things that I’m very passionate about is the topic of elder abuse and, you know, preventing financial exploitation. We hear so many stories on the news about the elderly being abused and I know that we have some legal protection against financial exploitation.
Can you talk to us a little bit about that?
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, yes. Florida was one of the first states to introduce this type of legislation, which has been just fantastic. It allows the courts to place an injunction on the elders bank accounts.
So let’s just do an example just so that we can understand it a little bit better. Someone that was supposed to be trusted to that elder is now taking money, say, out of their account for their own personal use, is draining their monies and not able to use it for their own care, right? So, an injunction is filed, a petition is filed with the court. The court reviews the evidence. There’s an elder abuse um, report that is filed by the county.
And eventually, you know, it goes to court very, very quickly. This is something that happens within 15 to 20 days. A court definitely takes quick and swift action especially if we can prove the fraud and the abuse. And the banks know exactly what to do with it, so somehow or another, which is shocking to me, but the county, the court, and the banks actually know what to do with this this process. And so it really quickly helps to um, protect the elder and their finances. So we, we have um, everything that we need to file with the court. The challenge in this is oftentimes is that the elder is afraid. And doesn’t want to bring that person forward or say yes, you know, Susie, my daughter took my money or Susie, my aunt, whatever it was um, did this and this and that.
They’re afraid of retribution. And so, that’s really the most difficult part in these cases um, because they’re afraid. And um, and taking them out of where they are is sometimes difficult or impossible either for finances or because there’s no one else to care for them. And so, that’s really the most difficult part of those cases.
Diana Cabassi: You know, most of the time we think that it’s someone outside of the family who is taking advantage of our elderly and it’s sad that many times it’s someone within their own family. And they take advantage to get whatever they think they are entitled to, I guess, right?
Cynthia Arevalo: Yeah, no, exactly. And then there’s, you know, also um, all the scams that try that target uh, our seniors. And so the multiple phone calls to switch them in and out of this Medicare, that Medicare uh, the other phone calls that are about, you know um, oh, well, your grandson is being held and we need 10,000 dollars wired.
And so, all of these different, you know, scams that are new every day, um. Really put the elders finances at risk. And so, that’s why having a trust, having their money in a trust is a really good option. Having someone that they also, you know, are able to count on, to really care for them, to watch out for them, is great. You know, some warning signs are red flags, you know, are red flags like, asset depletion all of a sudden their bank account went from you know ten thousand to a hundred dollars like where did that money go? And so somebody there to watch out for them is is really important.
Diana Cabassi: So I actually was in one of our clients homes once, and she received a phone call and we answered the phone and I, you know, I asked who was calling. I just happened to be there in between two shifts, right? And so I gave her the phone and this was someone asking for money, some organization that would want some money.
And she had this conversation and, um, they asked her for her credit card and she said, Oh, no, I don’t have any, uh, credit cards. And so, you know, I know what they ask because of her response and they said, well, what about a checking account? Do you have a checking account? And she, um, she said, Oh, yeah, I have my checkbook.
She asked me to go get her checkbook. So, I went and I got her checkbook for her. And she read the banking routing number to the person and, and, and gave them like, I don’t know, a hundred bucks or whatever. But, you know, I immediately, of course, contacted her family and they let, let them know what had happened.
And they stopped that transaction from happening. But, You know, the seniors tend to be alone most of the time, and there’s so many organizations, whether they’re valid or not, that are calling to take our money. And, you know, how many spam calls do we get right on our on our cell phones? So, you know, we just need to be so, so careful.
So, Cynthia, circling back around on planning for long term care, um, when do you think it’s best for us to start protecting our assets?
Cynthia Arevalo: Mhm. Right well, I think we used to say, we used to say 65 but nowadays, as we see and hear, you know, people are diagnosed with these very, very um, you know, difficult diseases early on. So, I would say have a plan already in place that can evolve as we age, but definitely at least five years before you think you need benefits. So 65 is a really great year.
You start getting Medicare you start possibly getting Social Security. It’s a good time to sit down with an elder law attorney and discuss what your options are, what your assets are, how to protect those things. Medicaid has a five year look back period. So, we have the ability to protect 100 percent of the assets five years before they need Medicaid. If they don’t wait five years before they need Medicaid, then there’s going to be, you know, some loss there and not all of it’s going to be protected at, at that time. Um, The VA has a three year look back period. So, always good to be proactive. I tell people, okay, at 65, there’s a lot of things that happen. So assuming that you’re healthy prior to that, at 65, when you sit down to decide what Medicare plan you want, to talk to Social Security, sit down and talk to an elder law attorney as well so that you can begin planning for long term care at that time.
Diana Cabassi: Well, that’s very helpful and so critical. So basically, if someone is going to put their ducks in a row, so to speak. Can they go to any attorney or is it a requirement to go to an elder law attorney? And can you tell me the difference and what those options would be?
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, absolutely. It’s best to go to an elder law attorney because the state general estate planning attorneys do not work with long term care planning. In other words, they don’t work with Medicaid options and VA options. So it’s best to go to an elder law attorney versus an estate, a general estate planning attorney that would just work with wills and trusts and things like that.
Diana Cabassi: So it definitely helps to work with a specialist.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes. Yes, it does.
Diana Cabassi: So, is there anything that you think we haven’t covered? I know, you know, we’re not intended to have all day to do this, but I wanted to see if there was anything that you thought would be important for our viewers to know about elder law and give you the opportunity to share.
Cynthia Arevalo: Um, Well, as we discussed Medicaid, I think it’s something that really everybody needs to know and needs to know how to plan for it well. If you end up with able to receive Medicaid benefits, then make sure that your home is titled correctly. Um, If you have Medicaid and once you pass away, if your home is not titled correctly, a lien could be placed on some of your property.
Um, So it’s important to just do a comprehensive review of all of your assets. to receiving Medicaid, obviously, and after receiving Medicaid. What is there? What needs to be planned for accordingly? I find that many families sort of don’t do anything more once they receive Medicaid and things have evolved or have changed and they haven’t really taken any proactive plans at that point once the person passes away. And Medicaid does have the ability to place a lien on property. And so it’s just really important to make sure that everything is titled. Plans have been reviewed. Um, As you know, as we age, things sometimes change rather quickly. And so we need to stay on top of this. Maybe this is something we didn’t worry about in the first 30 years of our life, but it’s now something that we need to sort of be consistently reviewing and updating and having somebody possibly help us along that journey.
Diana Cabassi: And we really do lose sight of taking care of ourselves, especially if we’re taking care of our parents and our children at the same time, you know, and so, I think that this information is critical. I always pass it along. I’m a tremendous advocate for elder law.
Cynthia Arevalo: Yes, yes thank you.
Diana Cabassi: So Cynthia, thank you so much for spending this time with us. I really enjoy speaking with you always. And I certainly hope that, um, our relationship will continue to grow as the years go by.
Cynthia Arevalo: Absolutely. May we have many more families to help.
Diana Cabassi: Absolutely. And so for the viewers, we will put Cynthia’s contact information in the show notes. I certainly hope that you enjoyed this information and found this conversation valuable. I want to make sure that we are giving you information to help increase your knowledge as it relates to the care of your parents and what is important for you to know also for yourselves. So I look forward to having feedback from our viewers. And I hope that the information that we are sharing is going to be enough so that it gives you a little taste for what it is that you need to pay attention to for yourself. So at any rate, thank you so much for tuning in today.
And I greatly appreciate you being with us. And again, Cynthia, thank you so much.
Cynthia Arevalo: Thank you. Thank you, Diana.
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