We would like to thank our neighbors in Independence for visiting our website. If you are looking for a licensed estate planning attorney in Kenton County, you have found a reliable local resource. Independence, with a population of more than 24,000, is a home rule class city, meaning that it is able to pass its own laws and govern themselves as they wish, as long as they comply with state and federal constitutions.
The Heart of Kenton County
Due to its location, Independence, Kentucky is known as “the heart of Kenton County.” Independence serves as one of Kenton County’s two government seats and is considered a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio as it is only 15 minutes south of the city. As its residents will tell you, Independence provides a very different lifestyle than its neighboring cities and towns primarily because it offers many of the expected urban conveniences but in a rural location. Ranked as the 99th quickest growing city in the country, Independence has much to offer its senior community.
The Senior and Community Center in Independence
Independence opened its Senior and Community Center in 2002, serving not only residents of Independence but all of Southern Kenton County. Located next to the Independence Fire Station, the mission of the Senior Center is to eliminate feelings of loneliness and isolation by promoting social relations among seniors in the area. By improving the quality of life for Independence seniors, the city makes a great contribution to the community.
Helping our senior neighbors in independence with estate planning
If you think elder law is something that only impacts other people’s lives, think again. The fact is that elder law encompasses a wide range of concerns – some of which can affect you at any age. If you’re like most people, chances are that you’ve never even heard of the area of law known as elder law. That’s certainly true if you’re in your younger years when legal concerns all seem to affect everyone on an equal basis.
As you start to age, however, you’ll notice that the impact of different types of laws on your life seems to change. By the time you’re a senior citizen, the laws that directly impact you are likely to encompass topics that seem of little importance to the young. To understand why this will matter once you’re a senior, it is vital to understand just how elder law can impact your life. Let our Kentucky elder law attorney explain that impact.
What is Elder Law?
Elder law is a term that describes all of those legal issues that have an impact on people as they get into their retirement years and eventually pass on from this life. While many people just assume that retirees have everything pretty much well-established prior to reaching their senior years, nothing could be further from the truth. Seniors still have many legal matters of great importance to their lives; those concerns are just focused on different things than they dealt with in their younger years.
Planning for the future need for assisted living services
For many seniors, the increase in the average life expectancy means that at least some portion of their final years of life may require some level of assisted living. As seniors age, they often find that they can no longer do all of those daily tasks that were once considered routine. In addition, many suffer from various medical conditions that require a higher level of ongoing medical care than they can receive in their homes. As a result of these changes in their lives, millions of senior citizens require some type of long-term care in nursing homes or other care facilities.
Deciding to move into a long-term care facility
The decision to move into a long-term care facility brings with it many challenges. In addition to concerns about the appropriate level of care and the selection of the right facility, there are also concerns about cost, the transition from independent to assisted living, and even things like elder abuse and neglect. Since few seniors can manage these costs on their own, many turn to attorneys to help them plan for Medicaid eligibility. All of these things fall within the realm of elder law and can have a major impact on these seniors’ lives.
Planning for potential incapacity
When most people think about seniors and incapacity, their minds automatically turn to diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. While it is true that any form of dementia can result in a loss of capacity that renders a person unable to think clearly and make his or her own decisions, there are other forms of incapacitation as well. Major illnesses or injuries can result in coma, loss of cognitive function, and other impairments that can create a temporary or even permanent disability and incapacitation. It should be noted that this isn’t by any means limited only to the elderly. Even young parents can suffer incapacitation.
If you have questions regarding living trusts or any other estate planning matters, please contact the experienced attorneys at The Potter Law Firm for a consultation. You can contact us either online or by calling us at (606) 324-5516 (Ashland, KY) or (859) 372-6655 (Florence, KY) and for individuals in the Charlotte or Huntersville, North Carolina area call (704) 944-3245.
