My Parents Needed Help. Here's What I Did.
My parents live on Social Security. They have no other financial resources, so I wanted to be proactive about getting their affairs in order. Several years ago, I met with an elder law attorney to make sure their legal affairs were in order. I did this so that when they started to have more serious health issues, I would have everything in place.
When my dad's health began to decline and I knew I would need to find ways to pay for his care, I realized that I understood very little about how to get that done. There is a complicated web of laws and regulations. I had trouble understanding it—and I work in the legal industry. I felt like everything I was learning was based on tribal knowledge—asking friends and neighbors for advice.
I knew I needed some guidance from people who knew what they were doing, so I did a Google search and found Kimbrough Law. I would typically never hire counsel based on Google reviews, but the online sentiment about Kimbrough Law was overwhelmingly positive. When I was looking at the firm’s website, I noticed that they have Life Care Coordinators. That struck me as something I wanted to learn more about because it might be the answer to my information gap. In addition, my parents owned their own home, and I wanted to protect that asset while keep them living there for as long as possible. So, my sister and I met with Haley Brock in Kimbrough Law’s Athens office. It was such a relief. I think I have five pages of notes from that conversation.
A few days later, I had a follow up call with Robin Lacrimosa about how the Life Care Coordination services might help in my situation. I saw right away that what it would cost to retain Robin as a Life Care Coordinator would pay for itself quickly. I could probably blow through that amount of money in just a few weeks of hiring private care for my parents.
I decided to go ahead and with a Life Care Plan from Kimbrough Law. I’m so glad I did. It has been a godsend.
Right around the time that I had retained Robin, my dad was referred for hospice. That’s when things got even more complicated. Dad’s health didn't decline in a way that justified hospice care, so we pulled him out. My next goal was to get him on the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program. Robin held my hand through that entire process. As with most government-sponsored programs, things move very slowly. Robin knew whom to call, and she knew many of the key decisionmakers. She made tons of follow-up calls and sent dozens of emails to make sure things were moving along. It was a real game changer for me.
About a month after we started the application process for the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, both of my parents were taken by ambulance to the emergency room for two different things—just two days apart. They each were hospitalized for two weeks. Then, they both went into rehab for two weeks. Within a month, my mom was back in the hospital. During the process, Robin served as a resource for me for all kinds of questions. She made recommendations based on caregivers that she knew personally and had worked with in the past, and she knew the ones to avoid, which is probably even more important.
When we were trying to arrange care for my dad and we still didn't have an approved Waiver Program application, Robin helped me find private home health aides, and she was able to be there with my parents on the caregiver’s first day. This was important because my parents want to treat everybody who walks into their home as a guest rather than somebody who is there to help them. Robin was willing to tell the caregivers exactly what they needed to do so my parents got the support they needed.
I’m so grateful for Kimbrough Law, especially the support I’ve received from Robin. Without her help, I know that I would not be as far along as I am right now, and I would probably still be paying for care out of pocket while waiting for the waiver application to be approved. Robin’s knowledge, support, and connections have been invaluable to me through this whole process.
Cynthia B. Metro Atlanta
