Recently, the Florida Supreme
Court issued an opinion that identifies
what actions taken by non-lawyers constitute the unauthorized practice of
law (UPL). This opinion, and reporting individuals who commit UPL to
The Florida Bar (TFB), will help protect the public. Be careful: there
are some financial advisors, insurance specialists and others who will attempt
to charge you for giving advice and filing an application for Veteran Aid &
Attendance benefits or, who will attempt to sell you an annuity and tell you it
is the only way to qualify for government benefits.
This is what you, your friends
and family need to know is considered the unauthorized practice of
law:
- Having a non-lawyer write an
irrevocable trust
- Having a non-lawyer
determine whether you need a qualified income trust to obtain Medicaid
benefits, drafting it or telling you how much to fund it
- A non-lawyer hiring an
attorney to review, prepare or modify documents for you if:
(a) payment to the attorney passes from you through the non-lawyer;
(b) you and the attorney do not have direct communication or an
independent relationship; (c) the non-lawyer makes the determination that
you need a document prepared
- Having a non-lawyer create a
personal service agreement
- Having a non-lawyer provide advice about implementing Florida law to obtain Medicaid benefits including which strategy is appropriate.
There are real
life dangers of Medicaid planning by non-lawyers which injure the consumer
and either delay being approved for Medicaid or, even worse - denial of
Medicaid benefits:
- Failing to inform the consumer
of the legal and tax consequences of a personal service
agreement
- Giving advice that causes
the consumer to be disqualified or delayed in Medicaid approval which
then creates an unpaid debt to the facility
- Creating a document (i.e.
personal service agreement) that contains misrepresentations which leads
the Medicaid agency to charge the consumer with Medicaid fraud and lose
eligibility for Medicaid
- Failing to identify all income
sources and the consumer is over the income limit for Medicaid
- Failing to identify all
countable resources which place the consumer over the Medicaid
resource limit;
- Failing to identify all
reasonable means to preserve resources to provide for the consumer's
(or their spouse's) quality of life
- Recommending that assets be
transferred to a caregiver without a properly drafted personal service
agreement.
You, your friends and
family deserve to be properly informed of your legal rights and to avoid being
taken advantage of by non-lawyers. Please call me to have your situation
thoroughly evaluated and your legal options explained to you so you may be
confident in achieving your goals.
Your trusted planning advisor through life
