Keeping Ma on the farm, when Pa goes to the home

Attorney Tom Bickford will explain the Medicaid rules for married couples financing long term care in a nursing home at the Wolfeboro Senior Center on January 8, 2015, 1:00 PM at All Saints Church, 258 South Main Street, Wolfeboro.  He will focus on the Medicaid rules for married couples that shelter assets to allow the healthier spouse to continue living independently in their community.  He will also explain the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, the asset, income and medical eligibility requirements for Medicaid nursing home benefits, what assets are sheltered under Medicaid’s spousal protection rules, and specifically whether Medicaid requires a couple to sell their house or have a lien placed on it to receive benefits.    

Attorney G. Thomas Bickford has practiced law for over 15 years in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where he focuses his practice on the legal concerns of elders and their families.  He is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts of New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut. Mr. Bickford is a former president of the board of directors and current member of the New Hampshire Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc., (NAELA) He also serves on the chapter’s legislative and technology committees. He is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association (Elder Law, Estate Planning, Probate Law and Real Property Law Sections). In addition, he worked for several years as the general editor of “The Elder Law Portfolio Series” used as a reference by elder law attorneys across the nation. He earned his law degree from Pace University School of Law, where he was a member of the school’s Environmental Law Review, a senior legal intern with the John Jay Legal Services Health Law Clinic, and an editor of the law school’s newspaper.  Attorney Bickford has been a volunteer with the Wolfeboro Fire Department, the Village Players community theater and the Medical Reserve Corps and Community Emergency Response Team of the Carroll County Coalition for Public Health.