We recently have been helping a family try to untangle a mess created by the lack of planning. The matriarch of the family (“Mom”) became ill and was hospitalized. Her condition was very serious, so the decision was made to place her in hospice care after the hospitalization. However, she recovered and then was transferred to a nursing home. During this trying process, her children were besieged with requests, such as “you must complete this Medicaid application immediately”, “sign this”, “sign here”…Finally, it all became overwhelming and they sought my advice.