Insights & Guidance for Planning Ahead

One of the most common calls to our office is "How am I going to pay for my parent's nursing home care?" In our meeting, the real underlying issue is "What do I do when my parents need nursing home care?" I understand. Years ago, I was faced with a similar question for myself. My 86-year-old grandmother was being cared for by my mom, who was 67 at the time. We had a plan. My mom was going to take care of my grandmother until she passed away. Frankly, the thought of me takin

A particular Monday morning, my alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. Monday mornings I attend workout class at 5:30 that focuses on mobility and stretching. My wife and I had been out of town for the last several Mondays and we were leaving town the next day. I rationalized, “Why don’t you sleep in? After you get back in town, you can get back into a routine.” I tried to go back to sleep, but I began to feel guilty, actually starting to sweat with guilt. I rolled out of bed and into

(Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, P.A., is unique in Kansas. We are members of the Life Care Planning Law Firm Association—LCPLFA.org. We an elder care law firm that guides clients on their journey while dealing with chronic illness or aging issues. Our focus is not restricted to legal documents, but addresses financial, legal and health care concerns in concert with each other. I thought I would share with you an article I am sending to our families, with maybe shining li

My youngest son's birthday was just a few days ago. For me, his birthday was kind of a flashback to my introduction to fatherhood. Our first child was Josh. Bringing our first child into the world was a joy but I was totally intimidated. However, his birth was not without incident. My wife's labor was very long, and Josh was very big (almost 10 pounds). His collar bone was broken during the natural childbirth. Before we took him home, I was required to go to the hosp

May is Elder Law Month. It is also Older Americans Month. Both are worth celebrating. The focus of Elder Law Month is to bring awareness to the need to have planning done, including powers of attorneys, living wills, or a will or trust. Unfortunately, in Kansas, no one has the right to act for you unless you have that documented. Why is that important? If you don't have something in place, then the law is going to impose decisions on you if you lack capacity. As an elder

Ten years ago this March, most of my family and I traveled to Costa Rica. To say it was memorable would be one applicable word but, perhaps, an understatement. It was Spring break, 2016. It coincided with my birthday. My niece and my wife made a los leche cake to celebrate my birthday. Two days after my birthday celebration, we went repelling. After several repels, we got to the big one – repelling down a 100-foot waterfall. As my turn arrived, I mentioned to one of

Valentine's Day has been special my entire life. In large part, it is because my mother was born on Valentine's Day and was named after it – Vallee’. For her birthday, I always knew she wanted flowers, any flowers, as long as they were roses! The flowers were to be accompanied by a card. My mom lived in Fort Worth later in life, and Bradley Florist would contact me if I did not order the flowers timely. Mrs. Bradley would call and say, "Randy, do you want to send some flower

Milo is our two-year-old Labrador mix – 95 pounds of energy and love. He is a good dog -- most of the time. Our neighbors have a Labrador as well, who's about the same age as Milo but about half the size. Izzy is a Labrador full of love and energy and is a good dog -- most of the time. Our yard joins Izzy’s yard, with a gate between the two. We open the gate so Izzy and Milo can play. But when Milo and Izzy get together, their collective IQ’s drop dramatically. The “

It was November 10, 2025, a Monday. The day before had been windy with a chill in the air though it got up to 60 degrees. The wind was exhausting after several days of it. That November 10th Monday morning Milo (my labrador mix) and I headed out for our morning walk along a draw near my home. It was our first real cold day: 15 degrees. The sun was up just enough as to light the top of trees and cast long cold shadows. While some leaves had already fallen, particularly in t

My wife and I are on a vacation tour as I write this. We arranged for a private drive around the town we were visiting to see some sites that were not part of the official tour. Our driver, Manuel, was showing us those sites, but also taking time to explain to us foods of the area. One was Nata, a traditional Portuguese custard yart with a flaky, buttery crust and creamy egg-based filing. Manuel pointed out the most popular bakery that made that pastry, as well as other