Elder law refers to the practice by attorneys, like us, who help seniors and their families with a variety of needs which may include asset protection, long-term care planning, estate planning, and healthcare, Medicaid, or other state or Federal aid eligibility. Some issues that may be included in discussion are:

• Qualifying for or continuing eligibility for Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security benefits, veteran’s disability benefits, or other government benefit programs.
• Establishing Power of Attorney to provide a designated person, usually an adult child, with the ability to make financial decisions on behalf of the senior parent. This can also allow the designated individual to apply for benefits on behalf of the senior.
• Making Health Care Surrogate Designations, which specify an individual to make medical decisions in the event the senior is incapacitated and unable to make their own medical decisions.
• Wills, trusts, and other estate planning which enables the senior to direct where their assets will go upon passing away in the most cost-effective manner.
• Establishing a Special Needs Trusts for senior care or the care of a disabled adult child. This is a particular type of trust specifically created to address the protection and needs of a beneficiary who has special needs. These trusts can address the enrollment into aid or benefits, maintaining aid status, and how the funds from such shall be managed.
• Creating Care Contracts between the person needing assistance and the person who shall serve as caregiver. These contracts enable an individual to secure their care and pay in advance for that care according to a formula based on their actuarial life expectancy.
• Establishing Care Contract Trusts are specific trusts that go hand in hand with care contracts and allow for the pre-payment of services agreed to in the Care Contract.

The above list is by no means exhaustive as there are many issues that may arise in individual cases, but our firm offers free initial consultations to determine what services would benefit an individual.

Have questions about this? Call (813) 643-1885 or send us a message