Elder Law

Elder law is an area of legal practice concerned with issues related to the various and unique challenges people encounter in their senior years. These include social and legal issues as well as important financial concerns that have grown in importance as the nation has gotten older in recent decades. Elder law attorneys can provide counsel and assistance in matters related to long-term care planning, estate planning, managing the many public laws that affect the senior community, and more.

Estate planning is primarily focused on organizing your affairs to provide for an orderly distribution of your estate when you die. It can also encompass things like tax planning, but primarily emphasizes strategies designed to protect your assets and provide a legacy for the surviving loved ones you’ll eventually leave behind. Elder law focuses its attention on preserving your assets and protecting them from the costs associated with long-term care, while dealing with other issues that primarily affect seniors.

Well, that would make things simpler, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, Medicaid laws guard against such gifting through the use of the program’s five-year look-back period. Under that provision of the law, the program is authorized to review your financial transaction records for the five-year period directly preceding your application for Medicaid benefits. Gifts made within that five-year period could result in eligibility penalties that would cause your application to be denied for a period of several months or even years.

While you are only allowed to retain a small portion of your income while you are receiving Medicaid benefits – and can only have a total of a couple of thousand dollars in assets, that doesn’t mean that you have to become completely impoverished to gain access to benefits. An elder law attorney can help you to preserve a sizable portion of your wealth and keep it from being consumed by the high costs of long-term care.

No. In fact, there are protections in place to ensure that the so-called “well spouse” is not impoverished. If you are in need of nursing home care, your spouse will be entitled to keep your home and furnishings, car, and certain other assets without impacting your eligibility for the program’s benefits. The good news is that sensible planning can even enable your spouse to keep more of your family assets. Consult with a competent elder law attorney to gain a better understanding of your rights in this area of the law.

It is almost never too early to begin planning for your senior years. Often times, many of us tend to wait until we are in the latter years of middle age before we start to think about retirement, nursing home care, and similar senior issues. The problem is that the longer we wait to begin our planning, the fewer options we have available to us. If you have assets that you want to preserve, you should begin your Medicaid planning at least five years prior to applying for Medicaid benefits. However, since few people know exactly when they might need nursing home care, you should begin as early as possible to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Not at all. While your options become more limited in the senior years, there are still ways to preserve assets and obtain the Medicaid benefits you need. Those strategies do involve complex matters of law, so be sure to consult with an experienced elder law attorney to find our which options work best for you.

No senior should ever suffer abuse of any kind, and yet untold millions experienced neglect, physical or mental abuse, or emotional harm at some point during their twilight years. Elder abuse, fraud, and other mistreatment are crimes punishable by fine and imprisonment. If you suspect abuse of a loved one, contact the authorities or call an elder law attorney for advice about how to proceed.

Many people are reluctant to retain attorneys for things like estate planning and elder law need. Often times, we assume that we can get by with free advice, downloadable forms and plans, or other low-cost alternatives to professional counsel. In reality, though, those alternatives usually cause more problems than they resolve.

An experienced attorney can help you create Medicaid planning strategies that can help you protect assets and secure the benefits you will need for long-term care. An elder law attorney can assist you with issues related to life insurance, estate and tax planning strategies, the proper use of annuities and gifting, and other strategies to help you meet your needs.

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, or NAELA, was formed in the late 1980s as a way to better serve this growing segment of the population. Five years after the creation of NAELA, the National Elder Law Foundation was formed. The purpose of the non-profit NELF was to help improve the professional skills of attorneys who choose to focus on elder law. Toward that end, NELF then developed a national certification program for attorneys known as the Certified Elder Law Attorney, or CELA, certification program. Attorneys who wish to gain certification in the area of elder law may do so through a rigorous and selective certification program recognized by the American Bar Association and administered by NELF.

Because elder law attorneys focus more on the client than on the type of law, an elder law attorney might handle a wide range of matters, such as:

• Denial of disability
• Guardianship
• Housing discrimination
• Estate planning
• Health insurance issues
• Retirement planning
• Nursing home abuse
• Medicaid planning
• Veteran’s benefits

Recent figures indicate that 65.7 million informal and family caregivers provide care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged in the U.S. Lost income and benefits over a caregiver’s lifetime is estimated to range from a total of $283,716 for men to $324,044 for women, or an average of $303,880.30. Caregivers face emotional stress, financial hardship, and often legal struggles as a result of the care they provide. As a result, caregivers frequently benefit from the help of an experienced elder law attorney. A caregiver may also need advice on how to get a loved one approved for Medicaid benefits or may need help petitioning for guardianship over their loved one.

Neither Medicare nor most basic health insurance plans will cover the costs associated with long-term care. Unless you have the resources to cover the high cost of nursing home care out of pocket and indefinitely, you will likely find yourself turning to Medicaid for help. To be eligible, however, you must contend with very low “countable resources” limits that can put your retirement nest egg at risk if you failed to plan ahead. An elder law attorney can help you incorporate Medicaid planning into your overall estate plan to ensure that you are eligible for Medicaid if you need it without losing assets in the process.

One of the most difficult decisions you will ever have to make as an adult child is the decision to petition for guardianship over a parent. It may feel as though you are taking away a parent’s independence and freedom. Failing to act, however, could put your parent at risk for serious injury or for becoming the victim of elder financial exploitation. Becoming your parent’s guardian may be the best way you can protect him/her. An elder law attorney can help you decide if guardianship is necessary and, if so, can help you through the process.

Most people who care for the elderly do so with kindness and patience; however, there are those who prey on society’s most vulnerable, including those in nursing home care. Conservative estimates indicate that more than 40 percent of nursing home residents have reported abuse, and more than 90 percent report that they or another resident of the facility have been neglected. Elder abuse is a crime; however, it can also form the basis of a civil lawsuit against the facility. If you suspect that a loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse, an elder law attorney can discuss your legal options with you.

The facts and figures for Alzheimer’s disease are shocking. One in three seniors with die with Alzheimer’s or another form of age related dementia. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is typically followed by a period of heightened emotions and confusion, making it difficult to focus on the practical and legal ramifications of the diagnosis. Do not wait too long to consult with an elder law attorney though, as there are some important legal steps that should be taken as soon as possible to protect you, your parent, and your parent’s estate.