Aging brings with it challenging estate planning and health care planning issues. Elder law encompasses a wide range of legal matters affecting older and disabled persons and elder law attorneys are advocates for their elderly clients. Some of the common issues addressed in elder law include health care advocacy, long term care and Medicaid planning, estate planning, guardianship, retirement, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and veteran’s benefits.
Legal & Financial Needs Post-Retirement
People’s needs change after retirement. Not only do estate planning goals change, but many people past the retirement age fear their financial security could be threatened when considering the prospect of paying for long term health care, which can easily exceed $100,000 per year, per person. Not only does elder law encompass these financial issues and estate planning issues, elder law attorneys also assist in addressing the arrangement of daily care issues affecting seniors.
Our elder law attorneys, equipped with the resources of the firm and decades of combined experience in elder law, regularly help the aging client navigate the sensitive, emotional and physical needs of older or disabled adults and conflicts within families, which may stand in the way of a peaceful end-of-life experience. When meeting with one of our elder law attorneys, we will typically address the following issues:
- How proper estate planning can help achieve goals for this phase of a client’s life; avoid probate proceedings, and other matters.
- Review tax and Medicaid issues with regard to gifting assets or creating trusts to help preserve assets for a spouse, children, or other family members.
- How to put people in charge to assist in meeting goals if the client cannot do so themselves.
- Provide documents and advice regarding health care planning, long term care options, patient rights, Medicare, and health care power of attorney issues.
- How to find and choose appropriate housing opportunities.
- How guardianship can be avoided, and how it works when it cannot be avoided.
- How to apply for benefits under Medicaid or the Veteran’s Administration.