what does an elder care lawyer do

An elder law attorney can help with any one of the following:

• Discuss the importance of wills and estate planning, including planning for a minor or adult with special needs, probate proceedings, and other matters.
• Create a durable power of attorney.
• Provide help with health care and planning, including long term care options, patient rights, Medicare, and health care power of attorney.

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What questions should I Ask an elder care attorney?

Jan 25, 2022 · The main purpose of an elder law attorney is to help aging Americans to legally navigate through the issues of life that arise simply because of age. They can offer legal guidance and counseling on preparing for long-term care, choosing retirement plans, planning and settling your estate and a host of other issues that older Americans may face.

What questions should I Ask an elder law attorney?

May 17, 2021 · Most elder law attorneys handle a wide range of legal matters affecting an older or disabled person, including issues related to health care, long term care planning, guardianship, retirement, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other important matters. In many ways, elder law attorneys are "specialists" because of their focus on the needs of older …

What is elder law and how can it help you?

Mar 11, 2022 · The main purpose of an elder law attorney is to help aging Americans to legally navigate through the issues of life that arise simply because of age. They can offer legal guidance and counseling on preparing for long-term care, choosing retirement plans, planning and settling your estate and a host of other issues that older Americans may face.

How to choose an elder financial abuse attorney?

Nov 12, 2018 · Elder law attorneys are lawyers who focus on the legal issues that are involved with the elderly, and they advocate for both their elderly clients and their loved ones. Elder law lawyers may handle a broad variety of issues that affect elderly people and disabled people such as health care issues, long-term care planning , retirement , guardianship, Medicare , Medicaid, …

What are elder law attorneys?

Elder law attorneys are lawyers who focus on the legal issues that are involved with the elderly, and they advocate for both their elderly clients and their loved ones.

How an elder law attorney might help you

Advise you about wills and estate planning, including planning for adults or minors with special needs, probate issues, and other matters;

How elder law attorneys bill for their services

In general, elderly law attorneys bill by the hour based on the services that they provide. Some elder law attorneys may agree to charge a flat fee based on a particular type of work such as documents review, tax return filing, or will preparation.

Questions to ask an elder law attorney

Elder law attorneys may not focus on all aspects that might affect seniors, making it important for you to hire a lawyer who has experience in your area of need. Before you hire an attorney, it is also important for you to feel comfortable with him or her.

How to find an elder law attorney

There are several ways that you can find an elder law attorney. You can start by asking for referrals from friends and family and by conducting research online. However, you might want to get help from the professionals at Elder Law Direction.

What is an elder law attorney?

From planning for the future, like making sure an estate plan is in place and establishing a durable power of attorney, to dealing with money matters in the here and now, such as tax guidance and coordinating with financial planners, an elder law attorney is typically well-versed in looking at clients’ larger financial picture.

What is elder law?

An elder law attorney, sometimes referred to as an elder care attorney, can help older adults and their families navigate the complicated financial and legal decisions they face. It’s a growing specialization, with nearly 500 certified elder law attorneys across all 50 states.

How many people are over 65?

There are now more than 40 million Americans over the age of 65, and that number is steadily increasing. In lockstep with greater longevity, the availability — and complexity — of federal programs created to assist the aging population is also growing. That’s where an elder law attorney can help.

What can an elder law attorney do for Medicaid?

An Elder Law Medicaid Planning Attorney can help you create Estate Planning documents to protect your assets and preserve your wealth so that you can pass your legacy on to your children.

What is an emergency medicaid crisis?

An Emergency Medicaid Crisis occurs if your family member is in a nursing home, or will need to be soon, but doesn’t have the financial resources to pay for care. A Medicaid Attorney can help you structure your assets and quickly apply for benefits so you can get the care you need – ASAP.

What is Medicaid Pre-Planning?

Some strategies an Elder Law Medicaid Attorney can help with are done pro-actively, before your elderly family member needs long-term care. This is typically called Medicaid Pre-Planning. One of the pro-active strategies that can be used is the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT).

How much does Medicaid cost in Michigan?

In Michigan, the average cost of long-term care is $108,000 per year. This is roughly $8,000-$9,000 per month.

What are the requirements to qualify for medicaid?

To qualify for Medicaid, an applicant needs to meet very specific financial eligibility requirements, including income and asset limits. Applying for Medicaid is very challenging for any applicant over the required limits.

Can a spouse on medicaid stay at home?

In some cases, a Medicaid applicant is married and their spouse will remain at home. The spouse that remains at home is known as the non-applicant spouse, community spouse, or well spouse. To avoid the non-applicant spouse from becoming impoverished in an attempt to help the applicant spouse qualify for Medicaid, the federal government has spousal impoverishment rules to protect the healthy spouse’s assets. Medicaid Attorneys help married couples maximize the amount of assets under joint-ownership that the non-applicant spouse can retain and also helps maximize the monthly income that an applicant spouse can transfer to the non-applicant spouse.

Can you lose money on medicaid?

Time is critical so you don’t lose money. Also, eligibility for Medicaid is extremely complicated. Even the smallest mistake can lead to a denial that can take months or years to fix. An Elder Law Medicaid Attorney is a trained professional who can make sure the application process is followed correctly in accordance with the law so you get approved for benefits quickly.

What do elder law attorneys do?

What Elder Law Attorneys Do? Elder law attorneys, also called elder care attorneys, estate and trust attorneys, or Medicaid lawyers, assist persons in preparing for long-term care and death. They assist seniors in a large and diverse array of legal tasks, which encompasses retirement planning, estate planning, creating wills and durable power ...

What is the role of a Medicaid attorney?

On the other hand, Medicaid attorneys often focus more on the legal aspects of Medicaid planning, such as creating Medicaid asset protection trusts or Qualified income trusts, which makes them the better option for this type of assistance.

What is Medicaid asset protection trust?

One such strategy that elder law attorneys can implement is a Medicaid asset protection trust (MAPT). This type of trust not only prevents one from becoming ineligible for Medicaid due to gifting assets ...

What is a Miller Trust?

An option to meet the income limit in this case is a Miller Trust, often referred to as a Qualified Income Trust (QIT). In oversimplified language, income that is over Medicaid’s income limit is put into an irrevocable (meaning it cannot be changed or cancelled) trust to be used for very specific purposes.

What is a medicaid planner?

For persons who have Medicaid cases that are fairly simple and straightforward, a Medicaid planner, also called a Medicaid specialist or a Medicaid Advisor, might be a good option. Working with a professional Medicaid planner can be a lot more cost efficient than working with a Medicaid attorney.

How does Medicaid annuity work?

This strategy reduces one’s countable assets, while at the same time , protecting some of them for family. Essentially, Medicaid applicants gift approximately half of their “excess” assets (assets over Medicaid’s limit) to their loved ones and then purchase an annuity with the remaining “excess” assets. (An annuity turns countable assets ...

How long does it take for Medicaid to pay for long term care?

Medicaid attorneys and specialists also assist with crisis planning, which occurs when a senior needs Medicaid benefits within 30-60 days.

What can an elder law attorney do?

An elder law attorney can help determine whether you are eligible for either program, discuss strategies for spending, advise whether it is in your best interest to apply, and help with the application process. Medicaid may be able to serve as a partial funding mechanism even if you have significant resources available.

What is elder law?

Elder law incorporates elements of financial and estate planning, but it also considers a broader perspective such as medical concerns and other issues facing older adults. Estate planning deals primarily with financial planning for persons of any age and protecting assets when an individual passes away.

What is a caregiver in a long term care facility?

Long-term care facilities also provide care and assistance with the activities of daily living, but the staff is present during the night to respond to issues more quickly.

When does a POA become effective?

The POA can be effective as soon as you sign it or be a “springing” POA in which the rights of a durable POA do not lock into effect until certain requirements are met, such as specific medical diagnoses.

What is a POA?

A power of attorney (POA) allows you to nominate another person, called an agent, to make financial or medical decisions on your behalf. In some states, these are separated into a financial POA and a medical POA. You remain in control of who acts on your behalf and what actions your agents can take for you.

What happens when you cross all the I's and T's on a will?

When a person passes, even if all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed on wills, there are still more legal affairs that need to be tended to; this is the probate process.

Is long term care insurance good?

Long-term care insurance that can cover care expenses later may have premiums of thousands of dollars per year, and it needs to be purchased when you’re healthy.

What can elder law attorneys do?

Elder law attorneys can identify and alert family members to financial exploitation they might otherwise have missed. When Dad and Mom slow down or their health declines, that gives a bad neighbor the opportunity to come over and start ‘helping out’ or an unscrupulous adult child to obtain access to financial accounts, says Simasko.

What is elder law?

According to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, elder law encompasses many fields of law, with elder law attorneys specializing in numerous areas, which can include: Administration and management of estates and trusts. Elder abuse and fraud. Estate planning, probate, trusts, wills and other financial documents.

Who is Patrick Simasko?

Families are frequently split on the type of care they want for their parents, says Patrick Simasko, a certified elder law attorney in Mount Clemens, Michigan. However, an elder law attorney can advise what is best without emotions influencing decisions.

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