Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
Elder Law, as defined by the National Elder Law Foundation, is the legal practice of counseling and representing older persons and their representatives about the legal aspects of health and long term care planning, public benefits, surrogate decision-making, older persons’ legal capacity, the conservation, disposition and administration of older persons’ estates and the implementation of their decisions.
As our lives become longer and more complicated, having an affordable and savvy team on your side gives you the ability to clearly express your wishes, priorities and instructions. You need the legal advice and accurate information to begin planning for long term care and the disposition of your estate. If you have already done so in the past, an update is necessary to ensure the basis for you plan is still the law today.
The benefits of doing this work in advance include:
- Your loved ones will understand what your wishes are and have specific instructions about what to do.
- You will have peace of mind knowing you have been heard clear and decisive plan for your personal and financial affairs.
- You will have a group of impartial and experienced professionals focused on your situation help to you weigh the difficult decisions you must make carefully, thoroughly and objectively.
Clearly, we do not choose the timing of our needs in this field of law; it is often the unexpected that triggers a plan and put it into effect, when we are fortunate to have one. For those caught without a plan, services are available to help you make the best of a bad situation.
We can help answer difficult questions with clear solutions, such as:
- What benefits and programs do I qualify for to pay for my care?
- How can I protect my assets if I need care?
- Will I have to live in poverty if my spouse needs nursing home care?
- Do I need a Will? Trust? Power of Attorney? Living Will? DNR? HIPPA Letter?
- Can I get Medicaid approval and can you help speed up benefit payments?
Medicaid Planning
In the course of Medicaid Planning, we often see people in a medical, financial and emotional crisis and must work quickly and expeditiously to meet their needs. Old age and disease can jeopardize the financial security that Texas families work all of their lives to obtain. We work to conserve assets to the extent possible, while assisting you to find the best care possible under the circumstances. Your peace of mind goes hand-in-hand with care and the financing that care. We help to lift financial burdens from you and show you how you can keep your home, farm, business and more of your life savings.
Specifically, we will assist you in obtaining public benefits for the elderly and the disabled. We also plan for the possibility that you may need home, assisted living or nursing home care. With our planning skills, we work together with you to shift the heavy cost of care by saving resources — intelligently and legally — in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations for Medicaid and Veterans Benefits. Our services regularly offered include:
- Property ownership analysis
- Division of assets advice
- Special transfer allowance
- Application for hardship/expedited review
- Miller trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Asset reclassification
- Family-beneficial use of spend down monies
We represent older persons, disabled persons, their families, caregivers, in the field of elder law and planning. Let us help you today.
