The legal practice area of Elder Law near Glenview covers a number of fields of law, including:
Medicaid Applications, Medicaid Planning (Asset Protection), Medicaid Appeals, Guardianship, Estate Planning, Special Needs Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Disability Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Nursing Home Contract legal reviews
The practice area touches on Real Estate law, as it pertains to Deed transfers and the sale of property during Probate, Trust Administration, Guardianship and Medicaid Planning. It also touches on Family Law, due to possible adoption, divorce and Special Needs Planning and Estate Planning related to divorce.
My practice concentrates in Medicaid Planning, using proactive planning with Trust and Estate documents and proper funding and the more common crisis variety that often relies on the elder having enough capacity to sign a new POA for Property, or having a POA for Property with a strong Gifting Power added previously. Advocating for the rights of the Medicaid applicant, Community Spouse and occasionally for select family members is also essential to this area of practice.
The Estate Planning field of law is also integral to helping assert the elder’s rights under law. My wills and trusts all have Special Needs Trusts built into them to help avoid complications for family members that either become disabled or are already disabled at the time the documents are drafted. Unless the elder is very wealthy, the ability to do asset protection is essential for the elder’s agents.
Special Needs Planning is essential for helping a person with a disability maximize their public benefits while supplementing their benefits with their Special Needs Trusts to obtain a better quality of life.
The area of Financial Abuse of an Elder is epidemic in our aging society and there is little enforcement or protection available from the government agencies. While I do not litigate cases, I do my best to screen for fraud, undue influence and elder abuse. My ultimate loyalty lies with the elder, regardless of who is paying my fee, though I remain loyal to the agent to the extent it is in the elder’s interest to do so. Once a POA Agent has violated the trust of the elder and it is clear that their actions are not in the interest of the elder, I am forced to withdraw from the case and pay myself for work completed to date.
Using the legal provisions that help elders and their spouses protect their assets ideally allows them to strike a balance between paying the private pay rate for a period of time to a facility, while saving half of their assets through Medicaid Planning. The money gifted away from the elder to impoverish them enough to file a Medicaid application can then be re-gifted until the elder dies, whereupon the remaining gifted assets can then pass to their estate under the provisions of their will.
Please reach out to my law office if you would like to know more about the field of Elder Law near Glenview.
