Planning for the elderly requires not only an understanding of estate planning and long-term care or Medicaid planning, but also an understanding of uniqueness of the elderly client. Elderly clients often have no one who is willing to assist them, they are often afraid or concerned about being taken advantage of, they have health issues that may limit their ability to get around or comprehend extensive documents – taken together, it is necessary to fully understand all of these issues when dealing with each client.
When developing an estate plan, we take into consideration the health of the person or couple, the potential for nursing home care and the wishes and concerns of the person or couple if that event were to occur. To the extent the client is willing, we collaborate with family members, long-term care specialists, and other elder care specialist to ensure a comprehensive plan.
Other than making an estate plan, at Richardson Legal Services, we try to be an advocate for our clients, dealing with Medicaid eligibility issues, long-term care insurance issues, nursing home issues and any other basic legal issue that may arise.
We provide health and personal care planning which include the following topics:
- Powers of attorney and living wills
- Lifetime planning
- Estate and gift tax matters
- Planning for a well spouse when the other spouse requires long term care
- Asset protection
- Public benefits such as Medicaid and insurance
- Veterans’ benefits
- Capacity
- Guardianship and guardianship avoidance
- Will and trust planning
- Planning for minor or adult special needs children
- Probate