Elder Law

We Know Our Way Around the Block

People are often surprised there’s a whole branch of law dedicated to the issues of Americans as they age called Elder Law, which is sometimes referred to as Elder Care Law.

Elder law attorneys can assist in planning for incapacity, evaluating eligibility for Nursing Home Medicaid, Community Medicaid, benefits through the VA, and other state programs, as well as shepherding people through the process. They can also appeal unsafe hospital discharges, challenge long-term care insurance providers and policies, review admission contracts, and problem-solve home care and nursing home issues. They can develop caregiver contracts with private and family caregivers so the funds paid are not considered a disqualifying “gift” for Nursing Home Medicaid purposes.

Here’s one more really important aspect to remember about elder law. All elder law attorneys also understand estate planning and asset protection. Knowing estate planning allows an elder law attorney to see the twists and turns up ahead with a particular estate plan or strategy or type of trust. Because they have the knowledge to see both the challenges and opportunities, they can help protect assets and minimize any negative impacts particularly when it comes to securing Medicaid and the VA benefits.

Navigating the Maze

We have the insider knowledge needed to navigate a convoluted system of constantly changing laws and regulations.

Care of All Kinds for All Conditions
We can help secure benefits from different sources—Medicare, Nursing Home Medicaid, Community Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, and other home care benefits and financial support from the Commonwealth.
Trigger Long-Term Care Insurance Benefits
Is your carrier giving you a hard time paying out? From critical documentation like care logs to reading the fine print in your long-term care insurance policy, we get insurers to step up to the plate.
Complete Support in Tough Times
We offer estate planning and asset protection combined with care advocacy and coaching through our TWC Annual Program that supports seniors including their spouses, families and caregivers.

Never Use The Medicaid Specialist Who Is Working For The Nursing Home and Not You or Your Loved One

Over the years we’ve have heard from countless families complaining about being misled by a nursing home. Instead of seeking their own legal advice from the get-go, these families relied on a “Medicaid specialist” provided by the nursing home when filling out the Medicaid admission application for their loved one.

The Medicaid specialist is not an attorney and is clueless about a parent’s—or any potential resident’s—total financial picture and the strategies legally available to them. As is often the situation, the family completely failed to protect their loved one’s home and assets, which could have been retained with sound legal counsel. Proper planning along with transfers to spouses and a variety of spend down strategies, waivers, exclusions (such as, caretaker child, blind or disabled child, long-term care insurance, income property protection and sibling exemptions) could be deployed including financial tools like irrevocable trusts, Medicaid annuities for spouses, and transfer deeds to children with a reserved life estate for a parent.

Misguided assumptions and simple mistakes in these areas can have huge consequences—everything from Nursing Home Medicaid ineligibility for a number of years to the Commonwealth putting a lien on the parent’s home to recover care costs it incurred from their probate estate, even though all the while the house could have been legally transferred and protected under Medicaid’s own rules.

Say absolutely no to so-called Medicaid specialists.

Peace of Mind from a Caring and Responsive Team

“I live 3,000 miles away from my mom, who was transitioning last year to an assisted living facility. Although I’m an attorney, I have no knowledge of Massachusetts law and no family in the area to ensure my mother’s wellbeing. From the moment I contacted them, Paula and her great team—which includes a registered nurse—have been absolutely fantastic. They immediately put me (and, more importantly, my mom) at ease, drafted necessary legal documents on short notice, facilitated the creation of a care plan with the facility, successfully supported our efforts to trigger my mother’s long-term care insurance, and have kept in regular, personal contact with her to ensure that she is getting the care that she needs and deserves. This firm understands not only the law, but the importance of making clients feel that they’re being taken care of.” —David