Elder Law

Have you thought about what will happen if or when you need additional care as you age? Perhaps you are concerned about a loved one instead of yourself? For some, aging in place is of the utmost importance. For others, fear of being a burden to family drives their choices. Concern about financing possible care is always paramount.

Advanced planning in anticipation of potential long-term care needs may be the difference between living out your senior years the way you’ve envisioned or having your choices limited by circumstances and failure to address such worries. Our attorneys will listen to your goals, work with you to develop a strategy to help you attain those goals, and provide a timetable and benchmarks for your particular strategies.

Common concerns woven into a strategic long-term care plan include:

• How to keep your family member at home with the care they need;
• Managing transitions if needs progress beyond home care to assisted living or skilled care;
• Protecting the family home if one or both partners needs nursing home care;
• Understanding how MassHealth/Medicaid perceives transfers or gifts made within five years of nursing home placement;
• Ensuring any spouse remaining in the community has enough money to maintain a meaningful standard of living;
• Knowing the rights of a family member who moves in with a senior to prevent them from being placed in a nursing home;
• Protecting assets for a disabled child; and
• Availability of Veterans (VA) benefits.

The regulatory climate around health care is complex and frequently changes and evolves, and the thought of planning for a time where you may need additional assistance in such an environment is daunting. We will answer your questions, tailoring them specifically to your family’s situation and established goals, in order to give you clarity and peace-of-mind.

Your loved one needs nursing home care unexpectedly. You’ve been told that your family member won’t be able to come home. The nursing home has a mountain of papers to sign and you are hearing conflicting information about MassHealth/Medicaid. What happens now? How do you manage his or her care? Will you lose everything you have worked so hard to save? Where do you start and what do you do?

We often receive “panic” calls when families are faced with these questions and concerns. Unfortunately, they frequently spend more money on care than necessary simply because they don’t have access to accurate information in a timely manner. Our office can help you:

• Review your income and assets to determine State and federal programs for which you may be eligible to pay for or defray the costs of care;
• Devise a strategy that allows for eligibility to be achieved as soon as possible and at the least possible cost to you;
• Create a sensible and meaningful spend-down plan;
• Advice as to little-known qualifications most people have already, but don’t realize;
• Explain the levels of care and the options for payment sources at each level;
• Communicate all MassHealth/Medicaid benefits application paperwork to obtain approval for benefits sought and act as your liaison with the MassHealth representative through the process; and
• Suggest geriatric care managers and other non-legal professionals to aid in developing and managing your care plan, as needed.

Our goal is to relieve you of as much of the stress surrounding the process as possible so that you will be able to focus on your loved ones during these difficult transitions.