Elder Law & Special Needs

Elder Law & Special Needs

Proper planning for elder law and special needs issues can help you achieve your goals and protect your family and estate.  Elder law is a subset of estate planning that touches on issues related to aging, such as planning for disability, Medicaid eligibility, and nursing home/long-term care.  Special needs planning, also a subset of estate planning, involves providing for a disabled family member, usually with a special needs trust that is designed to preserve eligibility for government benefits.  Special needs trusts are structured to improve the quality of life of that disabled family member by providing things that government programs do not.  We can assist clients with these issues as part of a broader estate plan, utilizing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, life estate deeds, Medicaid asset protection trusts, special needs trusts, and other strategies appropriate to each client’s situation and wishes.  It is always best to plan ahead, but sometimes clients come to us in “crisis mode,” and we can help clients navigate the Medicaid rules and provide advice on how to best proceed if long-term care is urgently needed.

Contact us at 540.745.4435 to schedule a consultation.