“The information provided in this site is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered. Legalzoom’s legal document service is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm. Legalzoom cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. Please note that your access to and use of legalzoom is subject to additional terms and conditions.”The words “additional terms and conditions’ is a hot-link that if you click on it will take you to an even longer disclaimer! The disclaimer guts all of the assurances of reliability and suitability of use that you may have assumed were part of the “actual review of your answers and guarantee of satisfaction.” YOU ARE THE “LAWYER” WHO CHOOSES THE LEGAL FORM! If you decide to be your own lawyer, please understand that legalzoom has the best of all worlds. They advertise that they will provide you with the best form of your choosing and save you money—but if you ever have a problem because of that document, they’re not responsible. You are the one who made the decision about which legal document was right for you and your circumstances. Just yesterday in a meeting with a client, that client exclaimed, “Wow, I never knew that there were so many things to think about in our estate planning.” I responded, “You know, that’s what most people say when it comes to estate planning, disability, Medicaid, or veteran’s benefits. You don’t do this work every day, so you just can’t know all of the issues.” The real value of what any professional counselor does is listen to your description of your circumstances and goals, and then choose the best course of action. There is an old story about a factory which shut down due to an equipment failure. The owner of the factory called a renowned expert to rush to the factory to get things moving. The owner told him, “This shutdown is costing us $100,000 per day!” The expert arrived, walked around the faulty machine, then took out a screwdriver and adjusted a thing or two. Within moments the machine came back to life and the factory began to hum with activity. The owner was thrilled—until he was given a bill for $10,000. He roared, “But it took you less than 10 minutes to fix the machine—it cannot possibly cost $10,000!” The expert calmly responded, “No, it took me a lifetime to know exactly where and how to use that screwdriver. The bill is $10,000—but the value to you is $100,000 per day.” Moral of the story: The right solution for the circumstances often requires a lifetime of preparation.
- Now the Boomers are coming into my office. Five years ago, my practice was totally focused on my parent’s generation, the Greatest Generation—but now it’s our turn. We, the Boomers, are starting to die, become disabled, have memory issues and mobility issues, experience young-onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and have other longevity problems.
- The federal and state governments have insufficient resources to meet the demand, so they keep creating even bigger barriers to accessing long term health care benefits. This is true despite the current president’s recent health care promise that “I will not let a bureaucrat come between you and quality health care.”
- The speed of change forces my legal team and I to have to “sprint” to remain honed and ready advocates.
- The startup and growth of our law practice, which is focused in the areas of estate protection and planning, disability, Medicaid, and veteran’s benefits for the over-65. We have gone from three employees to a great team of twenty!
- The birth of my four beautiful grandchildren—Lucy, Daphne, Evan, and Phoebe.
- Having served over 1,500 clients throughout Illinois.
- Delighting in the presence of our bright young attorneys—Diana M. Law, partner; Gina Salamone, Esq.; and Zachary Hesselbaum, Esq. It makes me feel good to know that when and if something happens to me, these three can lead the legal team while serving our clients and their families.
- The founding of the Veterans Benefit Institute, which has been one of my greatest legal experiences. It has allowed us the opportunity to provide education about VA benefits for the over-65 wartime veteran to more than 80 law firms from around the country.
- My entrance into the blogging world, which has allowed me to get to know some of the most wonderful, caring, and life-lifting people that I have ever met in my life.
“Leading Lawyers Network surveys lawyers, asking them which of their peers, indeed their competitors, they would recommend to a family member or friend if they could not take a case within their area of law or geographic region.” (from the Leading Lawyers Website)In fact, the Leading Lawyers Network takes only 5% or less of all the attorneys in Illinois. We are proud to have TWO of our Law Elder Law attorneys be a part of this group, as Diana’s dad Rick Law is also a member of the Leading Lawyers Network. Of course, it’s no surprise to us that Diana was nominated. In addition to being involved in the Kane County Bar Association and giving her time in many other service organizations, Diana is known for her focused and caring service to her clients. As for Diana, she’s pleased with the membership in part because she hopes it will be beneficial in dealing with the practical aspects of her job, which is namely ensuring that the elderly of our community receive the advice and protection they need. Many clients come in feeling overwhelmed and scared, not even having known they needed an elder law attorney until the last minute. Diana hopes she will be able to reach more seniors and their families this way. When asked what Diana likes most about elder law, she answered “I enjoy providing more than just legal services. In fact some days I feel more like a social worker. We get and give lots of hugs! I like that I can develop close relationships with my clients during a crisis time of life; I’m helping them when I know they need it most.” Congratulations Diana! To read the full article from Leading Lawyers Network click here: Leading Lawyers Article
I have lost 115 pounds of scaled weight and gained a large amount of muscle. I have gone from a 48” to a 38” waist. My health has been greatly improved, and my overall sense of well being has been restored. I really can’t put into words the feeling of accomplishment that I feel right now. This has been one of my greatest challenges and also one of my greatest victories.
Although Huntington’s Disease is a relatively rare disease that affects about 1 in 10,000 persons, the families that suffer from this killer often sustain a 50% casualty rate. Here at Law Elder Law, we have decided to help work toward a cure.
Value billing is based on the idea that one should charge a fee that is appropriate and ethically reasonable for the value provided to the client. It is my viewpoint that both clients and lawyers can enjoy better relationships if lawyers charge value-based fees. Read on to see how we might make value-billing work…
Wills and trusts may be part of the elder law process at times—but there is so much more involved than that! Furthermore, litigating cases that have nothing to do with probate or other issues that touch the elderly does not qualify an attorney to be an elder law attorney.
Will the real elder law attorney please stand up?