Elder Law

Finding A Good Elder Law Attorney – Will The Real Elder Law Attorney Please Stand Up?

When trying to find an “elder law”-focused attorney, it’s important to understand how elder law differs from traditional estate planning. Traditional Estate planning is death planning. A traditional estate plan is typically designed to do three things:

  • Minimize estate taxes
  • Avoid probate court
  • Distribute assets from the deceased to the deceased’s heirs
Elder law, on the other hand, is death planning plus long-term care planning. The elder law attorney is not only dealing with your estate plan, but must also deal with life care issues in the event that you or your spouse has long-term healthcare needs during the course of your lifetimes. When there is no long-term care asset preservation planning, it is quite common to see families spend a $2 million net worth estate when both a husband and wife have long-term care needs. This is a key focus of an elder law attorney. No one wants to be out of money and out of options before they are out of breath. While it’s not possible to guarantee specific results, the elder law attorney works with clients and families to guide them through the minefield of public benefits, VA benefits, Medicare, Social Security, special needs trusts, powers of attorney and Medicaid. Our job is to improve the quality of life for our clients, not just plan for a happy post-death asset distribution. If you are looking for an elder law attorney, please use an attorney who can demonstrate that he or she is working in that area every day. The issues are complex, and you deserve to work with someone who is fluent in elder law. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help building a fortress around your estate to protect it from creditors, predators, and the cost of chronic disease, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.