Typically, elder law attorneys focus on legal matters which has to do with the elderly and disabled person. This includes issues relating to their health care, retirement, guardianship, long-term care planning, and others.
Are you an aged person, or you are nearing retirement, and you want to learn more about elder law attorneys and how they can help you? You can learn more here.
Meanwhile, below are some of the major duties performed by an elder law attorney:
Consultation
Planning and discussing the importance of wills is much better with the help of an elder law attorney. They also help with preparing for adult special needs, creating a durable power of attorney, and enlightening clients on their rights as patients. These law experts also oversee probate proceedings and other legal matters related to elderly citizens.
Guardianship
In addition to consultation, elder law attorneys also help an elder with selecting and appointing legal guardians. More so, they assist them in locating long-term care facilities and managing assisted living costs. For clients clueless about nursing home resident rights, they also explain it to them.
Financial Planning
Elder law attorneys are good with financial planning. They know how to help clients handle tax matters and make the best use of housing opportunities, income, estate, and others. Drafting living wills or other advance directives and long-term document planning are also part of the duties of an elder law attorney.
How Elder Law Attorneys Charge for Their Services
As important as it is to know the duties of elder law attorneys, it’s also essential to know why they charge for their services. Generally, these law experts charge per hour; still, that doesn’t mean they will try to overstretch the hours needed to finish a task. For instance, it will take fewer hours to fill some court documents compared to preparing a will or filling and calculating tax returns.
Essential Questions To Ask an Elder Law Attorney
All elder law attorneys don’t offer services based on every area of law affecting senior citizens. In other words, you need to ask an elder law attorney if they’ve offered the kind of service you need. You should also ask how long they’ve been practicing law and the percentage of their time dedicated to elder law. Making inquiries on how much this service cost also helps.
Before hiring an elder law attorney, it’s important to know if they have courtroom experience. This could come in handy in case a guardian, heir, or partner decides to challenge your decisions.
Ways To Hire An Elder Law Attorney
A good way to start making inquiries about which elder law attorney to hire is to seek information from relatives and friends. Asides from that, you can also seek help from online communities or use search engines. However, when searching online, you must ensure the elder law attorney has a record of offering quality legal services to clients. It’s also essential to choose an elder law attorney familiar with the laws of your state.
Areas of Law Practiced By An Elder Law Attorney
Estate Planning
Whether you have just a moderate house or a lucrative business with a long list of assets, estate planning can be hard. For this reason, you should have an elder law attorney by your side. Elder Law Attorneys help you carry the burden of putting your affairs in order so you can enjoy your old age. Unknown to many, estate planning is more than writing wills. It can involve creating trusts for life insurance policies.
Social Security
Although the law stipulates that an elder citizen can apply for social security benefits at 62 years old, still, the full retirement age for social security is 67. This is why a lot of people get their disability benefits denied or get low payments.
This is where an elder law attorney comes into play. They can assist you and help improve your chances of getting the right amount of benefits.
Medicare
A federal health insurance program for Americans—medicare, is available for citizens of age 65 and more. It covers skilled nursing facilities, medical supplies, preventative services, prescription drug coverage, and other services.
Even though it’s a good program, it can be not very clear for first-timers. This is why it’s important to seek the help of an elder law attorney before applying for the program. Some of the factors that determine the number of benefits citizens from this program include their income level and type of disability.
Long-Term Care
Long-term care insurance is essential to pay the cost of long-term care. In this case, the level of policy premiums increases based on health, age, or preexisting conditions. The earlier you apply for a long-term care insurance plan, the better. Elder law attorneys who are well versed in proper Medicaid planning are the best to contact for financial arrangements regarding long-term care. Having good long-term care eases the burden of paying for long-term health care plans like assisted living.
Employment Discrimination
Sometimes, people are discriminated against at the workplace due to their age. Still, the Age Discrimination Act stipulates that it’s illegal for employers to discriminate against workers due to their age. In other words, you can reach out to an elder law attorney if it appears that you’re being discriminated against due to your age. They can help assess your claim and take the right steps to ensure you get the compensation you need.
Grandparents Visitation Rights
Due to divorce, bitter disagreements, or parents’ death, some grandparents lose the right to spend quality time with their grandchildren. If you’re experiencing a situation like this, the best person to contact is an elder law attorney. You can consult them to get more info on your right and have them properly document your case. Your cherished relationship between you and your grandchildren doesn’t have to suffer because of your child’s mistakes.
Unfortunately, over half a million elder citizens in the United States experience various forms of abuse every year. This means every elder is liable to emotional, physical, financial, or sexual abuse. Still, you’re not alone. If you’ve been experiencing any form of abuse, you can speak to an elder law attorney. These experts are charged with the responsibility of defending abused elderly citizens, both in and outside the courtroom. They understand that elderly citizens deserve to be treated with love and respect.
