Elder Law is a legal practice area that focuses on the unique legal issues affecting senior citizens, including estate planning, healthcare, long-term care planning, guardianship, and protection from elder abuse. Elder Law attorneys are equipped to provide legal assistance to seniors and their families, and they understand the complexities and nuances of laws and regulations that affect the aging population.
Overall, Elder Law attorneys work to protect the legal rights and interests of seniors, providing guidance and support to help them navigate the complex legal landscape and plan for a secure and comfortable future.
Learn more about our Elder Law services.
Whenever you open a financial account, you’re almost always asked to name a beneficiary. Simply stated, a beneficiary of the account is someone who is entitled to the benefits of the account, typically, on the death of the account holder. If you’ve purchased life insurance, for example, you name a beneficiary who receives the benefits of the policy when you pass.
As you age, it is important to have your affairs in order to ensure peace of mind for you and your family. Several documents need to be in place to help your family know and carry out your wishes.
Both the state and federal government, administered through the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Medicaid provide disabled individuals with a variety of life enhancing, and sometimes life sustaining, public benefits.
Most of my money is in investments, and most of my beneficiaries will face the inheritance tax when I die.
Each year, senior citizens lose billions of dollars to financial fraud, with the loss to individual victims averaging tens of thousands of dollars.
One essential component of your financial plan involves designating power of attorney to someone you trust, in case you are incapacitated or unable to complete a task on your own.
Take, for example, the sad and sordid tax case of Mary Ellen Cranmer Nice vs. United States of America, which would not have existed if an attentive financial advisor hadn't noticed the large IRA distributions that were allegedly stolen right from under a matriarch’s nose.
If you get COVID-19 and struggle to breathe, would you want to be put on a ventilator? Whatever your answer, ask yourself another question: Who would make your wishes clear, if you couldn’t speak for yourself?
Parents may delay creating an elder law estate plan, because of the in-law issue. Some parents are unfortunately estranged from an adult child, only because of the problematic son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
The concept of financial scams isn't a new one. Unfortunately, seniors tend to be particularly prone to them in general. Introduce a pandemic, and you have the makings for financial ruin among our country's most vulnerable.
