Elder Law

As you age, you and your family may face new challenges.  These can come in the form of becoming disabled, losing the capacity to make financial or health care decisions, needing help in caring for yourself, or possibly finding a way to pay for increasing health care needs. 

At Talis Law, our elder law practice focuses on providing you with the information you’ll need to make decisions about caring for yourself and your family as you age.  We look at your concerns about health, quality of life, and financial security, and then work with you to develop a plan to address those concerns. 

Your plan may include the following: 

  • A guardianship for a disabled family member;
  • Trusts for you, your spouse, or other family members;
  • Durable powers of attorney for financial and health care decisions;
  • Health care directives to address your end-of-life health care decisions;
  • Changes to the beneficiaries of your life insurance and retirement accounts; and
  • Reviewing your options for paying for long-term care, including Medicaid. 

 

Medicaid

While many people have the means to pay for their long-term health care, doing so often exhausts their assets, leaving little for their spouses and children.

Medicaid planning is the process of determining how to preserve your assets for your family, or for yourself, while still qualifying for Medicaid’s needs-based programs.  Planning ahead, whether it’s done just before applying for benefits or years earlier, can give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you and your family are keeping as much of your assets as the law allows.

A Medicaid plan can include things like:

  • Establishing a special needs trust for your spouse, a disabled family member, or for yourself if you’re disabled; 
  • Transferring assets to your spouse;
  • Deeding your home over to your spouse or to another family member;
  • Establishing a Medicaid annuity; or
  • Gifting to family members under certain circumstances.

At Talis Law, Medicaid planning is woven into everything we do.  Whether it’s a separate Medicaid consultation or part of your estate planning process, our focus is on answering your Medicaid questions.  Once you understand your options, you can decide if you need, or want, to put a Medicaid plan in place.