Why Hire an Elder Law Attorney?

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Entrusted Legacy Law

For more information about the author, click to view their website: Sharek Law Office LLC

Posted on

Apr 21, 2023

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Pennsylvania - Greater Pittsburgh Area

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Elder law attorneys specialize in estate planning, incapacity planning, and/or end-of-life care for seniors. These practitioners are essential because they work to protect a vulnerable population. To plan for their future and their care, seniors and their families should consider hiring an elder law attorney.



How Can an Elder Law Attorney Help My Aging Loved One?


Having a plan for your aging loved one’s care can relieve anxiety for you and the senior. Elder law attorneys can help their clients by providing some of the following services.


Long-Term Care Planning

The number of Americans living past age 65 has exponentially increased over the past few decades and will continue to grow over the next few years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there will be more than 80 million seniors in the U.S. by 2040. This increase requires more people to pay close attention to the need for long-term care planning.

An elder law attorney can help seniors create a plan to pay for their care needs for the rest of their lives. Many seniors may worry about a lack of financial resources to pay for food, rent, medical care, and transportation in the years to come. Others hope to stay in their homes as they age but aren’t sure what the options may be for in-home care if it becomes necessary.


An elder law attorney can help you create a customized plan for your needs and assist you in allocating money to pay for the essentials as you age. In addition, with expertise specific to elder law at the federal level and in your state, they can aid you in determining what public benefits you could qualify for, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and help you successfully apply for them.


Estate Planning Document Preparation

Most people contact an elder law attorney whose expertise includes estate planning when they need end-of-life documents drafted. Yet, it is smart to start estate planning when you are still healthy.


Elder law attorneys may draft for their clients such documents as a last will and testament, health care directive, and power of attorney. By carefully crafting these documents, an attorney can help protect a senior’s legal rights when it comes to their retirement benefits, estate administration, and medical decision-making authority.


At the same time, having a comprehensive estate plan in place may not only ease the stress your family members encounter upon your passing, but also help them avoid any potential disputes regarding their inheritance.


Create a Plan for Incapacity

A related piece of the puzzle is incapacity planning. This could mean having an elder law attorney advise you on documenting your wishes for care at the end of your life, in the wake of a disability, or after a diagnosis of dementia.


For instance, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6.7 million Americans aged 65 and older suffer with Alzheimer’s disease. As the senior population increases across the United States, the number of seniors with memory care needs will likewise increase.


Because people with memory issues may reach a stage when they can no longer care for themselves, it is essential to have a plan in place for when a senior is incapacitated. An elder law attorney can assist seniors and their families as they try and protect the senior’s financial and physical well-being as their condition progresses.


Combating Elder Abuse and Exploitation

Seniors who are victims of elder abuse, whether at the hands of a family member or in a long-term care facility, are protected by the law. Elder law attorneys know the rights of nursing home residents and seniors under guardianship, are familiar with the tools that can protect you and your assets, and can help you connect with other advocates.



What to Look for in Elder Law Attorneys


It is vital to know what to look for when you are hiring an elder law attorney. You want to have the best partner helping you protect yourself or your loved one. Here are some tips when looking for an elder law attorney:

  • Interview multiple attorneys.

  • Ask each attorney you meet with about their experience in the area.

  • Get a referral from a friend or search for a qualified elder law attorney in your area, like Sharek Law Office.

Keeping your elderly loved ones safe is essential to supporting their care and protecting their legacy. Hiring an elder law attorney you trust can help you accomplish this and keep your parents, grandparents, or other aging relatives protected. Call our office at 412-347-1731 to schedule your free 15-minute introductory phone meeting today.

 

This article is a service of Sharek Law Office, LLC. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That's why we offer a Life and Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Life and Legacy Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge. Please note this is educational content only and is not intended to act as legal advice.

Why Hire an Elder Law Attorney?

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Local Services By This Author

Entrusted Legacy Law View Details

Entrusted Legacy Law

Elder Law 100 Pinewood Lane Suite #303, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 15086

Our Firm Prepares You for Life What makes our firm different is that we were built with the needs of growing families in mind. We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity and you value ease, convenience and efficiency. You are raising children, and caring for elderly parents, while also working hard to build your own nest egg for a lifetime of support. You want to know youve made the best decisions for your family and that your plan will work when your loved ones need it most. You want to make sure your minor children would be raised by the people you choose, and never by anyone you wouldnt want, and that your teens and adult children are properly prepared to care for you and what you leave behind.  You want to feel confident that youve made the right choices, and handled everything so that you arent leaving behind a mess, when something happens. That is our focus as well. Weve developed unique systems to give you the same access to a Personal Family Lawyer as was previously only available to the super-wealthy, so you can have the guidance you need to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth. And, to keep your family out of court and out of conflict, which is the greatest risk to the people you love and all you have created, even if youve already worked with a traditional lawyer or created documents online. Our Team Is Here for You We encourage communication with our clients. In fact, weve thrown out the time clocks so you never have to be afraid to call with a quick question. Everything we do is billed on a flat-fee basis, agreed to in advance, so there are never any surprises. We have a whole team to serve you. When you call our office to ask your quick question, you wont have to wait hours or days for a phone call back. Youll get your question answered, right away. And, if you need to schedule a more in-depth legal or strategic call with your Personal Family Lawyer, a call will be scheduled when you're both available and ready for the call so we can make the very best use of your time and not waste your time by leaving voicemail after voicemail back and forth. And, we ensure the most important details of your planning are followed through on and your plan continues to work throughout your lifetime. We have a funding coordinator to ensure your assets are owned the right way throughout your lifetime and none of your assets will end up going through a long, expensive court process or being lost to the state because they were missed after your death. Weve created unique membership programs to keep your plan up to date year in and year out as well as give you access to our Trusted Team of Legal Experts for guidance on ANY legal or financial matter. One day you will need a lawyer. I dont know why and I dont know when, but when you do, you will be grateful you can call on us and well be here to advise you or get you out of a jam. We Help You Transfer Your Life and Legacy Lastly, we believe your financial wealth is only a small part of your overall Life and Legacy Planning which is made up of your far more valuable and most often lost upon incapacity or death intellectual, spiritual and human assets. These assets are what make you who you are, and sum up whats most important to you. And, a survey of inheritors has revealed that what they care about even more than inheriting your money, is inheriting these intangible assets.   Most estate plans only focus on the transfer of your financial wealth to the next generation. Most people have such great intentions of passing on the intangible, but very few ever get around to it. Its just not a priority, until its too late. How much do you know about your grandparents values? Their most prized personal possessions? How they felt about you? What they had learned during their lifetime? If you are like most people, you know very little. Thats why we build the capture and passage of these most valuable assets into every estate plan we create. Not only will we help you pass on your money, but also your values, your insights, your stories and your experience the truly valuable assets your loved ones care about the most.  Weve developed a tool that allows us to capture and pass on your whole family wealth, including your Intellectual, Spiritual and Human assets.  I cant go into all of the details here, but well definitely talk about it when you come in for your Life and Legacy Planning Session.

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