How an Elder Law Attorney Can Help You

Article submitted by Stephanie Bivens of Bivens & Associates, Phoenix, Arizona.
For more information, she can be reached at 602-6527 or visit their website: www.BivensLaw.com.

Health, money, and aging are predominant issues weighing on the minds of seniors and baby boomers. Through careful planning elder law attorneys help seniors, disabled persons, and their family members with health care decisions, long term care financing decisions, end of life decisions, and estate planning matters. "Elder law" is a specialized legal field that encompasses several traditional areas of law. In general, an elder law attorney will have experience in the areas of estate planning, probate, guardianship/conservatorship, long-term care, and special needs (or disability) planning. An elder law attorney may further specialize in matters of financial exploitation, abuse, or neglect. Elder law attorneys understand public benefits available to seniors, such as Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and Veterans Administration benefits. Elder law attorneys are your advocates!

Elder law attorneys not only focus on planning in response to an event (e.g., a period of illness, disability, or death), they also proactively plan in case such events occur. The following are some examples of how an elder law attorney can help you:

• In the event you or a family member needs to plan for the cost of long term care, an elder law attorney will navigate the complex rules of the various public benefits programs (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid/ALTCS, and Veteran's benefits) to ensure you receive the maximum benefits available, while preserving as much of your own savings as possible to ease the financial burden of such long term care costs.
   
• With regard to estate planning, an elder law attorney will help you ensure your medical treatment wishes will be honored, provide for continuity in the management of your affairs in the event of incapacity or death, and facilitate the transfer of wealth at death while minimizing estate taxes for your heirs and possibly avoiding probate.
   
• An elder law attorney can advise how to avoid guardianship/conservatorship court proceedings, or in cases where they are necessary, an elder law attorney can assist you in filing a guardianship/conservatorship matter to ensure your family member is protected from physical or financial harm.
   
• With regard to special needs planning, an elder law attorney can help you provide for yourself, or your disabled family members, to ensure important cash and medical benefits provided by government programs will not be discontinued in the event of a personal injury settlement, inheritance, or other receipt of monies.

Elder law attorneys address the legal issues and life decisions that older individuals, disabled persons, and their families must face. So whether you are a senior or adult child acting on behalf of an aging parent, you should seek the advice of an experienced elder law attorney to be certain you have your affairs in order. You may locate an elder law attorney by contacting the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys at www.naela.org (or 520-881-4005), or the State Bar of Arizona at www.azbar.org (or 602-252-4804).