Elder Law

Serving clients in Fredericksburg, Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg

LONG TERM CARE ASSET PROTECTION PLANNING

Carrell Blanton’s Elder Law attorneys assist clients with one of the most importance concerns they face as they age: how to pay for long term care?

Long term care is expensive. Typically even infrequent and irregular care needs require thousands of dollars to meet. And if someone is living in a skilled nursing facility, the cost can easily exceed $10,000 per month. If you are like most of us, that type of expense is unsustainable. Thankfully, there are options for paying for long term care other than digging a financial hole from which you can never escape.  But to avoid the devastating financial consequences associated with paying for long term care, you need a plan. And to have a plan, you need a guide—someone who knows the rules for navigating long term care payment options.  This is where our Elder Law attorneys can help.

Our Elder Law attorneys are well versed in three things: the various options for receiving long term care, the available means to pay for care, and the eligibility rules for the two government programs most often used to pay for long term care: Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Aid and Attendance. In most engagements, they apply that knowledge to a particular client’s situation and assist the client to formulate an asset protection plan—in other words, to come up with a plan to become eligible for a government program as quickly as possible and save as much money as possible from the costs of long term care.

Once the asset protection plan has been developed, our Elder Law attorneys will usually assist the client in the execution of the plan, and can ultimately file a Medicaid application on behalf of the client, which lifts the burden from the client and favors a successful result.  While the process of planning, executing and applying can be lengthy and arduous, we are pleased to report that we have never failed to get an approval for a client whose circumstances deserved it.

GUARDIANSHIP AND CONSERVATORSHIP

In addition to planning for the avoidance of long-term care costs, our Elder Law services include incapacity-related litigation—specifically guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

When someone is no longer able to care for his or her own needs and that individual has never executed a power of attorney or advance medical directive, another person (typically a family member or close friend) can become legally authorized to make decisions on behalf of that incapacitated person. To get this legal authority, the family member or friend must petition the local court for the appointment of a guardian and conservator for the incapacitated person. Our Elder Law attorneys are delighted to assist these petitioners as they navigate the court process and make sure that the court’s final order appoints the right person with the right powers to be guardian and conservator.

SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING

Parents and other family members of loved ones with special needs always have one overriding estate planning goal: to leave an inheritance and protect their loved one’s access to government benefits at the same time. To this end, our Elder Law attorneys assist clients to establish special needs trusts. But not all special needs trusts are created equal. Beyond preserving eligibility for benefits, these trusts should also provide a plan for the unique and specific day-to-day care needs of the beneficiary. Thus our Elder Law attorneys strive to establish special needs trusts as special as the person they are planning for.

Whether in the courtroom, around a conference table, or at the drafting desk, our Elder Law attorneys always provide comprehensive counsel, seek to achieve the client’s goals, and plan for peace of mind.