Most people understand the concept of estate planning—the act of planning for the final disposition of your wealth and property.
When it’s time to create a will or establish a trust, most people hire an estate planning attorney. But there’s another, lesser-known category of legal professionals who work with seniors on issues that impact them while they’re still alive—an elder care attorney.
Let’s take a closer look at how each of them can help you address different challenges.
Estate planners
An attorney who specializes in estate planning can help you develop a comprehensive plan that will determine the fate of your assets after you pass on.
Commonly, this attorney can help you:
- Create a last will and testament that documents your wishes and defines those who will inherit assets in your estate.
- Appoint an executor who will handle a variety of tasks after your pass on, including overseeing the completion of activities required by the probate court.
- Establish a revocable or irrevocable trust that will allow you to pass on your assets to your heirs or favorite charities while avoiding probate and helping to offset potential estate tax liability.
- Create a living will that documents which kinds of medical or end-of-life care you wish to receive (or not) if you become physically or mentally incapacitated.
- Formally appoint individuals to serve as healthcare or financial proxies. These individuals are legally given the power of attorney to make critical medical and financial decisions on your behalf if you can no longer make them on your own.
Elder law practitioners
Elder law attorneys focus on helping senior citizens (or those approaching this stage of their lives) anticipate and deal with various financial and quality-of-life issues they will encounter as they age.
This individual may, among other things:
- Help you evaluate various senior-living options and determine which make the most sense from both a quality of life and financial viewpoint.
- Help you understand how Medicare works and provide advice on when to enroll and which kinds of coverage you may need.
- Help you determine if you need long-term care insurance and choose an appropriate level of coverage.
- Develop plans to anticipate your future acute medical care needs should you become mentally or physically incapacitated.
- Determine if you’re eligible for Medicaid, VA or other forms of public assistance and guide you through the application process.
- Recommend strategies for protecting your assets from creditors and criminals.
- Provide legal or other assistance if you’re ever a victim of age-based discrimination or abuse.
- Help you formally appoint people you trust as medical or financial proxies.
Many elder care attorneys also provide estate planning services, and some estate planners provide elder care services.
It may be easier to deal with one attorney who can help you address all of these issues, so if you’re considering hiring one, ask them to provide a complete list of services they provide, and ask plenty of questions to determine the full extent of how they can help.
This material has been provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, we recommend you consult an estate planning or elder care lawyer.
This article was authored by David Jaeger and Jeffrey Briskin. David is a financial advisor with Canby Financial Advisors, a SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement by the SEC nor a statement about any skill or training. David can be reached at 508.598.1082 or djaeger@canbyfinancial.com. Jeffrey Briskin is Director of Marketing at Canby Financial Advisors.
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