Elder Law
Massachusetts Elder Law Firm Helping Seniors & Their Families Plan for the Future
Hope Elder Law takes pride in serving the legal needs of senior citizens and disabled individuals throughout communities in Eastern Massachusetts. Our goal is to help clients secure quality care and public benefits while preserving assets for themselves and their heirs to the maximum extent possible, whether by proactively planning for the future or assisting with a sudden health crisis.
Understanding Elder Law Issues
In the past 25 years, elder law has developed as a distinct specialty area of law to address the unique and often complex legal issues faced by senior citizens, persons with disabilities or special needs, and their families, who may need us to:
- Assist with applications for Medicaid (MassHealth) benefits for free in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home care
- Assist with Medicare, Social Security retirement or disability (SSDI or SSI) benefits, and other government programs
- Prepare wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other estate, competence planning, and healthcare planning documents
- Design asset protection plans to protect homes and other assets from cost of long-term care
- Advise on buying long-term care and supplemental health insurance
- Assist in obtaining substitute authority for incapacitated persons via guardianship or conservatorship
- Advise and plan ahead for Alzheimer’s and other dementia issues
- Draft special needs trusts for disabled persons to protect assets and facilitate public disability benefits
- Provide information on Veterans long-term care benefits
- Help with home care and nursing home problem solving
For more information about planning ahead, including powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living wills, please see our Estate Planning page, as well as our pages explaining Medicaid Asset Protection Planning and Special Needs Trusts. For more information about receiving public benefits, please see our Medicaid/MassHealth Applications page.
How Can an Elder Law Attorney Help Me?
Generally, it is advisable to seek advice and representation from an attorney with specific training and experience handling your legal concerns. For instance an experienced personal injury lawyer can be counted on to handle an auto accident claim, while a business attorney is usually best qualified to resolve a contract dispute. Likewise, an elder law attorney can readily identify and address legal issues faced by senior citizens, and persons with disabilities, and recommend multiple strategies for achieving client goals. At Hope Elder Law, we take the following approach:
- We focus on each client’s particular situation and needs, and recommend an effective plan.
- We demystify the law by explaining in simple terms how legal matters affect a person’s life, and offer strategic options so clients can make informed choices.
- We provide comprehensive services at reasonable rates that save clients time, money, and headaches. (Remember, in the long run, it is far costlier to ignore your legal concerns than to proactively address them.)
- We have established relationships with trusted non-legal professionals for consultation and referral, including financial, tax, accounting, bill paying, housing, in-home care, and geriatric care advisors..
If you rely on a general practitioner or other non-elder law attorney, or attempt to handle a legal matter yourself, you may miss out on important public benefit opportunities or discover too late that your assets are not fully protected. At a minimum, you may wait longer than necessary to receive certain benefits if your applications for benefits are not filed in a particular manner. For example, our MassHealth applications for long-term care benefits are often approved sooner than others because of the way we organize and present the supporting materials.
Seek Experienced, Reputable Elder Law Counsel in Eastern Massachusetts
Every person should have a plan in place to carry out their health and financial goals in the future. In Eastern Massachusetts, contact Hope Elder Law to ensure your rights and assets are protected, and to give you and your family peace of mind.