Elder Law FAQs

An elder law attorney is a lawyer who is dedicated to helping you to plan and prepare for the future. With help from an elder law attorney, you can ensure that your family is prepared for the future – even in the event of unpredictable tragedy. You can also make a plan to build a retirement nest egg and protect it so that you will be financially secure as a senior. While elder law attorneys get their name because the services they provide are most often utilized by seniors, the reality is that it is important for people of all ages – including young families – to be prepared for future incapacity, a serious illness or injury, a need for nursing home care, or a death. You can find out more here about what an elder law attorney is and why you might need the services of an elder law attorney.

Creating a basic estate plan goes beyond just creating a Last Will and Testament. In fact, you need to be prepared for not just death but also ongoing incapacity or serious medical complications. Using advanced directives will ensure that you don’t get medical care you don’t want, and that the right techniques are used to keep you alive if you suffer a severe injury or illness and cannot communicate at the time when tough decisions about care must be made. You can also make a plan to afford future nursing home care, take steps to protect your assets, and ensure that you are the legacy you want to leave by using the most effective possible legal tools to provide for your loved ones. Learn more here about creating a basic North Carolina estate plan.

One thing an elder law attorney can help you with is the creation of a Medicaid plan. Many people do not realize they need a Medicaid plan because they think Medicare will cover all of the services that they require. This is not the case! Medicare provides no coverage for nursing home care or long-term care at home (if you need help with the routine activities of daily life). Medicare will pay only for skilled nursing care, while most people require custodial care. Custodial care is covered by Medicaid, but Medicaid means-tested. To access the benefits of Medicaid, you must impoverish yourself or create a Medicaid plan with a qualified attorney. Learn more here about why Medicaid is not just for the poor, and reach out to Clarity Legal Group® to find out how our elder law attorneys can help you get Medicaid coverage when you need it.

A Living Will is another important document that an estate planning and elder law attorney can help you create. A Living Will is invaluable if you become seriously injured or ill and decisions must be made about your medical care at a time when you are not capable of making those choices.  When you establish a Living Will, you will specify in advance what kinds of care you do and do not want, and when you want extraordinary services to be used to keep you alive. For example, you can specify whether you would want a ventilator or a feeding tube to be utilized to keep you alive. By ensuring that you get the medical care you want to receive (and you don’t get care you do not want), a Living Will can also spare your loved ones from having to make difficult decisions about your care. Learn more here about what a Living Will is and why you might want to create one.

Legacy planning is the process of ensuring that you have taken the necessary steps to create a strong legacy. It goes beyond just making a Last Will and Testament. You need to ensure that you have taken steps to protect your wealth as you get older so that you have the money to leave the legacy you want to leave. You also need to identify the best way to facilitate the transfer of assets to your loved ones so you can best provide for your family. Estate planning tools such as trusts could be a part of your legacy plan, depending upon your situation. Learn more here about what legacy planning is and how an elder law attorney can help you to create your legacy plan.

An elder law attorney at Clarity Legal Group® can provide you with personalized advice about the creation of an asset protection plan, an incapacity plan, a legacy plan, and more. We can help you to be prepared for anything life throws your way, whether that’s triumph or tragedy. To find out more about the help we can offer, give us a call at 919.484.0012 or contact us online today.