Elder law and special needs law are closely related legal disciplines that help those who have specialized needs and who may qualify for government assistance.
Elder Law
More and more North Carolinians are facing the prospect of needing long-term care, in-home assistance, assisted living, and skilled nursing care. These services carry enormous costs that can drain your family’s life savings in a matter of months.
With our specialized knowledge and experience, we can help you navigate the process for obtaining need-based government assistance for long-term care, namely Medicaid and its associated programs, and Veterans Affairs (VA) pension programs. We can help you preserve your assets to the fullest extent allowed by law while obtaining the assistance to which you are entitled. Elder law representation may also include estate planning, guardianship, or the resolution of family disputes over care plans and financial management.
Special Needs Law
People with disabilities may have needs that require substantial, and often expensive, assistance. Federal and state programs may help with the financial costs of such assistance.
In a special needs representation, we can help you and your family ensure that your assets, combined with government assistance, are maximized to best care for the person in your family with a disability. Our goal is to preserve assets to maximize quality of life. Special needs planning may involve estate planning, issues involving guardianship or assistance with applying for benefits.
If you believe you or someone in your family could benefit from elder law services or special needs planning, contact us to set up a consultation.
VA Benefits
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) provides multiple cash benefits for certain qualifying veterans and their surviving spouses. The first is the VA pension, which is given based upon financial need and may be increased based upon the needs of the veteran or surviving spouse. The greatest pension award is for veterans or surviving spouses who have need of “Aid and Attendance.” Another common VA cash benefit is the VA compensation benefit, which awards veterans disability payments based upon service-connected disabilities. If you are a veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran and wish to explore your potential eligibility for such benefits, please contact our office for an appointment.
