Elder Law
Protecting Ohio’s Seniors
One term, many issues
The term “Elder Law” refers to the clients an attorney serves rather than the type of work handled. The legal issues facing the elderly are often complex and interrelated. Thus, it is important for an attorney to be familiar with the many laws and regulations affecting seniors in areas such as Medicaid, Medicare, Real Estate, Social Security, Disabilities, Nursing Homes, Probate, Insurance, Health Care, Housing, Elder Abuse, Banking and Investments, Mental Health, Trusts, Pensions, Assets Preservation Transfers, and Taxes. Apparent solutions to problems in one area can often create problems in other areas.
Interrelated needs
Elder Law is complicated by the vast types of law that it encompasses. These include but are not limited to:
Preservation/transfer of assets seeking to avoid spousal impoverishment when a spouse enters a nursing home
Medicaid claims and appeals of benefit denials
Disability planning for the elderly as well as the disabled
Social Security and disability planning
Estate and Income Tax Planning
Estate Planning, including planning for the management of one’s estate during life and its disposition upon death through the use of trusts, wills and other planning documents
Administration and management of trusts and estates
Long term care placements in nursing home and life care communities
Supplemental long-term health insurance issues and hybrid insurance products for long-term care
Conservatorships and guardianships
Retirement, including public and private retirement benefits, survivor benefits and pension benefits
More than
legal expertise
An Elder Law Attorney is aware of the real life problems, health and otherwise, that people experience as they age. They are tied into a system of social workers, psychologists, geriatric care managers, and other elder care professionals who may be of assistance to their clients.
Attorneys who work with the elderly bring more to their practice than an expertise in the law. They have an understanding of the elderly that allows them and their staff to ignore the myths related to aging. At the same time, they recognize and empathize with some of the true physical and mental difficulties that often accompany the aging process.
Elder Law planning is a comprehensive approach that focuses on the quality of life for your later years, and by extension, the quality of life for your family and loved ones during and after your lifetime. Instead of saddened family members making heart-wrenching decisions under extreme stress, Elder Law planning addresses the decisions about nursing homes and late life finances when all the loved ones involved are looking at the future through the same lens. While traditional Estate Planning contemplates the issues that arise after you pass away, Elder Law planning encompasses considerations in life and in death, assuring that you and your loved ones enjoy a high quality of life and peace throughout your later years.
For more detailed information and how these types of law apply to your specific situation, please contact R. F. Meyer & Associates.
Compassion and Experience
Our Areas of Practice
We have decades of experience dealing with the related and complex legal issues involved with Elder Law, Estate Planning and Probate.
- Elder Law
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship
- Medicaid & Government Benefits
- Power of Attorney
- Probate
- Special Needs Trusts
- Wills & Living Wills
