Lawyers tend to talk about elder law and estate planning as two separate areas of law. After all, that’s how most law firms divide up their practice areas. Some focus on the former, some on the latter, others on both. But the distinction isn’t always so tidy.
Brad Reid, a scholar at the Dean Institute for Corporate Governance and Integrity at Lipscomb University, recently penned an editorial for The Huffington Post, essentially making the case for law firms that are deeply experienced in both of these intersecting fields.
Elder law involves the various legal and financial issues that pop up as adults progress into old age. Much of an elder law attorney’s work centers on helping clients manage the financial challenges of long-term care and the other staggering costs associated with advanced age.
Estate planning, meanwhile, is all about helping people prepare for their eventual passing. After all, we will all leave certain assets and/or obligations behind when we go, and it’s important that they pass properly to the right parties, with as little headache and heartache for the survivors as possible. Estate planning clients span all ages, from the elderly to new parents and even young adults.
What is often overlooked, though, is the incredible impact that estate planning decisions can have on one’s elder law concerns (and vice versa). For example, as Dean Reid points out, the way you dispose of assets via estate planning now could effect your eligibility for certain means-based assistance in the future — and that fact raises a number of complex legal issues that demand responsible, professional, and ethical attention as early as possible.
In fact, a whole host of legal issues can play out at the intersection of estate planning and elder law. Medicare, Medicaid, strategic trusts, benefits programs, long-term care insurance, healthcare directives — these are all factors that can totally change your approach to end-of-life care and the after-death distribution of your assets.
Elder law and estate planning are each deeply complex topics, and they are best considered in tandem. It’s so important that you not make strategic and/or ethical mistakes in the course of your decision-making. It’s all too easy to do so.
The best attorney for your needs is one who has real insight into the profound implications that the decisions in one area can have on the other.
O’Connell Law, LLC is proud to provide a focus on both elder law and estate planning, as well as the many areas of law that arise in connection with those topics — veterans benefits, probate, trust administration, etc.
We believe in a big-picture approach to problem solving, with the goal of putting our clients and their families in the very best position for the future. We invite you to set up a consultation with our office today. We’ll sit down over a cup of coffee and talk about the wisest choices you can make for the days ahead.
