Best Estate Planning Attorneys in Babylon, NY

No. Your living trust has been authorized by the law for centuries. The government has no interest in making you go through guardianship proceedings or a probate. Those proceedings only clog up the court system. Properly drafted revocable living trusts can double the amount you and your spouse can pass tax free. At current levels, your trusts will allow you to pass more than $22,000,000 estate tax free.

Most areas of the law focus on a specific discipline, and elder law attorneys focus on a specific type of person. The main purpose of an elder law attorney is to help aging Americans to legally navigate through the issues of life that arise simply because of age.

In order to qualify for Medicaid, the state of New York outlines specific eligibility requirements that an individual must fulfill. Medicaid is typically reserved for low-income individuals with high medical demands due to disability, disease, illness, age or other factors. You may be covered by Medicaid if you have high medical bills, receive supplemental security Income or meet the income and asset test. There may be certain exceptions, so speaking with a lawyer will help determine your eligibility for Medicaid based on your particular circumstances.

The income and assets of the spouse of a Medicaid applicant may be protected. In addition, Medicaid has income allowances for the non-applicant community spouse which in many situations allows the applicant spouse to contribute a portion of their income to the community spouse.

If so, one should be concerned about a potential conflict of interest if there is a problem with obtaining Medicaid approval. Based on the admission agreement, the nursing home may take legal action against the family for an unpaid nursing home bill. The better course of action is to hire an independent, experienced elder law attorney for the filing of the Medicaid application. At my office, we only represent seniors and their families. We do not represent nursing homes. We have made an ethical decision to act in the best interests of our clients, with no allegiance to any nursing home. We work with our clients and the nursing home to ensure the best quality care for a loved one and to ensure that the nursing home is paid for its services.