World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15, 2023. If communities can better understand elder abuse, folks can be better equipped to recognize it and take steps to prevent it. Elder law attorneys are in close proximity to seniors and are in a unique situation to oftentimes observe signs of elder abuse. However, are attorneys allowed to report such abuse ..read more

Elder law is the area of law focused on issues that affect the aging population. While estate planning focuses on what happens when the individual passes away, elder law focuses on what happens while the individual is still alive. It’s lifetime planning. This can include helping clients with guardianship issues, addressing elder abuse claims, handling discrimination claims, planning for long-term care, obtaining government benefits, and helping with special needs issues ..read more

If a homeowner stops paying their property taxes and the county forecloses on the home, what happens to the excess funds from the sale? Common sense might lead you to say that of course any excess funds would go to the homeowner, but that isn’t always the case. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently heard oral arguments in a case where the county kept the proceeds from the sale for itself ..read more

A pooled trust is also known as a d4C trust because it is authorized by US Code 1396p(d)(4)(C). It is established and managed by a non-profit organization and is funded by the individual with special needs, for that individual’s sole benefit. An individual’s pooled trust is a subaccount within a master trust, a collection of other individual trusts. The managing entity oversees the collective individual accounts within the pool as a whole. A pooled trust entity will have its own joinder agreement; the terms of the trust are controlled by the entity. An alternative to a pooled trust is a Self ..read more

The EC Veterans Asset Protection Trust® (VAPT) is a powerful tool that can protect assets while enabling the Grantor to qualify for needs-based VA-pension benefits. The VAPT is a nongrantor trust with the option to include a grantor residence subtrust. Why is the VAPT structured this way ..read more

May is National Elder Law Month. Help spread the word about elder law!  Write a blog or take a video explaining why you selected elder law as an area of practice within your law firm. Post it to social media during the month of May to spread the word for National Elder Law Month and you'll be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon gift card! Three people will win $100! Enter to win in 3 easy steps:  ..read more

We are constantly working towards making our document drafting software, ElderDocx®, the go-to system for drafting trusts and other documents to help clients with their elder law, special needs, and Veterans benefits cases. Today, a new version of ElderDocx was released. Here are some updates that were included in the release ..read more

If you are an avid user of ElderDocx®, ElderCounsel’s state-of-the-art document drafting software, you’ve probably drafted a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT). The MAPT is an irrevocable trust that protects assets from being counted for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. But did you know that the MAPT has a cousin, the Medicaid Family Protection Trust (Family Trust)? The Family Trust, like the MAPT, protects assets from being counted for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. But, the Family Trust has also been designed to achieve optimal asset protection for both the grantor and benefic ..read more

President Biden announced that the official Public Health Emergency (PHE) caused by COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.   What are the ramifications of this change for seniors? 1. Return of Medicare’s three-day rule Medicare has a three-day rule that is the source of angst for patients and care facilities alike. The rule states that Medicare would pay for a patient’s stay in a nursing home only if the patient was admitted to the hospital for three days prior to the need for nursing home care. (Last year, the ruling in Barrows v. Becerra finally gave patients appeal rights for their o ..read more

In recent years, there have been technological breakthroughs to help folks with disabilities—robotic limbs, telepresence robots, and platforms to assist with communication. These new technologies give some the ability to be more independent and lead more fulfilling lives. Now, there is a new wheelchair that can be controlled by the mind. Someone that is paralyzed or without the necessary limbs to operate a traditional wheelchair can now strap an electrode-studded cap onto their head and control the direction of the wheelchair with their thoughts ..read more