Americans are living longer than ever before. While this is good news, there are certain challenges that come with living a long life. An elder law attorney can use a variety of legal tools to meet these challenges, and make a senior’s golden years as independent, productive and stress-free as possible.

At Shah & Associates, P.C., we focus on elder law and closely related practice areas, including Medicaid Planning, Veterans Benefits Planning and Special Needs Planning. While all of our clients are unique, many share similar concerns, such as:

• How can I preserve and protect my assets?
• What happens if I get sick? Can I afford a nursing home or assisted living facility?
• Can I qualify for help from Medicaid?
• If I’m already in a nursing home, can I still get Medicaid benefits to help pay for it?
• If I’m a veteran, am I eligible for Veterans Benefits? How can I get them?

We can help you find answers and solutions to problems like these, and many others. Some of our clients are seniors, others are the people who love them, acting on a senior’s behalf: spouses, siblings, and children. Whatever you need in the way of future planning, or dealing with a crisis situation, we are here to assist you.

We invite you to contact us for an initial consultation to discuss your particular situation, and look forward to the opportunity to meet you in person.

Medicaid Planning

Many Americans eventually require nursing home care. How many? Nearly one out of every two women, and one out of four men. Nursing home care is already expensive, and Medicare will not pay for it. Sadly, two out of every three couples exhaust their life savings within a year when one spouse enters a nursing home.

So are you destined to go broke if you or your spouse needs to enter a nursing home? Not necessarily. At Shah & Associates, P.C., we can help you qualify for assistance from Medicaid, without losing all of your assets. We can also use a number of legal tools to prepare in advance for a nursing home stay, including trusts, annuities, promissory notes, life estates, and more.

Remember: The earlier you put a plan in place to protect your assets, the more options you will have. Contact us as soon as possible for a consultation to learn how we can help you get the long-term care you need without losing all of your life savings.

Medicaid Pre-Planning

Medicaid Pre-Planning is for people who are healthy now but want to ensure that they will be prepared and able to protect their assets if they do become incapacitated. We can design an estate plan to protect your hard-earned assets, and manage your personal and financial affairs, in the event of incapacity. A well-drafted and properly implemented plan helps ensure that you will get the long-term care you need, your wishes regarding care will be carried out, and your life savings will be protected. Ultimately, it also provides you and your family with greater peace of mind.

A Medicaid Crisis

We define a Medicaid crisis as a situation in which someone has been admitted to a nursing home, or must enter one very soon, and has been told that he or she has too many assets to qualify for assistance from Medicaid. Many people simply accept this evaluation, try to pay for the care themselves, and end up losing everything they have worked so hard to achieve.

Don’t give up so easily! The information provided by nursing home staff, social workers, friends, and even people employed by Medicaid is quite often incorrect. They are not lying to you, they just don’t fully understand the complicated and ever-changing laws surrounding Medicaid eligibility. We do. If you or someone you love is facing a Medicaid crisis, please contact us as soon as possible. We can show you a number of ways to get assistance from Medicaid and may be able to protect your life savings, even if you are already in a nursing home.