Elder law is often associated as another form of estate planning when in fact only a small part of elder law involves estate planning. Elder law deals with a person and their estate while they are alive. Estate planning normally arranges property around what will happen at death. For that reason a person who is looking to hire an elder law attorney should know how to weed out attorneys who focus more on estate work. This is a short list of what to look for.
1. Ask the attorney what their primary areas of law are. Here you are looking for something that makes sense; for example Bankruptcy, Elder law and personal injury have little to do with one another. However litigation and elder law might if their focus was on nursing home litigation. Another example of what works together would be elder law and probate. Estate planning, elder law, and probate also would make sense; however, you will want to make sure they haven't just put that label there because they think it sounds good.
2. Ask specific questions about the government program you are looking at. An elder law attorney should be familiar with Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SSI, SSDI, VA Aid and Attendance amoung other programs. While no attorney will know everything about these programs you should be able to tell how comfortable they are talking about it. Dealing with public benefits is a core part of an elder law practice and is normally a dead ringer for an attorney calling themself an elder law attorney when in fact they do something else. Still there are execeptions such as litigation attorneys who handle matters once they have gone contested will not be as familiar with public benefits.
3. Ask for three representative cases. Note they can not give you names but they should be able to explain how they have helped other clients in similar circumstances.
4. Ask how often they file a case such as yours. There are several attorneys in my area who file one guardianship a year and promote themselves as doing guardianship work. Such a limited practice in guardianship should be disclosed to the client. Note that doesn't mean they are not qualified but wouldn't you want to know that??
5. Ask (or research) what committees they are on or what organizations they belong to. Elder Law has some core organizations such as NAELA or state bar chapters that most elder law attorneys are apart of. Because this area is so broad it is important for people to stay active in these organizations. The more involved they are the more likely they are to know recent changes in the law or what changes are coming.
6. Watch what the attorney talks about. Is the attorney focused on who gets what or is the attorney talking more about care of the parent or ill person. While it is important for an elder law attorney to review prior wills and advance directives they are only doing so to see a pattern as to who the senior trusted. However, even there that can change over time and the attorney should be focused on the recent history.
7. Ask for references from people in the community. When looking at ALFs or skilled nursing facilities ask them who they recommend in the area for elder law. Ask people at the hospital. Consider calling other attorneys not related to elder law or estate work and asking who they recommend.
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