Nowadays people are living for far longer than before and more people are needing attorneys to handle the range of legal matters that can affect older people. If you or your family member or loved one needs an advocate and you need an elder law attorney in New Jersey or Toms River, this article might help you understand what they can help you with and what issues can come up with older people.
What can an elder lawyer help you with?
Any attorney, whether an elder law attorney in Toms River, New Jersey or elsewhere helps in a range of legal issues with older people and also often disabled people. If you are dealing with retirement issues, need help with long term care planning, have issues with health care, Medicare/Medicaid, Social security issues or guardianship queries, an elder lawyer can advise, act for their client and connect their client with other specialists. With a growing older population, there has been an obvious need for lawyers who know specifically about issues related to them. These are not just for longer-term considerations but also can help with day to day problems too. An experienced elder law attorney New Jersey or beyond can make life easier for the elder person involved and for their family and loved ones too.
One of the reasons why clients turn to elder lawyers rather than general ones is the former has more experience not just in the law itself but also in the fact these are sensitive and often emotional times. There can be more challenges. Some specific examples of common work that they are able to help with include;
· Talk about estate planning, any planning that may need to be done for adults with special needs or minors, probate, wills and so on.
· If you want to talk about a power of attorney (“POA”).
· Help clients or family with finding and choosing long term care and the financial side of assisted living.
· Create advanced directives such as a living will and long term planning papers.
· Help clients with Medicare/Medicaid, health care and patient rights.
· Offer help with financial planning, housing, and tax concerns with estates, gifts, and income or retirement.
· Help with choosing and appointing a legal guardian if needed.
· File nursing home claims if needed, and ensure nursing home residents know their rights.
Knowing what lawyer to turn to
If you are looking for an elder law attorney Toms River or anywhere there are some questions you can ask to get a better sense of whether you would feel good working with them. Examples are;
1. If you have a very specific area you need help from a lawyer with, ask them if they have specific experience in that, not all elder attorneys have specialization in every area.
2. Ask how long they have been practicing.
3. How much of their time is spent on elder law work?
4. What information would they want from you at the first meeting?
5. How are the fees worked out? Most attorneys will charge on an hourly basis but some things do have a flat rate charge like the signing and reviewing of documents, and preparing wills for example.