The legal needs of many older Americans go beyond basic legal services, and they are all interconnected. In addition to understanding the legal issues and complications that older Americans face, older attorneys must also understand the personal issues surrounding their clients—for example, health, financial, and family issues—and how these affect their clients’ legal issues.
The three main areas of focus for older legal attorneys include health care, estate and tax planning, and guardianship issues. More specific areas of expertise include:
The end of life planning. This can extend to planning your health care support system as you age, establishing a power of attorney, creating a will, and other issues surrounding end-of-life care.
Financial Problem. This often includes retirement and financial planning, housing finance, income and property tax planning, and gift tax matters.
Long term care. This can include planning for asset protection, insurance for home care or assistance with activities of daily living, Medicare planning, insurance, Veterans benefits, and more.
Citizen rights issues. This can include any claims you brought while a patient in a nursing home or long-term care facility.
Discrimination issues in the workplace. Older Americans sometimes face age and disability discrimination in the workplace; an older legal attorney can help you plan and execute your case.
Guardianship issues. This may include evasion of guardianship, planning of wills and trusts, planning for the future of children with special needs, probate courts, and other issues surrounding minors or adults.
Owner/tenant law. This can mean handling disputes with landlords, opposing evictions, dealing with foreclosure issues, and more.
Abuse, neglect and fraud. This attorney specializes in cases where older clients are victims. In this case, the attorney can act as a victim’s advocate and help the client be placed in a safer area if needed or obtain redress from the perpetrator.
There are special certifications such as the Certified Elder Lawyers credential from the National Elder Law Foundation. To earn this certification, you must have at least five years of experience in practicing law, and have spent at least sixteen hours per week in the field of elder law for the previous three years, among other qualifications. The inspection process lasts a full day.
An older legal attorney can be a great partner to you as you plan the legal and financial aspects of the next stage in your life—or the lives of a loved one. Ask how long the attorney has been in practice, the percentage of practice he has done in old law, and whether there are any aspects of this field that the attorney specializes in—and you should be able to find the right attorney for you.