Experienced Elder Law Attorney in Chesterfield, Missouri
What Is Elder Law?
Elder Law is a growing field of law that deals with the issues faced by the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, the elderly. With the key goal of asset preservation, this area of law combines parts of Veteran's Benefits, Health Care Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Medicare/Medicaid Planning, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Administration, Conservatorship (also called Guardianship), Elder Rights, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
With the proper planning ("getting your ducks in a row") Elder Law allows you to protect your hard earned money from the draining cost of nursing home care, perhaps even allowing you to stay in your home rather than move to a nursing home, without selling your house, without wiping our your life savings, without leaving your spouse penniless, and still leave an inheritance for your children!
Get Your Ducks in a Row
With Vouga Elder Law
For a free initial consultation, contact our office or call us at 636-591-0089
or toll-free at 1-866-625-9657.
What does this mean to me?
Today's seniors are more active and live longer than ever before. That raises a variety of issues that have not been addressed by earlier generations. Older people have always needed Wills and Estate Planning to pass their assets to their beneficiaries. Now that they are living longer, there are more issues about the future care that have to be included in Estate Planning, such as plans for housing, future medical care, and what to do if the person should become incapacitated. One of the most important questions is how to pay for long-term housing, with possibly increasing levels of care, as senior's age. This in turn, is giving rise to a whole new industry of senior living facilities and raises many legal questions about contract rights and the power of facilities to discharge residents. As continuing care becomes more and more expensive, seniors are also in need of information about long-term care insurance and government benefits.
Our Elder Law Practice
Our goal is to give our clients the best financial benefit, the best care benefit, and the peace of mind benefit that their family deserves. We handle a wide range of legal issues affecting men and women as they age, including:
- Estate planning. We will help you establish a plan for the orderly distribution of your assets that helps you preserve the maximum estate for your heirs. We will help you make good decisions about lifetime gifting and implement plans that minimize your exposure to tax liability.
- Housing concerns. We will help you determine the appropriate level of care you need and make good choices about the type of living arrangements you set up, whether it involves assisted living, nursing home care or hospice care.
- Medicaid and long-term care. Whether your health care needs are minimal or you need care for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia, or other mental disability, we will help you locate caregivers and obtain the care you need. We will also assist you in the application process to make certain that you qualify for and obtain any benefits you are entitled to under Medicaid.
- The protection and preservation of assets. We will work closely with you to identify all sources of reimbursement or payment for care, as well as alternative care arrangements, so that you can preserve as much of your personal net worth as possible. We will help you evaluate such tools as long term care insurance, annuities under the Missouri partnership act, and even reverse mortgages, depending on your circumstances. We will also work with you to determine if a personal service contract with your child (paying them to provide care for you) is a good solution for you.
Often, while working with you to most effectively plan for the preservation of assets and the provision of the appropriate level of care, we will find it necessary to bring in the services and expertise of a financial planner. We have strong working relationships with financial planning professionals and can refer you to a highly qualified planner, if necessary to meet your goals.
Contact Us
To set up a free initial consultation, contact us or call us at 636-591-0089 or toll-free at 1-866-625-9657. Our office is open from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and evenings and weekends upon request. We can arrange to meet with you at a location that is convenient for you. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
Vouga Elder Law, LLC2997 Clarkson Road, Suite 120 |  |