Elder Law Blog
Helping you face difficult questions and plan
Five Reasons to Protect Your Retirement Accounts Now
Your retirement account provides asset protection during your lifetime, but as soon as you pass that account to a loved one, that protection evaporates. When your spouse, child, or other loved one inherits your retirement account, creditors have the power to seize it...
What are Your Care Options for an Adult with Special Needs?
There are numerous care options available for adults with special needs in California. The options available range from those with special needs who are able to be more independent to those who need advanced medical care. It is important to match the person’s needs...
How a California Elder Law Attorney Can Serve You and Your Loved One
An elder law attorney is an attorney who specializes not in a specific area of the law, but in the legal needs of elderly people, veterans, and adults with special needs. Elder law is a focus that has only been around for about twenty-five years and was born out of...
How Can an Elder Law Attorney Benefit Seniors and Their Loved Ones?
An elder law attorney serves as a legal advocate for aging adults and their loved ones. Elder law encompasses a wide range of legal matters affecting an older or disabled person. Issues related to guardianship, retirement, health care including advance directives,...
Do You or a Loved One Need an Elder Law Attorney?
Whether you seek legal counsel for yourself or a loved one, elder law attorneys have a wide range of expertise and services that you will require at some life stage, whether in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. Actions you take in one part of your life may have unintended...
Why is May Special for California Elder Law Attorneys?
May is National Elder Law Month, as designated by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. It is a way to acknowledge the profession that supports seniors and their families with all of their planning needs.
Should My Aging Loved One Needing Care Live with Me?
Aging in place continues to increase in popularity, but what to do when you notice an older loved one is having trouble living safely at home is an issue many of us face. Troublesome signs like a dirty home in poor repair, unpaid bills, piles of mail, and food out of...
A Story of the Painful Devastation of Parkinson’s Disease
Here is a story that we heard recently that resonates with us as we have clients and our own family members that battle with the effects of Parkinson’s Disease. We are sharing with you to provide more insight into the many challenges Parkinson’s Disease presents for...
How to Prepare for Your Aging Parents’ Care in California
While every situation involving an aging parent is unique, one truism is that preparation is crucial to success. Whether you need basic information about eldercare resources and services, are looking for a local agency to provide those services, or have worries about...
Understanding New Research and Insights on Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a progression of symptoms including, body tremors, limb rigidity, Bradykinesia (slow movement), as well as balance and gait problems. The cause of Parkinson’s disease (“PD”) remains largely unknown. One...
A Step-by-Step Guide to Leaving Your Loved Ones Prepared
Contemplating our own death is one of the hardest challenges we will ever have to face when leaving our loved ones. Yet, if we want our dying to be meaningful and merciful, it is imperative that we think about it while we still can. Most of us want to die at home, in...
What’s the Difference between Estate Planning and Elder Law?
The short answer: Both share similar concerns. The longer answer? The differences make all the difference for elder law and estate planning. The way we explain it to clients is that comparing elder law and estate planning is like comparing a square and a rectangle....
Addressing Finances and Estate Planning with Aging Parents
It is essential that as your parents' age, you have conversations with them about their finances and estate plan. To broach the topic, you might bring up current events like the coronavirus pandemic, its effect on economic conditions, and how it relates to the...
What Property Can Be Placed in My Trust?
There are many benefits to creating a Revocable Living Trust as part of your estate plan, such as the ability to avoid probate and put a quick end to the estate administration process. However, creating a Revocable Living Trust will not automatically accomplish your...
Medi-Cal Matters: Planning for When Your Ill Spouse Leaves Home
You may see it coming: Much as you want to and hard as you try, you just can’t take care of your ill spouse at home anymore. At this emotionally difficult time, the last thing you need is the stress of not knowing where to find the money to pay for the steep costs of...
What Can a California Elder Law Attorney Do for You or a Loved One?
According to the US Census Bureau, more than 51 million Americans are currently aged 65 or older, and the number is steadily increasing while medical and technological advancements are allowing seniors to live longer and better lives than ever before. The expanding...
How to Spot the Early Signs of Dementia During Lockdown
We’re all facing new challenges in lockdown, and one of them is how to help our senior loved ones. We can’t see them as much as we want, even as lockdowns get lifted since they’re still in high-risk groups for succumbing to the virus. Unfortunately, that means we...
Enforcing Social Distancing for Elderly Relatives
With nearly every region in the country living under some type of "stay at home" or "shelter in place" order during the current novel coronavirus pandemic, it can be frustrating trying to adhere to these new rules. It's even more challenging for those of us who are...
Don’t Risk it: Protect Your Finances From Coronavirus Complications
Many Americans spend a lot of time and effort in managing their finances. While most are worried about how the coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact their income—whether that’s because they are temporarily furloughed, find themselves suddenly without a job, or watching...
Important Updates About COVID-19 for Our Clients and Community
We cannot stress enough that our community is our top priority. We remain open (just remotely) and we are here for you, your family, and friends as we all navigate through this pandemic crisis. This is a rapidly evolving situation. Just in the past day there has been...
Orange County Elder Law Attorney on When to Consider Home Health Care for an Elderly Loved One
If you're in a position where it's time to make some decisions about caring for an aging parent or other relative, you may be feeling pretty overwhelmed with all of the available options and whether to consider home health care. Ideally, your elderly parent had the...
Does an Elder Law Attorney Represent the Senior or the Adult Children?
As an Orange County elder law attorney, I often meet senior clients as a result of them coming into our offices with their adult children. When this situation happens, it is the lawyer’s job to recognize the differing needs and rights of both parties. The lawyer must...
Avoiding Burnout as a Caretaker of an Elderly Parent or Relative
Those who care for elderly family members and loved ones face a difficult task, one made even more difficult when they have to care for their own children as well. In this position, caregivers can become exhausted and burnt out. As an...
Finding the Right Elder Law Attorney to Plan for Long-Term Care Needs
The Baby Boomer generation is growing older and beginning to incur the financial costs and strains of aging. Many are caring for their own elderly parents while beginning to recognize long-term care challenges of their own. Boomers are also starting to learn...
Irvine Elder Law Attorneys: 5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Dementia Care Facility
The best time to start making plans for the care of a loved one with dementia is when they first start showing signs of decline. Eventually, they may reach the point where remaining in their home is no longer an option, and it may be necessary for them to be moved to...
Orange County Elder Lawyer on The Importance of Creating Designation Documents When a Parent Has Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, or Other Dementia
OC Elder Lawyer on the Importance of Creating Designation Documents When a Parent Has Dementia
Orange County Elder Law Attorney: When It’s Time to Take the Keys
One of the hardest parts of the aging process can be giving up one’s mobility. At a certain point, it’s just not safe to operate an automobile. Sometimes, it’s hard for seniors to admit this to themselves, and that can leave it up to their adult children to step in...
Approaching the Conversation of Money Management With an Elderly Parent
Click to Listen to the Audio Version Estate Planning attorneys very often find themselves advising adult children of the elderly on the intricacies of managing their parents’ finances. While it may seem straightforward at first, there are a lot of details and...
Before You Hire Before a California Elder Law Attorney…Ask These 10 Questions First!
You could never fit the dreams, goals, and desires of your family into a one-size-fits-all box. Nor can you fully anticipate the unique challenges, changes, and loss you and your loved ones may face ahead. As impossible as it is to predict your future and generalize...
Estate Planning for Military Families and Veterans in California
Although Memorial Day just passed, it is important to honor those that have served our country. This time is also a good opportunity for members of the military and their loved ones to consider setting up an - or revising an existing - estate plan. Military families...
Recent Posts
Be Proactive! Long-term Care Costs are on the Rise in CaliforniaSeptember 29, 2021
Plan Ahead Before a Crisis OccursSeptember 17, 2021
Don’t Make These Mistakes When It Comes to Inheritances and Medi-CalSeptember 15, 2021
Don’t Forget to Plan for Incapacity!September 13, 2021
Considerations for Caregiving from AfarSeptember 8, 2021