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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ELDER LAW ATTORNEY? 

News and Articles | February 4, 2022


WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ELDER LAW ATTORNEY? 



An Elder Law Attorney is an advocate, magician, and guardian all in one. With
the cost of Long term care on the rise across the country, many elderly face the
question of how to pay for that care. In some parts of the country nursing homes
can cost upwards of $10,000 a month, so you can see where the problem comes in.
There are so many areas of Elder Law an attorney can specialize in, but all are
devoted to helping those most in need in our country. As an example of how an
Elder Law attorney can help, read the following experience of our very own Scott
Solkoff with his client Mrs. Baker.

 

When Mrs. Baker first came to my elder law attorney office, she had been married
to her husband, Joe, for 59 years. They lived their lives together in
Massachusetts and retired to South Florida in 1992. When I came out to greet
Mrs. Baker in the reading room (we don’t have a “waiting” room), her eyes were
puffy, red and she was clutching a wrinkled tissue in one hand. I brought her
back to my office where she immediately related her story to me. Joe is ill and
in a nursing home. Mrs. Baker feels overwhelmed, depressed, guilty, scared and
lonely. On top of it all, she worries about being poor.

 

She goes further to explain that she has guilt and remorse for even talking
about money because, she feels she should be at the nursing home taking care of
what is really important — her husband, Joe. Crying again but trying not to, she
feels embarrassed. I lean in from my desk to convey assurance and help her feel
better. As an Elder Law Attorney, making her feel better is all I really want to
do.

 

It’s overwhelming

She obviously feels overwhelmed with all that is going on in her life. In a
burst, she tells me about the doctor at the nursing home, Joe’s most recent
hospitalization, her daughter’s multiple sclerosis, her son living “back home”
in Massachusetts, the high electric bill because it is so hot, her three CDs
totaling $90,000.00, the stock once worth $140,000.00 but now worth only
$100,000.00. How Joe used to be an important teacher and how good he was to her
and the kids. She is crying off and on. Mrs. Baker reminds me of my grandmother.

 

I’m so glad I can help

I begin by asking her some questions from our elder law intake form. Instead of
having a staff member do this, I do it. These innocuous questions help make
wonderful small talk with my clients. Often, new clients are nervous and scared,
just like Mrs. Baker and it helps calm things down. As Mrs. Baker and I talk, I
write down some notes of my impressions and the answers to the questions using
her own words wherever possible.

 

Elder Law Attorneys talk about the details

Mrs. Baker has two children; a daughter named Hillary and a son name Stephen.
Hillary is a “good girl,” suffers from MS and does not “deal well with sad
things.” Hillary calls once each week but Mrs. Baker does not want to “burden
her.” Mrs. Baker last saw Hillary eight months ago. It is hard for Hillary to
travel because of her MS. Stephen is a teacher, having followed in Dad’s
footsteps. Stephen is a big help to Mrs. Baker. He was just down for ten days
and will be returning next month. Because there is no school in summer, Stephen
has some flexibility for the time being.

 

Mrs. Baker feels panic thinking about the expenses. She just paid the nursing
home $5,700.00 for last month alone. “We never spent money like this,” she says.
She tells how she and her husband saved and saved their money; how they never
had two cars, how Joe “taught me how to put money away for later.” She tells me
how Joe does not even recognize her sometimes and she starts crying a lot now.

 

Even though I know I can help Mrs. Baker as her elder law attorney, I feel
frustrated that I cannot do more. I want her to stop crying, to be happy, and to
feel secure again. For strength, I strong-arm my emotions aside and stay with my
lawyerly, authoritative and assuring pose. My deepest wish is for her to
understand that I can help her and that she will feel some precious relief.

 

Elder Law Attorneys provide solutions to lift the weight

“Mrs. Baker, when you leave here today, I want you to leave with a weight taken
off of your shoulders. I cannot fix all of the problems, but I can remove the
money problem from your worries.” She exhales some years of worry and her
shoulders visibly relax.

 

“How?” She is wobbling her head and looks incredulous. Then she adds, “The money
is not important though.” Even in her excitement to maybe have found some help,
she feels guilty that we are talking about “money” when her husband is suffering
so much.

 

“Mrs. Baker,” I continue, “Money buys care. I cannot make your husband all
better. No one can. But what we can do is maximize the use of your savings so
that he — and you — can get better care. We do this through a process of
protecting your savings while accessing any and all benefits that will help you
and your husband.”

 

I am very cool, very assuring. Inside, I want to jump up and hold Mrs. Baker and
cry with her and tell her everything will be alright. But I know that I must
convey detached professionalism so Mrs. Baker feels safe.

 

It’s so much more than the law

I am a healer at heart. My undergraduate degree is in religion. I had once
planned to go into the clergy. I satisfy this need now by being an Elder Law
Attorney and by doing magic shows. Magic makes people feel good and is a lot
easier than Elder Law but I have learned that being a magician and being an
Elder Law Attorney take very similar skills. My clients and friends kid me by
saying that in one act, I make handkerchiefs disappear and in another act, I
make assets disappear. I think this is funny too but it also makes me feel
uncomfortable.

 

Some people do not understand what I do as an Elder Law Attorney. Some people
think that Medicaid planning means taking rich people and putting them on the
public dole. This is not true.

 

Mrs.Baker is a composite of my average elder law client. Middle to upper
middle-class families who’ve dutifully saved for retirement only to be beaned by
a long-term care system that has spiraled out of control. What the government
wants is for Mrs. Baker to “spend down” the family savings and then, when there
is little or nothing left, Medicaid will help pay for the nursing home. The
problem, of course, is that Mrs. Baker then has little or nothing left to pay
for those things that Medicaid will not cover. All of their efforts in saving
for a lifetime mean nothing. They get no benefit from having saved. Indeed, in
the room right next to Mr. Baker, a lady who never saved a penny is receiving
the same care on Medicaid.

 

Planning makes all the difference

Through proper elder law planning, I know I can show Mrs. Baker how to protect
all or most of the family savings. I can show Mrs. Baker how she can qualify Mr.
Baker for Medicaid while still getting the benefit of their savings. By using
their own dollars and the government’s dollars, Mr. Baker (and Mrs. Baker) will
be able to afford more and better care. This can make all the difference.

 

The New York Court of Appeals (NY’s highest court) put it well when they held
that, “No agency of the government has any right to complain about, the fact
that, middle-class people confronted with desperate circumstances choose,
voluntarily, to inflict poverty upon themselves, when it is the government
itself, which has established the rule, that poverty is a prerequisite to the
receipt of government assistance, in the defraying of the costs of ruinously
expensive, but absolutely essential, medical treatment.”

 

Peace of mind is possible

Mrs. Baker is every client who has walked into my office full of grief, guilt
and fear.

 

For the individual person who comes to me, Medicaid planning can mean the
difference between that person’s (or their loved one’s) life and death and it
almost always means a higher quality of life for one’s last weeks, months or
years. With each individual person or family who comes into my office, I can
care only about them and making things better. I know that more money means more
care. An elder law attorney, I can show my clients how to protect their savings
and access Medicaid to get better care. Most importantly, what I am doing is not
only legal, but is morally just.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Baker worked hard for their money. They helped to build this
country. Whether we serve as Elder Law Attorneys, guardians or in another
helping capacity, we should feel good about doing all we can to make Mr. and
Mrs. Baker’s lives better. That is what gives me pleasure and I hope you can and
do feel the same.

 

The above was only one example of our motto “to do well by doing good”. We see
many attorneys who have made the switch get this feeling. Attorneys, who at one
time, were getting tired of the practice of law. Now, they feel like they’re
making a difference in their community and those in need. 

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