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March 2007
  
     


 

"Elder Law" has now been defined as a distinct practice area since approximately 1988.

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), is a national organization of Elder Law Attorneys.

 

What is Elder Law

Elder Law has now been defined as a distinct practice area since approximately 1988. Certainly, the types of problems involved in Elder Law and the solutions for these problems have existed for many years earlier. The development of Elder Law as a distinct area for an attorney's focus resulted from a growing sense that our country's growing, aging population deserved specific attention. Thus, Elder Law is really defined not so much by the problem as the person having the problem - our senior population.

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Even though Elder Law is truly a broad-based "focus" area of law, two specific areas probably predominate in causing persons to seek the assistance of an Elder Law Attorney - estate planning (with an emphasis on incapacity planning as opposed to death planning) and long-term care planning (emphasizing potential qualification for public benefits, when necessary and appropriate). Beyond these two primary concerns, a considerable number of other issues or problems must be included in any consideration of "Elder Law," some of which are listed immediately below:

Health and long-term care planning  
Legal capacity of older persons
Insurance, including long-term care insurance
Housing issues, including discrimination and home equity conversions (e.g., "reverse mortgages")
Age discrimination in employment
Government benefits, including - Medicare, Medicaid, MediCal, Social Security, Social Security Disability (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Retirement issues, including benefits from private and public plans, and distributions from non-qualified plans, such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's)

Estate administration, including trust administrations, probate and alternatives to probate
Court protective proceedings - Conservatorships, Guardianships

How do I know if I need an Elder Law Attorney?

Before contacting an Elder Law Attorney, you may want to consult with a number of individuals or organizations which may render assistance to you. Examples include a friend who experienced the same difficulty, clergy, financial advisor, social worker. In addition, depending on the situation, you may obtain advice from organizations which specialize on a particular area, such as the Alzheimer's Association (national and local chapters), Alzheimer's Aid Society of Northern California, AARP, Del Oro Regional Resource Center, and others.

Once you have determined you likely have a legal problem which requires or could be assisted with legal advice, any of the above sources of assistance may also be able to provide you with a referral to an elder law attorney. While many telephone directories now include listings for attorneys who purport to emphasize "Elder Law," you may also want to seek a referral from a friend or trusted advisor to locate a qualified, experienced Elder Law Attorney.

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), is a national organization of Elder Law Attorneys. Located in Tucson, AZ, NAELA has over 3,000 members throughout the country, with members in all fifty (50) states. Although NAELA does not provide a formal referral service to its members, it does provide useful information about Elder Law in general and about its members. A visit to the NAELA's Web site www.naela.org or a telephone call to its headquarters (520) 881-4005 would be a good place to start in your search for an Elder Law Attorney.


  



Estate planning and long-term care planning are two major reasons to seek assistance from an Elder Law Attorney
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