At Borakove Osman LLC, we are deeply committed to providing legal services for seniors and their families. Our attorneys realize that elder planning involves both planning for the golden years of retirement and preparing for potential incapacity and long-term care. Our content is relevant not only for older individuals but for those assisting aging parents and other relatives.
Contact us now for the personal attention and first-rate legal guidance you deserve. Our legal team is perfectly positioned to draft documents customized to meet your unique needs, to help you protect your assets, and to ensure that your wishes about healthcare and wealth distribution are carried out.
Our Elder Planning Services Are Far-Reaching
We will listen carefully to the details of your present circumstances and your goals for the future so that we can present you with appropriate, helpful choices regarding planning for:
- Asset protection
- Healthcare planning with advanced medical directives
- Long-term care planning for assisted living or home health care
- Maintaining eligibility for Medicaid by creating an irrevocable trust
- Establishing other trusts for various purposes (e.g. special needs or spendthrift trusts)
- Creating conservatorships or guardianships if need be
We find that many of our older clients never got around to creating an estate plan or did so long ago and are aware that it has to be updated. Whether you need our assistance to start a new estate plan or to revise your old plan to fit recent events, we are happy to oblige.
Our Dual Perspective on Elder Planning
We know that in most families there are two points of view regarding elder planning — one from the vantage point of the older person who wants to maintain independence but needs increasing assistance, and one from the younger person who is trying hard to provide respect as well as care. Whatever your situation is, our attorneys are well-equipped to help both parties navigate, separately or together.
Foundational Documents for Incapacity
The following documents are fundamental to the process of estate planning, no matter your age. Nonetheless, older adults are statistically more likely to have use of them shortly:
- Durable Power of Attorney: to give a trusted individual the authority to manage financial and legal matters if you become incapacitated
- Health Care Proxy: to appoint a person who will make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to communicate
- Advance Directive (Living Will): to direct medical professionals regarding your wishes concerning end-of-life care, for example, to request or refuse intubation or a feeding tube or request or refuse a DNR (do not resuscitate) order
- HIPAA Release form: to name the family members you want to have access to your private medical information if you are unable to state your wishes
Trusts Can Serve Many Purposes as Part of Elder Planning
During consultations, many of our elder planning clients discover that under their particular circumstances, a trust-based estate plan may have several advantages. For one thing, if you have a high-net-worth and/or complex estate, probate is likely to be time-consuming and costly; putting your assets into a revocable living trust can avoid probate altogether. For another, because probate is a public process, putting your assets in a trust protects your family’s privacy.
Planning for Long-Term Care and Medicaid Eligibility
Although this aspect of elder planning can be uncomfortable to think about, it is critical to protecting yourself and your family — physically, emotionally, and financially. Our compassionate attorneys will streamline the process. With the foundational documents under your belt, however, there are still decisions to be made in terms of the potential need for long-term care.
While some people can afford to pay out-of-pocket for private nursing facilities or full-time home care, most cannot, and Medicare does not cover the exorbitant costs of nursing homes. Our elder care attorneys will discuss possible alternatives and help you decide whether long-term healthcare insurance is right for you or whether you would be better off with a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) to secure your resources while maintaining your eligibility for Medicaid benefits.
It is essential to note that because Medicaid has a five-year lookback policy, MAPT has to be established well before you require this government benefit.
Guardianships/Conservatorships
The attorneys at Borakove Osman LLC also know that under certain circumstances, there is a need to establish guardianship or a conservatorship. Both are designed to protect a vulnerable person (known as the “ward”) who is deemed incapable of navigating life alone by the court and naming a more capable individual to protect them, guide them, and see to their needs.
The difference between the two is that while the conservator manages only finances, the guardian is more involved in the ward’s everyday life. It is not uncommon for one person to take on both roles. If taking such an action becomes necessary, our elder planning attorneys will help you both cope with its legal and emotional aspects.
Contact Our Experienced Elder Planning Attorneys in Madison & Dane County
Whether you are seeking legal counsel in your role as caretaker of an older relative or are looking for an elder planning lawyer to create, update, or revise your current estate plan, the attorneys at Borakove Osman LLC are a wise choice. We have the comprehensive legal knowledge to clarify your options and the skill set, patience, and personal concern to put your mind to rest.
Borakove Osman, LLC is your trusted partner for elder planning and Medicaid planning in Wisconsin. Serving all of Wisconsin, including Madison and Dane County, we are dedicated to providing high-quality legal advice and representation to help you secure your family’s future.