Tax & Estate Planning

Trusted Elder Law Attorneys

Elder Law in NJ has become an increasingly popular topic in today’s ever-changing world. Many people are concerned about their loved ones and themselves as they age and are seeking answers to some challenging questions around finances and planning for the future. A professional elder law attorney at Davison Eastman Muñoz Paone is here to assist you in your time of need.

What is Elder Care?

Quite simply, Elder Care is a specialized area of legal practice that focuses on the aging population. Although it is not a specific branch of law, Elder Care as a whole usually contains an affiliation of law experts in multiple categories. These experts help seniors navigate the complex issues and systems involved in the aging process. Elder Care can cover a variety of interests, but usually focuses on concerns facing older adults, such as long-term care planning, navigating Medicare, financial planning for later years and estate planning.

What is the difference between Estate Planning and Elder Care?

The main difference is that Elder Law helps plan and preserve your income and assets while you are still alive. Elder law addresses issues that affect the elderly, their caretakers, and their family. Typical issues that can be covered under Elder Care are health care, estate and financial planning, guardianship, elder abuse and end of life decisions. An Elder Law lawyer can help plan for home care, medical assistance or a financial strategy in case you have to enter a nursing facility. Elder law focuses primarily on senior citizens, but it is important for the entire family to be involved and informed as well.

The main focus of Estate Planning is to determine and implement a plan regarding how your assets will be distributed after you have passed away. A good estate plan will help guard assets and beneficiaries’ inheritances from taxes and also help to avoid the lengthy and complicated probate process.

A good estate plan will make little difference if you fail to consider your particular financial needs and care in aging. That is why Elder Law and Estate Planning go hand-in-in.

What are some of the benefits of working with an Elder Care lawyer?

Many aspects of the aging process can seem overwhelming and complex. A good Elder Law attorney can help simplify things and help create a solid plan for the future. An Elder Law attorney can assist in many ways, with the following being the most common:

• Assistance with health care and planning for the future, including options for long term care, patient rights and power of attorney.
• Assistance with Medicaid planning
• Help with creating a strong power of attorney
• Financial planning, including planning for housing needs such as assisted living
• Complete Estate Planning, such as creating wills and trusts to protect beneficiaries’ inheritances and tax matters
• Assistance creating a living will
• Help with setting up Guardianship (the selection and appointment of a legal guardian)