Elder Law
Caring for a loved one is a noble and sometimes demanding task. While you support your loved one, let our attorneys support you.
Elder law is an emerging and rapidly growing area of law that focuses on all aspects of planning for, and protecting, the aging population. MBK attorneys have a long history of assisting clients with plans to protect their loved ones and their assets through traditional estate and trust planning. MBK’s Elder Law team takes this history further by prioritizing and planning for the unique challenges that the elderly face, such as nursing home planning, Medicaid planning, and guardianships. Partner, Kris Fendrock, specializes in Elder Law and is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA), a distinction awarded by the National Elder Law Foundation and held by fewer than 70 attorneys in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The elderly and individuals with special needs often require specialized legal advice with matters such as:
- Nursing home and long-term care planning
- Medicaid planning
- Medicare and supplemental health insurance
- Veterans benefits
- Home-based or in-home care
MBK attorneys assist families dealing with these difficult issues and advise them on related considerations that families sometimes overlook. We structure long-term and short-term plans to protect the financial assets of a loved one, often accumulated over a lifetime, when entering a nursing home. We help clients avoid common mistakes, including the unintentional consequences of transferring a family home to children or making a gift to children that causes one or more parents to be ineligible for Medicaid. MBK provides clients with careful guidance to help them avoid these mistakes and ensure that a loved one’s assets and eligibility for public benefits, such as Medicaid, are preserved.
We also counsel families on planning for the possible incapacity of their family member, including assisting with:
- Health Care Powers of Attorney (living will, advance directive)
- Asset or Financial Powers of Attorney
- Guardianships
- Revocable Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts
We regularly handle the administration of complex trusts and estates, including required tax filings. We counsel clients on their duties as a trustee, executor, or personal representative, including the collection and preservation of assets, and the distribution to beneficiaries. We frequently assist families when the state seeks to garnish the assets of a deceased family member who received public benefits during their lifetime through the Pennsylvania Estate Recovery Program.
Thorough estate planning should include a discussion on elder law to allow a family to properly plan for whatever the future may hold. At MBK, we combine our skills in estate planning, tax planning and elder law to formulate client-centered plans that address the concerns of an aging family member, including family unity, asset preservation and optimal tax planning.