WHAT EXACTLY IS ELDER LAW?

Larry Deason and Shawn Garner Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorneys in Yuma Arizona

A Closer Look at Elder Law, What Its Issues Are and How They Might One Day Affect You

Copyright 2013. What Exactly is Elder Law? Deason Garner Law Firm 2

“Elder law” is not a single area of the law, like bankruptcy or contracts. Instead , it’s an umbrella term that applies to all the various issues that people most often encounter as they get older.

A lot of retiring baby boomers in Arizona are beginning to realize that many of the issues that

confront people as they age are very different than the issues they had to deal with when

they were younger. Whether it’s deciding how you want to leave an inheritance or coming to

terms with the possibility that you might one day need someone else to care for you, an

elder law attorney is someone who specializes in helping people deal with these types of

issues.

“Elder law” is not a single area of the law, like bankruptcy or contracts. Instead, it’s an

umbrella term that applies to all the various issues that people most often encounter as they

get older. For those who have only recently encountered the term elder law or who don’t

know a lot about it, it can be valuable to learn about what these issues are and how they

might one day affect you.

Incapacity Planning - It’s no secret that

elderly people don’t have the same

abilities they had when they were

younger. Whether an elderly person

needs help performing daily activities,

needs more comprehensive medical

care, or is no longer capable of making

decisions on his or her own, developing

Copyright 2013. What Exactly is Elder Law? Deason Garner Law Firm 3

an incapacity plan to prepare for these possibilities is essential for every capable adult.

Through your incapacity plan you can delegate your decision-making abilities to others

through powers of attorney, as well as develop other tools, such as trusts, that will ensure

your affairs are properly cared for if you experience a decline in health or ability. Also, you

can create advance medical directives that allow you to express your medical choices in

advance of you becoming hospitalized and incapacitated. Should you lose your ability to

communicate, your doctors will rely on your advance directive to determine what your

medical wishes are.

Guardianships - If an elderly person has already lost his or her ability to make decisions, it

falls to the family to decide what to do next. In many situations a family member will ask an

Arizona probate court to name a guardian. A guardian has the legal authority to look after the

incapacitated adult’s affairs. Going to probate court and asking the court to name the

guardian is something people can avoid doing if they have a proper incapacity plan in place.

Inheritance Planning - A lot of people want to

leave inheritances to their children,

grandchildren, relatives, or even charities, but

they are unsure of the best way to go about

doing it. Inheritance planning involves

evaluating your desires in light of the law and

creating a plan that helps you meet your goals.

Whether you create a will, various types of

trusts, or use other available tools, inheritance plans are something you can create well in

advance of becoming elderly.

Copyright 2013. What Exactly is Elder Law? Deason Garner Law Firm 4

Estate Planning - Inheritance planning is a part of a broader category known as estate

planning. Your estate is everything you leave behind you after you die, and estate planning is

simply taking steps in preparation of what happens to your estate after you’re gone. When

you create an estate plan, you and your estate planning lawyer will evaluate how much

property you have, whether any estate taxes might apply to your estate, what your individual

goals are, and what steps you need to take to ensure you wishes are met after you die.

Probate - Once a person dies and leaves behind an estate, that estate has to go through the

probate process. This process is sometimes time-consuming and often costly, but it’s also

necessary when someone dies leaving behind property. Elder law attorneys commonly help

people who have had an elderly family member die leaving behind an estate but no estate

plan. On the other hand, acting soon and developing an estate plan that allows your estate to

avoid probate is also something an elder law attorney can help you do.

Long-Term Care Planning - Many elderly people

will have to transfer into a nursing home or

require some type of long-term care. Determining

the appropriate level of care, as well as planning

on paying for it, is something elder law attorneys

commonly help their clients with. For example, if

you are a veteran, you could have several options

available to you when it comes to planning on

long-term care. Other elderly people choose to create Medicaid plans that help them be able

to use the government program to pay for long-term care costs. Still others choose to pursue

Copyright 2013. What Exactly is Elder Law? Deason Garner Law Firm 5

private long-term care insurance as a way to ensure their needs will be met should they ever

have to transfer into a nursing home environment.

Elder abuse - If you are an elderly person who has been subject to psychological, physical, or

financial abuse, an elder attorney can help you. If, for example, you or a loved one has

suffered neglect at the hands of a nursing home employee, an elder law attorney will be able

to help you determine what you can do next.

NOT ONLY FOR THE ELDERLY

As you can tell from the legal topics listed above, elder law attorneys don’t only help the

elderly. Creating an estate or incapacity plan is something that every capable adult needs

to do as soon as possible. Even though it’s usually only elderly people who have to deal

with these types of issues, they can affect anyone. It’s especially important to be

prepared if, for example, you are a new parent and want to protect against the possibility

that you might one day become injured or die prematurely.

INDIVIDUAL CONCERNS AND OPTIONS

Taking the time to consult with an elder law attorney before you experience a problem or

emergency is the best way to make sure you are prepared for the future. Regardless of

what your own personal situation is, what your desires are, and what you believe, you

need to talk to an elder law attorney for legal advice instead of relying on advice from

friends or information you find on the Internet. Calling an elder law attorney and

scheduling an appointment to get a better idea of what you could face in the future is

something you need to do sooner rather than later.

Copyright 2013. What Exactly is Elder Law? Deason Garner Law Firm 6

About the Authors

Larry Deason and his staff have been providing quality legal services for clients since 1971. Their mission is to assist people who are concerned about protecting their families from the devastating legal and financial impacts of disability, death, and taxes. Because he believes in the importance of an informed public, Deason spends considerable time educating consumers about Estate Planning issues. He writes a monthly Estate Planning column in The Sun, and he regularly conducts seminars on various Estate Planning topics. Deason and his staff believe that in many instances Living Trusts offer clients a proven and powerful tool for protecting their families from the expense and delay of probate, as well as a strategy for eliminating or minimizing federal taxes. Deason’s firm is staffed with paralegals and consultants who are experienced and trained in a variety of Estate Planning areas. The aim of each member of the firm is to help clients accomplish their Estate Planning goals while taking the mystery out of the whole process. We take pride in knowing that our clients feel “peace of mind” once the planning process is completed. In 2008, Mr. Garner began practicing law in Yuma in the fields of commercial litigation and bankruptcy. In 2011, Mr. Garner switched his field of practice to exclusively estate planning because he found it more rewarding to help people avoid the costs and stresses associated with litigation more than trying to resolve disputes through litigation and court intervention

Deason Garner Law Firm 242 West 28th Street, Suite A

Yuma, AZ 85364 Phone: (928) 783-4575

www.DeasonGarnerLaw.com

Larry Deason

Shawn Garner