Elder Law Attorney in Scranton

The Core Pillars of Effective Elder Law Planning

Elder law is a specialized area focused on the unique legal, financial, and healthcare challenges faced by seniors and their families. Our firm focuses on three foundational areas to secure and protect your later years.

1. Long-Term Care and Medicaid Planning

The largest threat to your financial independence is the cost of long-term care. Medicare does not cover extended nursing home stays, making Pennsylvania's Medicaid program (known as Medical Assistance or MA) the primary resource for financing this care.

• The Look-Back Period: Medicaid requires a financial review of all asset transfers made within the five years preceding the application date. Any uncompensated transfer or gift during this "look-back" period will result in a penalty period of ineligibility.
• Asset Protection Strategies: We help you structure your finances through legal mechanisms, such as irrevocable trusts, to protect your savings from being counted as available assets, allowing you to qualify for Medical Assistance while legally preserving the maximum amount of wealth.
• Spousal Protection (CSRA): For married couples, we employ strategies to protect the spouse remaining at home (the "community spouse") from impoverishment by maximizing the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA), which allows them to keep a significant portion of the couple's combined assets.

2. Legal Capacity and Advance Directives

Effective elder law ensures that someone you trust can manage your affairs if you become incapacitated due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline. This is crucial for avoiding costly and invasive court-supervised guardianship proceedings.

• Durable Financial Power of Attorney (POA): This document grants a trusted Agent the legal authority to manage your finances, pay bills, handle investments, and pursue Medicaid planning steps on your behalf.
• Advance Healthcare Directive: This typically includes a Healthcare Power of Attorney (naming an Agent to make medical decisions) and a Living Will (stating your end-of-life treatment preferences, such as the use of life-sustaining procedures).

3. Estate Planning and Administration

While traditional estate planning focuses on death, elder law planning uses these tools for lifetime protection.

• Wills and Trusts: We draft Wills, and often specialized trusts (like irrevocable or Special Needs Trusts), to ensure your assets transfer efficiently to your beneficiaries while minimizing tax liability and protecting vulnerable heirs.
• Veterans Benefits: We assist qualifying veterans and their spouses in applying for the Aid and Attendance benefit to help pay for long-term care, often coordinating this benefit with a larger Medicaid plan.

Elder Law Services for Individuals & Families in Scranton

Our elder law attorneys in Scranton assist with a broad range of needs that help protect you and your loved ones. Here are some ways we support families throughout the area:

• Estate & asset planning: Strategies to help preserve family assets while meeting current and future needs.
• Long-term care arrangements: Advice on planning for nursing home care, in-home care, and Medicaid eligibility based on Pennsylvania laws.
• Trusts, wills & powers of attorney: Preparation and review of documents tailored to your wishes and requirements.
• Guardianship concerns: Guidance for families when a loved one may no longer be able to make decisions independently.
• Navigating state & local regulations: Counsel on the unique procedures in Lackawanna County and the greater Scranton area.

Living in Scranton also means certain timelines or agency requirements might differ. We explain how county probate court or regional government practices may affect your planning process, so there are no surprises along the way. Our elder law attorneys draw on long-standing knowledge of the area to ensure you feel prepared at every stage.

Why Expert Counsel is Necessary to Navigate Medicaid

The Medicaid rules in Pennsylvania are a minefield of complex, ever-changing federal and state regulations. Trying to "DIY" your planning is almost guaranteed to result in a costly denial or unnecessary depletion of assets.

As your dedicated Scranton elder lawyer, we provide the following:

• Crisis Planning: If a loved one suddenly requires nursing home care and no prior planning was done, we immediately intervene to implement legal strategies—such as promissory notes, gifting, and immediate annuity purchases—to achieve eligibility quickly while preserving the maximum amount of assets possible.
• Application Assistance: The Medical Assistance application process requires hundreds of pages of documentation. We manage the entire application and audit process, ensuring all financial disclosures are accurate to avoid triggering a penalty period.
• Appeals: If your Medicaid application has been denied, we aggressively represent you in fair hearings and administrative appeals to overturn an incorrect eligibility determination.