Elder Care lawyer-What to ask

Cas Sister

Could you please share with me what questions you would ask of a certified elder care lawyer. I am meeting one on Jan. 15th re: my sister who has Alz. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions/advice.

SusanB-dil

Hi Cas Sister -

I've not dealt with one myself, but I did find an interesting article: Some of the questions don't apply, but some did. There was also a warning about one attorney jumping into too much info too quickly. One question that certainly comes to mind is how to best protect her assets.

https://conaelderlaw.com/top-10-questions-to-ask-an-elder-law-attorney/

https://solkoff.com/elder-law-lawyer-questions/

Jeanne C.

So glad you are doing this!

I would ask:

What documents they recommend for her situation (will, trust, dpoa. Med poa, HIPAA release)

How they can help protect assets and/or help get her qualified for Medicaid (if that's a goal) - ask them to explain the process and rules in your state

How they gently work with a person with dementia to guide you both through the process

How are the fees structured (in our case it was a flat fee that went into escrow and cleared to the firm as each milestone was met - it was all clearly spelled out with itemized accounting provided and NO SURPRISES)

You should also get a feel for how they work. Ours was very transparent and encouraged us to bring our support network into the conversation (even zoomed in our backup POAs so they could ask questions).

All the best to you as you go through this process. You're doing a good thing for your sister.