CELA vs Specialist Attorney

We didn't use a CELA. We used an Elder Law Attorney and are happy with what he did. Find someone who understands assets to qualify for Medicaid. Insurance or Medicare doesn't pay for long term care. Only Medicaid and there are asset & financial requirements. Long term care is very expensive. We don't have to worry about that thank goodness.

I did use a CELA and feel you still have to interview and research who you work with.....the first person I visited was CELA but told me "go back to the atty who made your first will (20 years ago, not CELA), he can help you." The second was a Certified Elder Attorney but he didn't handle any Medicaid issues. The third person was CELA and did pretty good......BUT....I didn't feel I got thorough answers to my questions and --most importantly--there are some problems that could have been figured out prior to paying for the Trust, which I may not end up using!

I went to CELA with the idea of shielding some assets for Medicaid eligibility. If you have some assets/financial investments, it would be advisable to include the financial advisor to find out if any investments have particular requirements. Make sure the FA is aware of the alz diagnosis for spouse and get the CELA and FA to talk about what assets qualify or not. I arranged the conversation but still didn't get 100% what I wanted, on top of being disappointed about the communication. We did get updated will, POAs, etc, so most of what I needed is done and the rest is in process, but Medicaid is off the table.

it's because my husband is a disabled veteran and the VA is helping us. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for them.