West Bloomfield, MI, Elder Law Attorney
West Bloomfield is a great place to raise a family and a great place to retire. Having a comprehensive estate plan in place can help you enjoy your golden years with security and peace of mind.
As you get older, there are many issues you’ll need to resolve that you may never have thought of before. You’ll need to decide how to protect your assets so you can pass them down to your beneficiaries, how to pay for long-term care, how to pick someone who can make decisions for you if you ever become incapacitated, and how to protect yourself from fraud and elder abuse. An experienced elder law firm can help with all these issues. If you have an older loved one and want to ensure their needs are met, an elder law firm can help with that, too.
Bingham Legal Group PC is an elder law firm serving West Bloomfield, Michigan, and other nearby towns. We provide many different elder law services, from estate planning to protection from fraud, abuse, and neglect. If you need help with any elder law issue, contact our team today to discuss your needs and learn about next steps in an initial consultation.
Our Elder Law Services
Many legal matters fall under the broad heading of elder law, which includes any legal issues people face as they age. Bingham Legal Group PC provides many elder law services to clients in West Bloomfield, Michigan, including:
- Estate planning services
- Long-term care planning
- Medicaid and Medicare planning
- Help with Social Security benefits
- Help with veterans’ benefits
- Protection from elder abuse and neglect
- Consumer protection issues
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Medical decision-making
Whether you need elder law services for yourself or someone you love, our attorneys can provide the experienced help you need.
Estate Planning Services
A skilled elder law firm can help you create a comprehensive estate plan, one of the best steps to guard against any contingency as you age. An estate plan typically has several different elements, including:
- A will, which names your heirs and designates a personal representative to administer your estate
- Trusts to hold your assets, provide income, keep your property out of probate, and achieve various other goals
- Powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives to let your family and healthcare providers know what to do if you become incapacitated
Some individuals need a relatively simple estate plan, while others need a more complex plan involving multiple trusts to provide income for different purposes, protect assets from creditors, or preserve access to Medicaid benefits. Talk to our elder law attorneys to find out what kind of estate plan is right for your needs.
Long-Term Care, Medicaid, and Medicare Planning
If you’re living comfortably now, you may not think you need to plan for long-term care. The truth is that most people will need long-term care at some point, and few will be able to afford it without help. Medicare won’t cover your long-term care costs. Medicaid does offer this type of coverage, but only if you qualify.
Unfortunately, qualifying for Medicaid may not be easy for you unless you plan ahead. Medicaid asset limits could prevent you from qualifying for care, and the five-year lookback policy means that you can’t just dispose of assets when you need to apply for benefits.
An elder law firm can help you qualify for Medicaid benefits if you need them, and without needing to lose all the assets you’ve spent a lifetime acquiring. Talk to us about our long-term care planning strategies and what you can do to cover the cost of care.
Help with Social Security and Veterans’ Benefits
When it’s time for you to apply for Social Security and veterans’ benefits, an elder law firm can help in several ways:
- We can explain the eligibility rules and tell you whether you will likely qualify for benefits
- We can tell you about strategies that can help you maximize your benefits
- We can help you fill out your application
- We can assist you with appeals if your application is denied
- We can show you how to minimize the taxes you pay on benefits
Protection from Fraud, Elder Abuse, and Neglect
Sadly, older people are often targeted by unscrupulous companies and individuals seeking to defraud, abuse, or neglect them. If you suspect elder abuse, fraud, or neglect, you should report your suspicions immediately and then contact an elder law attorney to pursue damages. We can help ensure that the mistreatment of your loved one stops immediately, and we can fight for compensation from the parties liable for the abuse. Cases we can help with include consumer protection lawsuits and lawsuits arising from abuse and neglect by caregivers.
Your loved one may be able to collect compensation for medical treatment, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and exemplary damages depending on the circumstances. Don’t hesitate to contact our attorneys about any case in which an older or vulnerable person has been mistreated.
Guardianship and Conservatorship
If you become incapacitated due to severe illness or injury, who will be responsible for making your medical and financial decisions? This is a question most people have never given much thought to, but it causes major problems for real families every day.
There are two different ways this question can be answered. If the incapacitated person planned ahead and filled out powers of attorney for finances and healthcare, then their chosen agent will make major decisions for them according to whatever guidance they’ve provided. If there is no plan, their family will have no choice but to petition a court to appoint a guardian and a conservator.
The guardian will be responsible for their personal and medical decisions, while the conservator handles their financial decisions. It’s good to know that a court can appoint someone to resolve the situation, but it’s much better to plan ahead and select your agent for such important decisions. An elder law firm like Bingham Legal Group PC can help.
Contact a Michigan Elder Law Attorney Serving West Bloomfield Today
Don’t wait to contact a local elder law attorney. You may not think you’ll face any elder law issues for a long time, but the truth is that no one knows when they might need our services. The sooner you contact the legal team at Bingham Legal Group PC, the better prepared you’ll be to face whatever comes up.
We can help you with any of the many issues that affect people as they age, from estate planning to preventing abuse and neglect. Elder law is our focus, so our knowledge of the relevant issues is much deeper than it would be if elder law were only one of several services we offer.
Bingham Legal Group PC provides elder law services for individuals and families in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and other nearby communities. We have worked in elder law for a combined total of over 60 years, and we know how to solve just about any elder law problem you may have. If you need help with elder law issues such as estate planning, long-term care planning, probate law, or consumer protection issues, contact Bingham Legal Group PC today to get started with a consultation.