Like many people, you may have heard the term “elder law” and wondered to what it refers exactly. Clearly, it must refer to legal issues that affect the elderly right? Yes, elder law does involve legal issues of the elderly; however, elder law can affect anyone, not just the elderly. If you are a caregiver, family member, or even just a friend of an older individual, elder law issues may impact your life as well. As such, it may be beneficial for you to have a better understanding of what the area of the law known as elder law actually covers as well as when an elder law attorney might be able to help you and your elderly patient, family member, or friend.
The Need for Elder Law
As we approached the new millennium, the number of older Americans began to increase dramatically. As that occurred, the legal community recognized the need for attorneys who could assist the elderly with their legal problems. In 1988 the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, or NAELA, was created to address the unique issues faced by the elderly segment of the population. Just five years later, the National Elder Law Foundation, or NELF, was formed. The non-profit NELF was created to help improve the professional skills of attorneys who choose to focus on elder law. NELF then developed a national certification program for attorneys as a way to ensure that attorneys had the skills and education necessary to address the legal problems of the elderly. The program is known as the Certified Elder Law Attorney, or CELA, program. The American Bar Association endorsed the certification program the year after the first CELA examination was given in 1994.
What Kind of Legal Matters Do Elder Law Attorneys Handle?
Attorneys who have chosen to focus their practice on elder law issues are a unique breed among lawyers. Unlike other attorney who choose to specialize – for example a criminal law attorney – elder law attorneys do not limit their focus on one specific area of the law (such as criminal law). Instead, an elder law attorney must be well versed in a wide range of areas of the law and how those laws affect the elderly. For instance, and elder law attorney might handle:
- Denial of disability
- Eviction
- Estate planning
- Health insurance issues
- Retirement planning
- Nursing home abuse
- Medicaid planning
- Veteran’s benefits
Each of these issues relates to a different area of the law; however, they may all impact the elderly and those who care for them.
How Can Elder Law Affect You?
In reality, elder law issues can affect all of us – if for no other reason than the simple fact that we will all be elderly at some point. Long before then though, elder law issues may have a significant impact on your life if you are a family member or friend of an elderly individual and/or if you are a caregiver for an elderly individual. You might, for instance, find yourself battling with an insurance company or with the federal government trying to get benefits approved to which your family member is entitled. You could also find yourself trying to help an elderly friend facing an eviction or be advising a patient on nearby nursing homes. The bottom line is that if you have someone who is elderly in your life, the legal issues that he/she faces will almost surely affect you as well. As such, you should make a point of understanding those issues and finding an experienced elder law attorney in your area to help you resolve them.
Finding the Right Elder Law Attorney
Because you have likely never needed an elder law attorney before it may seem like a monumental challenge to find the right one for you and your elderly friend, family member, or patient. Along with asking friends and family members for referrals, the most important thing you can do is to ensure that the attorney you choose has made the choice to focus a significant portion of his/her practice in issues impacting the elderly. An attorney who practices criminal law or business law most of the time will not be the best choice to help with elder law issues.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions about estate planning in the State of North Carolina please contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Robert J. Kulas, P.A. by calling 772-398-0720 to schedule an appointment.
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