Elder Law

As a senior (or someone who’s helping a senior), you’re faced with a complex set of issues regarding long-term care planning. An Elder Law attorney can help make sense of the confusion you may be feeling by putting together a solid plan to help you avoid costly mistakes and preserve your assets for your benefit while you are still alive. Be sure to visit our YouTube channel. We have many videos that can help answer your elder law questions. 

Benefits of Consulting with a KKC Elder Law Attorney: 

• With proper planning, we seek to maximize the amount of assets that can be sheltered from caregiver costs and related healthcare expenses.
• We may be able to help you protect your assets (home, savings, investments) if you plan ahead.
• You may be able to avoid thousands of dollars of uninsured healthcare costs and caregiver expenses.
• We may be able to increase your chances of a less problematic review of your Medicaid application and approval.
• With sufficient advance planning, we are typically able to use funds in payment of
  our fees that would be paid to a nursing home or spent on in-home caregivers.
• One stop shopping – we can complete your Medicaid application AND handle
  related documents like trusts, living wills, transfer of assets, etc.
• We provide certainty and comfort in a time of crisis, and simplify a complicated process.

KKC Elder Law attorneys, William Dakin and Stephen Sutton, have decades of experience handling the unique legal needs of older clients. Steve holds an L.L.M. in Estate Planning & Elder Law and is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Bill has an L.L.M. in Taxation and is a member of both the Estate and Probate and Elder Law committees of the Connecticut Bar Association. Both are highly qualified to handle the complex financial and legal situations that seniors face in the areas of:

Preservation/Transfer of Assets
KKC Elder Law attorneys work with families to preserve their assets in the face of potentially crippling long-term health care costs. Asset preservation may involve the lifetime transfer of assets to heirs, with proper consideration of income tax, gift tax, and Medicaid (Title XIX) consequences. It may also require the preparation or revision of existing wills, trusts, deeds, or business agreements to reflect changes in circumstances. We prepare the necessary documents to satisfy our clients’ specific goals and handle tax and other reporting requirements.

Long-Term Health Care/Disability Planning 
Our attorneys analyze how best to finance the costs of long-term care while avoiding the financial hardship of the caretaker spouse or other family member. Financing tools such as long-term health care insurance, reverse annuity mortgages, and Medicaid (Title XIX) assistance are explained so clients are fully aware of their options. For more information about long-term health care planning, including information on the differences between Medicare and Medicaid, Medicare and Medicaid Options, Long Term Care Costs, Medicaid Eligibility Rules and Financial Restrictions, and Title 19 Application Process and Advice, watch Attorney Stephen Sutton's webinar video.

Medicaid (Title XIX) Application
We guide families through the often confusing and difficult process of applying for governmental assistance to help with the costs of uninsured medical care, including in-home caregiver costs and nursing home care. We help you structure your estate in a way that will ensure the best care for the best price. We can also increase your chances of Medicaid application approval due to our familiarity with the rules and issues surrounding the application and eligibility process. And while Medicaid specialists and nursing homes can also assist with a Medicaid application, they are not motivated to identify planning options to maximize the amount of assets that can be sheltered. Also, they are unable to provide other necessary components such as a trust, living will, and transfer of assets. Additionally, if we are able to accelerate eligibility, that time saving will usually result in savings sufficient to cover our fee (from funds that would be paid to a nursing home). If you’ve received a denial of assistance, we can represent you in administrative and Superior Court appeals to ensure you receive the federal and state benefits to which you’re entitled. For more information, watch Attorney Poirier's "Facts in 5" video on Medicaid Rules for Eligibility.

Planning for Future Incapacity 
Our attorneys advise clients concerned with the possibility that they may become incapable of handling their own affairs at some point in the future. Through the use of trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives such as living wills and designations of health care agents and conservators, our clients can achieve peace of mind, knowing that individuals whom they trust will be able to act for them should they become unable to act for themselves. For more information about incapacity planning documents, watch Attorney Allison Poirier's webinar.

If you anticipate a need for long term care for yourself or a loved one, if you have questions about eligibility of government benefits, or if you’re getting worried that you can no longer handle your finances or affairs on your own, now is the time to contact one of the Elder Law attorneys at Kahan Kerensky Capossela. Hiring an Elder Law attorney and planning for your future can provide peace of mind, allowing you to enjoy life to the fullest now. Fill out this questionnaire and call our Estate Planning Coordinator, Eva Holmes, at 860-812-1749 to schedule your Elder Law consultation. Completed forms can be faxed to Eva at 860-647-8302 or mailed to 45 Hartford Turnpike, P.O. Box 3811, Vernon, CT 06066. 

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