Medicaid Planning
Planning for clients who are medically eligible for Medicaid and need to become financially eligible, plus appeals when approved home-care hours are cut.
More on Medicaid Planning →What we do
Seven areas of practice, one continuous problem
Elder law does not divide neatly. A family that comes in about a Medicaid application often needs a power of attorney, may be heading toward a guardianship proceeding, and will eventually need an estate administered. These pages describe each area on its own, but the work is usually connected.
All practice areas
Guardianship
Bringing guardianship petitions for families, and serving in court-appointed roles including Court Evaluator, Guardian and Guardian Ad Litem.
More on Guardianship →Elder Law & Long-Term Care
Long-term planning for how assets are managed during life and passed on afterwards, built around each family's specific goals rather than a template.
More on Elder Law & Long-Term Care →Mediation
Private and court-referred mediation, with a particular focus on trust, estate and Surrogate's Court disputes, an area the large commercial panels largely do not cover.
More on Mediation →Wills, Trusts & Estates
Drafting the documents that carry a plan: wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and the rest of the core estate planning set.
More on Wills, Trusts & Estates →Probate & Estate Administration
Administering an estate after a death: probating a will, or administration where there is no will, plus ongoing representation of executors and trustees.
More on Probate & Estate Administration →Estate Litigation
Contested Surrogate's Court proceedings, benefit appeals and related litigation, where a negotiated resolution has not been possible.
More on Estate Litigation →Where families usually start
If you are not sure which of these applies to your situation, this is the shortest route in.
Nothing has happened yet, but you can see it coming
Start with elder law and long-term care planning. This is the position with the most options available and the least pressure.
Care is needed now and you do not know how to pay for it
Start with Medicaid planning. Crisis planning is narrower than advance planning but rarely as hopeless as families expect.
A parent can no longer make decisions and signed nothing in advance
Start with guardianship, which is the proceeding that exists for exactly that situation.
Someone has died
Start with probate and estate administration, whether or not there was a will.
The family is in conflict
Read both mediation and estate litigation. Which route is appropriate is the first thing worth establishing, and it is not always the one people assume.
Talk to Suzanne about your situation
Most families come to us with a decision that already feels overdue. A first conversation is about understanding where you actually stand and what your options are.