Becoming a Paid Family Caregiver

By Colleen D. Bratkovich

Caring for an aging family member or a loved one with disabilities can be both rewarding and challenging. Many families wonder if there are ways to provide this care while receiving compensation for the time, effort, and resources devoted to caregiving. This guide explains the various options available for becoming a paid family caregiver, including private pay arrangements, Medicaid programs, and VA benefits. We'll explore the qualifications, requirements, and important considerations for each option.

Planning for Your Child’s Future: A Special Needs Planning Guide for the High School Transition

By

As your child prepares to transition from high school to adulthood, you will face important legal and financial decisions to protect their future. Whether your child is heading to college, entering a vocational program, moving to supported living, or remaining at home, proper planning now can ensure that they have the resources and support they need throughout their lifetime. This guide addresses the critical legal steps you must take as your child approaches age 18, and how to protect their eligibility for essential government benefits while ensuring they inherit from your estate. The decisions you make now will impact your child for decades to come. Don't wait until it's too late.

Veterans Benefits for Long Term Care

By Colleen D. Bratkovich

If you or a loved one served our country, you may be entitled to a range of valuable benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the major VA benefit programs that can help veterans and their families including VA healthcare services, service-connected disability compensation, pension benefits (including Aid and Attendance), and specialized caregiver support programs. Understanding these benefits and how to access them can make a significant difference in your quality of life and financial security.

The Five-Year Look Back

Understanding Medicaid’s Transfer Penalties, Exceptions & The $500 Rule

By Christine Brown Murphy

A comprehensive guide to one of the most misunderstood laws in the realm of Medicaid. When applying for Medicaid for long term care, families face a critical challenge: the penalty for transfers made for less than fair market value. Many people discover too late that seemingly innocent financial decisions made years earlier—helping a child with a down payment, giving birthday gifts, paying a family member to provide care—can result in months of Medicaid ineligibility exactly when they need coverage most. This book provides a true and complete explanation of the Five Year Look-Back including an in-depth view of the law and proven strategies to preserve your life savings.

Essential Elder Law Planning Guide

Protecting Your Family's Future Through Comprehensive Planning

By Christine Brown Murphy

Long-term care costs can financially devastate even wealthy families. A single year of nursing home care can exceed $160,000. With proper planning, however, you can protect your assets while qualifying for Medicaid benefits if needed. This guide introduces four critical estate and elder law planning documents that form the foundation of comprehensive protection: Irrevocable Asset Protection Trusts, Elder-Focused Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Healthcare Planning Documents.

When a Loved One Passes Away

Navigating the Process of Handling a Decedent’s Estate in Pennsylvania

By Colleen D. Bratkovich

As Elder Law Attorneys, we work with clients in various stages of age and illness progression, including the families of clients after a loved one has passed away. Many times, these family members are concerned with what needs to be done immediately after their loved one’s passing. This booklet lays out the responsibilities of the executor of the estate and also details the first steps to take when a loved one has passed away, including a determination of whether an estate needs to be “opened” on their behalf.

Estate Planning for the Family with Young Children

By Christine Brown Murphy

Many young families often believe that they are too young, too healthy, too poor, or find themselves too busy to create an estate plan. However, none of these could be further from the truth when you have amazing little people who depend on you. Unfortunately, planning for death and disability is an essential part of your family journey. In order to ensure their stability and protection in the face of unimaginable tragedy, a solid estate plan for a young family usually consists of the following: a Last Will & Testament ("Will"), a Durable Power of Attorney ("DPOA"), and a Health Care Durable Power of Attorney & Living Will ("HCPOA"). What is ultimately drafted and included within these documents will determine the level of protection you are creating for your family.

Your Family Protection Plan

A Complete Estate Planning Guide

By Christine Brown Murphy

This publication is intended to give you a broad overview of many of the issues involved in Estate Planning - the essentials. It is not a comprehensive review of everything that you need to know. This publication is not a substitute for legal counsel. Rather, it is intended to supplement your knowledge so that when you are speaking to an estate planning attorney, you have some idea of the issues. By reviewing this document, you will have a better understanding and can do some further inquiry when you meet with your counsel.

Applying for Medicaid

By Carl Zacharia

Almost every person who applies for Medicaid does so without any knowledge of how complex the process is and how the system really works. This book provides you with an eye opening look at how the application process works and walks you through what you need to do to have a successful application experience, including consulting with an experienced elder law attorney.