protect your assets

ALS is a costly disease, standard health insurance and Medicare will not give you all you need. It is critical that families protect their assets by seeing an Elder Law Attorney specializing in Medicaid Law & Trust protection upon diagnosis.

PROTECT YOUR ASSETS
  • It is critical that families protect their assets by seeing an Elder Law Attorney that specializes in Medicaid Law and Trust protection. Do not assume you will not qualify. 
  • You will need caregivers (family, friends, strangers, paid staff).  You can’t do it alone. The care will become 24/7.
  • Do not try to hide your money or give it away prior to sitting down with an attorney, this could hurt you in the long run.
  • Apply for Disability Social Security 
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ATTORNEY
  •  We recommend an attorney that specializes in Elder Law and Medicaid law. This should be their core focus. Your attorney should just not dabble in estate planning. 
  • When you go to their website, you should see that Elder Law, Estate Planning, and Medicaid law is their focus.
  • Ask how many Medicaid applications they write per month, it is critical that they understand how to protect assets while getting you access to Medicaid (not Medicare).
  • Get a referral from someone you know
  • ALS of Utica can recommend attorneys in Oneida / Herkimer counties in NY
  • Meet for an initial consultation (usually free)
  • Bring with you a complete financial statement with you, including all your assets and where they are located. This will make your consultation as useful as possible
  • Find out how much experience they’ve had with issues similar to yours
  • Evaluate their customer service and how quickly they respond. Ask them their time frame in getting back to their clients
  • Check their credentials
  • Take plenty of notes and ask permission to record your consultation so that you can listen again when you get home.
    This is a very difficult time, most attorney should be willing to allow this.  
  • Ensure that your attorney will include a will, health care proxy, and power of attorney in the cost quoted to you.
ESTATE PLANNING GRANT
SERVING ONEIDA AND HERKIMER COUNTIES IN NY

ALS of Utica has partnered with three Elder Law Attorneys and once approved, pays them directly for Estate Planning Services on behalf of our local ALS families.