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Welcome to the Elder Law Center.
BREAKING NEWS
This past week we learned that the Division of Medical Assistance is writing new regulations that will not allow anyone over the age of 65 to transfer their assets to a pooled trust in order to qualify for MassHealth. Read about it in my latest newspaper article by clicking HERE
Summer is over and before you know it, snow will be on the ground. One thing that is still kicking around from this past summer is Governor Deval Patrick's financial attack on nursing home residents. He balanced the budget on the back of elderly and disabled by cutting the monthly personal needs allowance for nursing home residents from $72.80 per month, down to $60 per month. Even though this occurred in early August, regulations have still not been passed to implement this cut. How does he sleep at night??
A husband tells me that the highlight of his wife's nursing home stay is getting her hair done once a week and that $60 a week is not enough to pay for the hairdresser, never mind all the other necessities of life like clothes, telephone and cable. She is lucky because her husband is there to supplement her $60/month allowance. I feel sad for the other nursing home residents who don't have a spouse or other family member to help them out financially.
I was upset and called Governor Patrick. Can you take 5 minutes to call him and tell him how you feel? Give him a call at 888-870-7770. Tell him Ron says hello.
On a happier note, the state has issued is guidlines for the Senior Circuit Breaker Credit. This credit, that I call FREE CASH FOR SENIORS, brought a bunch of phone calls, immediately after being published in my newspaper column that appeared in Burlington and Saugus. Within a week we had filed for over $10,000 in FREE CASH for readers of my newspaper column, and there are still more people coming in. To read about it, click here..
We are a small law firm; 2 lawyers, a paralegal, Josie Chandler, and Moo, our Jack Russell terrier. For the last ten years we have operated as the Elder Law Center. Elder Law is all we do.
In 1998, we liked the name Elder Law Center so much that we trademarked it. Unfortunately, someone has (in spite of my written and telephonic protests) decided to steal the name.
"Elder Law Centers"....Doesn't sound at all like Elder Law Center, does it? Anyways, they ripped off my name. I'm sure they will be honest with you!
Visit them by clicking here:
Cushing & Dolan, AKA Elder Law CenterS
Sorry, I was venting, I don't really want you to visit their site. There's not much information there anyways :(
Back to what we do......We have some clients, that because of the internet, we have never seen; only having communicated by phone or email. But wherever you live, if you have a senior in Massachusetts who needs help, we are here to help.
I have been working on making this web site more user friendly. Let me know if there is some way that I could improve it.
For those of you who are here because you have a loved one who has become ill and needs nursing home placement, I recommend starting by clicking the tab "MassHealth Info" and then going to the "Library" to search for articles that fit your situation.
For those of you who are here to find information on saving your hard earned assets from the costs of a nursing home, you might want to start at "Saving the Home" and then read "MassHealth Info" for background information.
And now a little about who we are.
The Elder Law Center is a Massachusetts community based law firm that specializes in protecting the rights of the elderly who require nursing home placement. Our attorneys assist families by developing plans to protect the families assets and get Medicaid (MassHealth in Massachusetts) coverage as soon as possible. We also provide estate planning and income tax preparation services.
Elder Law Center is the merger of Elder Law lawyers Ronald H. Surabian, CPA, LL.M and Joseph V. Ananian who combined their practices to deliver a comprehensive service of Elder Law, estate planning, accounting and tax to their clients.
