The focus of attorneys that handle wills and trusts has historically been estate planning – preparing for the transfer of the client’s wealth and assets after his or her death. However, with our aging population living longer, the focus has turned from planning for death and wealth transfer to planning for long term care and asset preservation during life. And with the large number of Baby Boomers in our country reaching retirement age, this has become a rapidly growing practice area.
In this introductory CLE course, Richard Scott Stewart discusses the main points of helping clients to plan for long term care and how you can add elder law to an existing estate planning practice. The main topics discussed in this course include the emerging importance of elder law, primary considerations for elder law clients, long term care planning & options, veteran’s benefits and aid & attendance. Mr. Stewart also discusses our rapidly aging population, the similarities and differences between elder law & estate planning, acute vs. custodial care, home based care, Medicaid planning basics, Medicaid planning & estate recovery, Medicare, long-term nursing care, the lookback rules & penalty period, exempt assets, the reverse half loaf, service & non-service benefits for veterans, service dates and the qualifications for veteran’s benefits.
Richard Scott Stewart has concentrated his law practice on solving the legal problems affecting the California senior population. His elder law practice is devoted to estate planning, asset protection and retention, probate, estate administration and settlement and other elder law issues, including benefits retention and acquisition.