Guardianship and Conservatorship Elder Law and Estate Planning Lawyers

For more information about a practice area, click on the heading.

Guardianships and Conservatorships

Guardianship and Conservatorship are legal tools that allow a third party (such as a family member) to manage the affairs of an individual who is not legally competent to manage his or her own affairs. The Boston elder law attorneys at Blake & Associates can help you and your family choose the right tool for your family and your particular situation. We also explain the new guardianship code and how it affects what a guardian can do. If an incapacitated person takes antipsychotic medication, our lawyers can assist you in preparing the annual review that is required for Rogers guardianships

Estate Planning

Our Boston lawyers provide estate planning services for individuals and families of all income levels. Whether you are seeking legal services for simple will preparation or you have significant assets you want to preserve, our Boston estate planning attorneys can help.

Elder Law

The term Elder Law covers a range of legal issues that affect those with diminished capacity, including the elder person, as well as his or her family. Many of our clients are looking for knowledgeable lawyers to help them understand Medicaid spend-down requirements and do Medicaid planning. Our lawyers also assist clients in the areas of decision-making and long-term care planning.

Mass Health Medicaid Planning

Medicaid, known as Mass Health in Massachusetts, is a joint federal/state program that supports the cost of nursing home care for persons who qualify. Planning for Mass Health eligibility involves a thorough review of the elder's estate. If your family member has excess assets; to qualify they will need to "spend down" those assets. Strategies such as prepayment of final expenses and, if appropriate, the transfer of assets may be used to help shelter those assets. Our assistance extends beyond planning to the actual application for Medicaid benefits.

Special Needs Trusts

A special needs trust offers a unique opportunity for parents to provide money to a disabled child or grandchild or other relative without causing the disabled relative to lose eligibility for state and federal governmental benefits such as Medicaid. Placing personal assets in a special needs trust can help an elderly or disabled person become eligible for state and federal benefits.

Special needs trusts can also be established by wealthy individuals to provide family members with special needs that do not require public benefits. Such trusts can be used to "encourage" compliance with a treatment regime or other behavior.

Trusts

Our attorneys help clients establish a revocable, irrevocable, testamentary or spendthrift trusts. We explain how a trust can help you protect more of your assets while providing financial support for a family member's health care, education, financial security or cherished cause. Trusts can also be used by individuals with assets to provide a "legacy."

Asset Protection

A multifaceted estate plan can help you protect assets and reduce the amount of taxation your estate is subject to. Our attorneys explain how a trust or gift giving can help you protect more of what you've worked hard to earn and bequeath to your family.

Competency and Capacity

Recent research has found that 70 percent of people in their 80s have some degree of dementia or diminished mental capacity. Many of these elderly persons are living on their own, caring for their own home, handling their own finances and making their own health care decisions. Some of these elderly people are not competent to handle their own affairs and are easy prey for unscrupulous sales people and con men or women. They also are often not taking proper doses of critical medications or visiting doctors as necessary and appropriate.

Mental Health Law

Boston, Massachusetts, mental health law attorney David Blake has been helping persons with mental illness and their families for more than three decades. He brings passion, dedication and commitment to his work. As a family member of a person with a mental illness, Attorney Blake also brings a personal understanding of the challenges families face in seeking what is best for their loved ones.

Durable Powers of Attorney

Powers of Attorney grant decision-making authority for specific types of decisions. A properly executed Durable Power of Attorney will allow a family member to manage financial matters, such as the ability to sign checks, make deposits, pay bills, manage financial and business affairs, conduct retirement planning, sell property, obtain insurance, manage investments and pay taxes. We also include provisions that allow for a HIPAA release in order to ensure an agent has authority to access medical records in a manner that complies with HIPAA requirements.