Services
At Madge & Johnson, we focus our practice in estate planning and elder law. We work with adults of all ages, but for seniors we work to address their legal risks due to aging. Having a niche practice allows us to be on top of the latest issues surrounding these areas of practice, which in turn allows us to provide you with current and relevant information to make the best decisions for you, our clients.
Elder Law
We work with seniors to address the changing legal risks unique to aging. This includes alternative decision making if you become incapacitated, asset protection, if you go to a nursing home, or strategies to protect your assets to ensure they go where you want. Whether you need estate planning, special needs planning, assistance applying for Medicaid, protection from elder abuse, or long-term care planning, we can assist you.
Estate Planning
We will create your Last Will and Testament, Durable Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, and HIPAA Authorization and Release. We also draft numerous types of Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts to address your unique goals.
Medicaid
Need assistance applying for Medicaid benefits to pay for long term care? We can help! We prepare long term care Medicaid applications for both nursing homes and client’s receiving services in their homes.
Fiduciary Services
Will serve as a Professional Trustee and/or Personal Representative for clients that don’t have a friend or family member to serve or in circumstances where it may be best to a have Professional Trustee or Executor.
Special Needs Planning
Are you disabled or have a child who is disabled? We create Trusts to protect assets for disabled individuals on social security benefits or for individuals who just need extra protection. We also advise Trustees on how to make distributions to the disabled person so as to preserve their benefits. Disabled persons often qualify for special services and accommodations, we can assist you with identifying services to support you or your family member transition into the best possible environment.
Veterans Benefits Planning
Need assistance figuring out how to qualify for Veterans Benefits? We can help you determine whether you are eligible for benefits and if you are not eligible but could be we will advice you on the necessary steps to become eligible.
Asset Preservation Planning
Want creditor protection? Need assistance protecting assets from divorces or lawsuits brought against your children or from long term care expenses and Medicaid reimbursement for yourself? We can help!
Guardianship / Conservatorship
We can represent you with uncontested Guardianship or Conservatorship matters when a loved one has become incapacitated and does not have a properly drafted Durable Power of Attorney and Healthcare Proxy in place.
Probate
We assist families to navigate the Probate Court system when someone dies with assets in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. The process of filing your recently deceased loved ones Will with the Court. We will assist you in all aspects of Probating the estate and getting the assets distributed in a timely fashion.
Long Term Care Planning
Nursing home care and similar care provided in your home is not paid for by Medicare or similar traditional health insurance. Unless you have long term care insurance, you may be at risk of losing your life savings to the care of yourself in your final yers. This type of care is very expensive. It is not unusual for nursing homes to charge $10,000 – $15,000 per month for this type of care. Not sure how you’ll pay for this care down the road? Want to protect assets? We’ll help you figure out how to pay for your future long-term care needs and the best options for protecting your assets.
Estate Tax Returns / Tax Planning
We prepare estate tax returns after a loved one has died and establish and fund tax trusts. We also assist in the drafting of various Tax Trusts to reduce or eliminate any potential estate tax liability and minimize capital gains taxes.
Overview of Our Process
Many people are intimidated at the thought of doing an estate plan.
Knowing what to expect may help make the process less scary.
There are 5 phases to the estate planning process.
The information collection phase. With good information, we can move to the next phase.
The planning phase. During the planning phase you will meet with one of our attorneys to identify your goals and the risks you may face in achieving your goals.
The document preparation phase. After the documents are prepared and signed by you, we then often need to implement your plan.
During the implementation phase, we instruct you as to what needs to be done to have your new documents work with your existing assets, such as changing ownership and/or beneficiary forms. Once this is all done, you can relax, you have put in place what you need to achieve your individual goals.
Life is not static and things will change. That is why there is a monitoring phase. In this phase you will decide how frequently you want to meet with your attorney to monitor whether your estate plan continues to best reflect your goals and mitigate your risks and whether changes need to be made.
CHOOSING MADGE & JOHNSON FOR YOUR LAW & ESTATE PLANNING NEEDS
JUST MAKES GOOD SENSE.
