Central Washington Elder Law Center - A Division of Greiner Law Offices
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are your Medicaid-related asset protection strategies really "legal and ethical"?
The asset protection strategies that we use are never hidden from the Medicaid caseworker. In fact, every transaction must be detailed on the Medicaid application. We highlight the areas where we have used a legally sanctioned protection to benefit our client. For every highlighted protection that has benefited the client, we cite the legal rule or court case that justifies this protection. It is common that our strategies are approved at the caseworker level because we only deal with strategies that are clearly within the black lines of the law. We are committed to using only strictly legal and ethical protections of the law which are communicated to our clients and to the government officials in a transparent manner. - If you can really do this, how come I have never heard about this before?
It is our experience that even most lawyers do not really know and understand Estate Planning law or Medicaid law. Medicaid Law is a highly specialized area of the law. So it is not surprising that the public--and even well-intentioned and well-educated individuals within the senior services network--are unfamiliar with the concept that there are legal and ethical protections available. In this area of the law there are many well intentioned 'jailhouse lawyers' who think they know the law, but don't really know this area of the law at all. Because the rules change so fast someone who 'has heard of . . .' or 'thinks that . . .' can get into trouble without even knowing it. - I can get forms for some of this off of the internet. Are those forms legal?
We are constantly perusing the legal web sites for two reasons: First, we want to make certain that we are completely up to date on the laws and strategies and if there is something more that we could be doing for our clients, we want to know about it. Secondly, we want to stay competitive in the industry.
We have found that most of the websites will provide legally binding documents. However, in looking at some of the sites, they do not even ask enough questions to properly prepare a Trust or other Plan.
The biggest problem with a Will or a Trust is that you don't know that it has a problem until it is too late to fix the problem. (because you're dead). Since the only way to fix a problem in an estate planning document is to go to court, and since that involves paying a lawyer $250+ per hour, problems can get very expensive very quickly.
Honestly, why not have the peace of mind knowing that the documents were prepared correctly and that no problems will be encountered. - But my caseworker / nursing home intake person / friend / beautician / other advisor has told me rules that are much different than what you are saying. How can you be so sure that you’re right?
Because this is the world that we live inside and specialize in. We spend considerable time to make certain that we are completely up to date on this fast changing area of the law. We are networked with many other elder law attorneys and constantly discuss this specialized area of the law. We will show you chapter and verse that we are right. - How do you calculate your fees?
It is important to understand that our clients really want peace of mind. To help them, we have developed package pricing for our services. We want our clients to know exactly where they stand financially, so we do not bill by the hour. We do not bill for phone calls, faxes, filing fees, and other miscellaneous charges. We will quote you a fee which takes into account the complexity of your case and the value that we are able to provide to you in estate planning or asset protection, or both.
Our fee will cover all expenses of our representation. If you have a very simple case and we are unable to provide you with a substantial benefit, our fee is very low. However, in the event that we are able to provide you with substantial benefits, we will undertake a more sophisticated asset protection strategy and our fee will reflect that greater value being provided.
We do require half of the quoted fee at the time you engage us to work for you. We will accept payment arrangements on the balance, but do charge interest on the deferred amount. - From our first phone call, how long will it take you to tell us if you are able to help us?
This really is one of my favorite questions. We can give you an answer within 24 hours as to whether it's worth your while to make an appointment to see us. Most lawyers have an intake process that assumes that a client can wait two weeks or more and fill out a 23-page questionnaire before the attorneys can begin to determine if they can be of assistance to the client. We have designed our systems with you in mind, so that we can give you a rapid response--because we know that you may be experiencing anxiety, stress, fear, guilt, and uncertainty. - Are you available as a second opinion?
We are so busy helping people that we must focus on our own clients. We are available for second opinions, but there is a $500 fee for that service. For that amount, we may tell you that what you have in place is entirely correct, but we may have other suggestions. - Is the initial telephone call and first appointment free?
We don't charge our clients for telephone calls. The initial appointment typically costs $250.00. In return for that amount we will provide you with all of the answers to your questions and provide an overview of a plan of action, if there are steps that can be taken to solve your problems. In that conversation we will also tell you exactly how much our total charges will be for the work that we provide to carry out the plan of action.
The initial conference fee is always credited against the cost of work that we provide based upon your decision to move forward with the plan of action. So, in reality if you move forward with the plan of action, the appointment is free.
