Posts filed under 'Elder Law Sites'
May 14th, 2007
David Cutner announces that he and Carole Lamson have formed Lamson & Cutner, P.C., a law firm solely dedicated to providing a lifeline to the elderly and disabled. The firm combines resources of the founding partners’ former firms, and includes four experienced Elder Law attorneys, four experienced paralegals, and support staff.
The Best Elder Law Blog will be operated by Lamson & Cutner, P.C.
The firm’s mission is to dispel the lament “I can’t qualify for Medicaid. I have too much money.” Or, “I have too much income.” The firm’s response is “YES, YOU CAN QUALIFY” for valuable Medicaid and other public benefits with proper planning. If you need home care, or nursing home care, do not let incorrect assumptions about eligibility stand in your way of obtaining benefits. In addition, it is never too late to start planning, even if your needs are urgent and immediate.
Home care, or nursing home care, can be ruinously expensive. You do not have to “spend down” all of your hard-earned life’s savings, or jeopardize your home, in order to qualify for Medicaid. An experienced Elder Law attorney can inform you of your rights, and you can decide whether Medicaid planning is appropriate for you and your family.
At a minimum, Lamson & Cutner, P.C., recommends that the elderly or disabled should consult an experienced Elder Law attorney about creating a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy. These documents are essential for making sure that your wishes concerning your finances and property, and your health care, are carried out.
Look for further discussion about these issues in future postings on The Best Elder Law Blog, and review the firm’s website, www.lamson-cutner.com, for up-to-date information on issues of concern to the elderly and disabled.
November 27th, 2006
Medicaid attorneys and Elder law lawyers at Cutner & Associates, P.C., a New York City based law, announces the launching of its new website, www.elder-law-cutner.com. It is devoted to keeping Senior Citizens, the Disabled and their friends and family members well informed about their rights under Medicaid and options for Long Term Care.
The firm’s new website complements its coverage of Elder Law issues in this Blog; Best Elder Law Blog, www.elder-law-blog.com.
David A. Cutner, the founder, stated that the firm’s primary goal is “to help clients plan and pay for long term care.” He went on to say: “People are living longer today. Many reach a point where they can no longer manage by themselves, or they suffer from a chronic illness or condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Managing the financial and legal issues that arise can become overwhelming for them and their families, and many fear that they will exhaust their life’s savings or lose their home in trying to pay for needed care. An Elder Law attorney can help, and many people will be surprised and comforted to learn that they have very good options.”
Mr. Cutner has practiced law in New York City for over 35 years, both in government and in private practice. He started his own firm in 1984, and it continues to this day as Cutner & Associates, P.C.
Although Mr. Cutner had for years been a litigator and corporate lawyer, taking care of his mother in her old age convinced Mr. Cutner that the elderly and disabled needed good advice and representation as much, if not more, than people in the business sector. He felt that he had a lot to contribute as an attorney for the elderly and disabled, and their families. As a result, Mr. Cutner turned his attention to Elder Law, where the firm now focuses its practice.
The attorneys at Cutner & Associates, P.C., bring to their elderly and disabled clients the same rigorous analytical skills and dedication to the task that their business clients enjoyed. Today, Cutner & Associates can be counted on to develop a comprehensive plan for their clients’ long term care, and then to implement this plan by preparing all of the necessary documents and by representing their clients before the government agencies involved.
The attorneys at Cutner & Associates, P.C., for many years have been consistently rated “AV” by Martindale Hubbell based upon peer reviews. This rating means that “a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence,” and that the lawyer has a very high Ethical Standards rating for “adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.”
Cutner & Associates, P.C., is aware that many clients are rightly concerned about the amount of legal fees they might incur in connection obtaining legal advice and assistance. The firm responds to this concern by providing virtually all of its Elder Law services on a fixed fee basis, and its fee agreements are always set forth clearly in writing. As a result, clients can determine for themselves in advance whether it makes sense for them to proceed with the plan that may be recommended. Cutner & Associates, P.C., believes that clients will find its fees to be very cost-effective.
Cutner & Associates, P.C., invites the elderly or disabled, and their families to review its new website, www.elder-law-cutner.com, for information about Medicaid eligibility and benefits, special needs trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and a variety of other subjects. Contact an understanding and compassionate Elder Law attorney at Cutner & Associates, P.C. for a confidential consultation.
November 18th, 2005
Cutner & Associates, P.C., announces The Best Elder Law Blog. The firm’s Elder Law lawyers have decided to create a web log that will be useful and informative for clients, and for professionals in the field, such as geriatric social workers, nursing home social workers, and hospital workers in charge of patient discharge planning. This will be the place to look first for news and up-to-date information of concern to the elderly or disabled, and to those who care for them, in New York State.
Cutner & Associates is creating The Best Elder Law Blog to provide useful and timely information, because of the complexity of the laws and regulations relating to assistance and benefits for the elderly or disabled, and the confusion and misinformation that exists in this area of law.
New York State’s Medicaid program is an excellent example of this situation. New York runs the most generous Medicaid program in the country. According to a recent article in the New York Times (“At a Bronx Clinic, Hurdles Before Medicaid Care,” October 17, 2005), state officials say that New York spends considerably more per patient, and makes a higher percentage of people eligible, and for more services, than almost every other state in the country.
However, according to this article, more than one-fifth of the people eligible for Medicaid in New York are not enrolled, and 40 to 50 percent lose their coverage yearly, frequently by failing to complete annual renewal forms.
The reason for this: “Too many people who need Medicaid are bewildered by it.” “The detail and complexity [of New York’s basic Medicaid application] can trip up even experienced health care workers.”