Elder Needs Law, PLLC is a distinguished Florida-based law firm specializing in elder law, Medicaid planning, and estate planning. Led by Board-Certified Elder Law Attorney Jason Neufeld, the firm stands out for its deep expertise in helping families protect their assets, plan for long-term care, and secure their legacies. With multiple offices across the state and recognition as the Best Elder Law Firm by Best of Miami-Dade, the firm is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate legal guidance.
The firm takes a client-centered approach, focusing on the unique needs of seniors, individuals with special needs, and families navigating complex legal and financial decisions. Jason Neufeld’s role as an educator for other attorneys underscores the firm’s commitment to excellence and up-to-date knowledge in Medicaid and estate law. Their services are tailored to clients throughout Florida, with Spanish-speaking services available, ensuring accessibility and personalized support for diverse communities.
Services Offered
- Medicaid eligibility assessment
- Understanding income and asset limits for Medicaid
- Navigating state-specific Medicaid requirements
- Assessing countable and exempt assets
- Determining eligibility for specific Medicaid programs
- Medicaid preservation strategies
- Utilizing trusts for Medicaid planning
- Converting countable assets to exempt assets
- Gifting assets within Medicaid guidelines
- Planning for the Medicaid look-back period
- Income and resource planning
- Income trusts and Qualified Income Trusts (QITs)
- Strategies for reducing countable income
- Understanding the treatment of resources in Medicaid planning
- Spousal impoverishment protection and asset transfers
- Medicaid trusts
- Establishing irrevocable Medicaid trusts
- Choosing appropriate assets to fund the trust
- Selecting trustees and understanding their duties
- Monitoring the trust and adhering to Medicaid regulations
- Medicaid spend-down planning
- Identifying allowable spend-down expenses
- Prepaying funeral and burial expenses
- Using excess income for medical expenses
- Navigating spend-down rules and avoiding penalties
- Wills and trusts
- Drafting and updating wills
- Establishing revocable and irrevocable trusts
- Testamentary trusts and special needs trusts
- Trust administration and management
- Beneficiary designations
- Naming beneficiaries for life insurance policies
- Designating retirement account beneficiaries
- Updating beneficiary information after life events
- Contingent beneficiaries and per stirpes designations
- Power of attorney
- Durable power of attorney for financial matters
- Limited or special power of attorney
- Springing power of attorney
- Choosing the right agent and understanding their responsibilities
- Advanced healthcare directives
- Living wills and end-of-life care preferences
- Healthcare power of attorney
- Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders
- Organ donation and anatomical gifts
- Tax planning and strategies
- Estate and gift tax exemptions
- Generation-skipping transfer tax planning
- Charitable giving and tax deductions
- Strategies for minimizing tax liability and maximizing wealth transfer
- Probate process and court proceedings
- Understanding the probate process timeline
- Navigating probate court requirements and procedures
- Simplified probate procedures for small estates
- Avoiding probate through estate planning tools
- Executor responsibilities and duties
- Appointment and qualifications of an executor
- Estate inventory and asset identification
- Managing estate debts and expenses
- Executor compensation and potential liabilities
- Creditor claims and estate debts
- Notification of creditors and publication requirements
- Reviewing and prioritizing creditor claims
- Settling valid claims and disputing invalid claims
- Handling insolvent estates and priority of payments
- Estate and inheritance taxes
- Filing estate tax returns and paying taxes owed
- Understanding state-specific inheritance tax laws
- Tax deductions and exemptions for estates
- Strategies for minimizing tax liability
- Distribution of assets to beneficiaries
- Interpreting will provisions and trust agreements
- Resolving disputes among beneficiaries
- Managing assets during the probate process
- Final accounting and closing the estate
- Special needs planning
- Special needs trusts
- Establishing first-party special needs trusts
- Setting up third-party special needs trusts
- Pooled special needs trusts
- Trust administration and management
- Government benefits eligibility
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) planning
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) planning
- Medicaid benefits for special needs individuals
- Understanding eligibility criteria and application processes
- Guardianship and alternatives
- Legal guardianship for special needs adults
- Supported decision-making agreements
- Power of attorney and healthcare directives
- Conservatorship for financial management
- Education and transition planning
- Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning and advocacy
- Section 504 plans for accommodations in schools
- Transitioning from school to adulthood: Vocational and life skills training
- Post-secondary education options and financial assistance
- Housing and residential support
- Accessible and inclusive housing options
- Group home and assisted living considerations
- Home modifications for safety and independence
- Community resources and support networks
- Long-term care planning
- Long-term care insurance
- Evaluating the need for long-term care insurance
- Understanding policy options and coverage levels
- Comparing insurance providers and premiums
- Incorporating long-term care insurance into your estate plan
- Government benefits for long-term care
- Medicare coverage for skilled nursing and home health care
- Medicaid planning and eligibility for long-term care services
- Veterans’ benefits for long-term care, including Aid and Attendance
- Navigating application processes and maximizing benefits
- Housing options and care settings
- In-home care services and considerations
- Assisted living facilities: Services, costs, and selection criteria
- Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities: What to expect
- Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and their unique features
- Legal documents and advance directives
- Durable power of attorney for health care and financial matters
- Living wills and end-of-life care preferences
- HIPAA authorizations for access to medical information
- Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
- Family caregiving and support
- Assessing the role of family caregivers in long-term care planning
- Balancing caregiving responsibilities with personal and professional commitments
- Navigating the emotional challenges of long-term care decisions
- Accessing resources and support networks for caregivers
- Trust administration
- Initiating the estate administration process
- Probate court proceedings and documentation
- Appointment of the executor or personal representative
- Obtaining letters testamentary or letters of administration
- Notifying beneficiaries and relevant parties
- Estate inventory and asset management
- Identifying, locating, and valuing estate assets
- Safeguarding and managing assets during administration
- Addressing jointly-owned assets and beneficiary designations
- Liquidating assets, if necessary, to cover estate expenses
- Handling debts, taxes, and expenses
- Notifying creditors and processing claims against the estate
- Settling valid debts and disputing invalid claims
- Preparing and filing estate tax returns
- Paying administrative expenses and executor compensation
- Distribution of assets to beneficiaries
- Interpreting will provisions and trust agreements
- Resolving disputes among beneficiaries
- Transferring assets and distributing bequests
- Preparing and providing accounting to beneficiaries
- Closing the estate
- Ensuring all debts, taxes, and expenses have been paid
- Filing final accounting with the probate court
- Obtaining court approval for estate distributions
- Releasing executor from their duties and discharging the estate
- Guardianship
- Guardianship for minor children
- Naming a guardian in your will
- Factors to consider when choosing a guardian
- Guardianship nomination process and court approval
- Responsibilities of the guardian toward minor children
- Guardianship for special needs individuals
- Assessing the need for guardianship in estate planning
- Establishing a guardianship as part of a special needs trust
- Coordinating guardianship with government benefits and support services
- Balancing independence and protection for special needs beneficiaries
- Guardianship and conservatorship for incapacitated adults
- Determining the need for a guardian or conservator
- Petitioning the court for appointment of a guardian or conservator
- Understanding the rights and responsibilities of a guardian or conservator
- Monitoring the well-being and financial management of the protected person
- Alternatives to guardianship in estate planning
- Durable power of attorney for financial matters
- Healthcare power of attorney and advanced healthcare directives
- Supported decision-making agreements
- Joint bank accounts and other financial management tools
- Ending or modifying a guardianship
- Periodic review and reporting to the court
- Petitioning the court for termination or modification of guardianship
- Successor guardians and temporary guardians
- Guardianship disputes and resolution
- Life care planning
- Medicare and life insurance guidance
Serving clients throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hernando, Hillsborough, and Manatee counties, the firm offers appointments in Aventura, Boca Raton, Plantation, Spring Hill, Miami, Tampa, Brandon, and Lakewood Ranch. Spanish-speaking services are available, and the firm is recognized for its award-winning commitment to legal excellence in elder law.
