Articles by Atty Hooker

If you have spent any time in the court system you know that it is a hugely inefficient, time consuming and costly proposition. It doesn’t matter whether it is housing court, criminal court, district court or state or Federal court. It is often “hurry up and wait”. My elder law practice therefore devotes a fair degree of time and effort into avoiding court. The relevant court in my field is Hampshire Probate which recently moved from next to the Calvin Theatre to down near the Exit 18 ramp where the Clarion Hotel used to be.

Many of you may know that Medicare does not pay for long term care costs. It only pays for short term rehab. What about Medicaid aka Masshealth? That agency only pays for your care if you are single, have less than $2,000 and have not made substantial gifts during the preceding five years. If you are married, Medicaid allows the spouse in the home to retain a house and up to $126,000 in savings. Everything above that (including your condo on the Cape) is exposed to care costs.

For those of you who have read past columns, you know that a Power of Attorney authorizing a person to manage your money while you are alive is often more important than signing a Will.

A wise person once said, “he who represents himself has a fool for a client”. For estate planning? Yes. There are exceptions where the elder’s situation is so simple that she can get by without an attorney and create her own “estate plan”.