Attorney

To find an Elder Law Attorney, you have several options. You can get referrals from friends, family members or other attorneys. You can search the yellow pages or other directories.

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) has a 'Locate An Elder Law Attorney' search, which you can limit by state and city of practice.

At some point in every individual's life, he/she will have to deal with legal issues. These can range the gamut from creating and filing a simple will to complex guardianship and probate proceedings. The take-home point is that legal issues can encompass an enormous range of problems, an obtuse legal system and no single answer to any problem.

An advance directive is a means of exercising control of an individual's personal affairs in anticipation of a time when he or she may not be able to communicate them to others. Pre-planning provides individuals with an opportunity to record personal wishes for and can help to alleviate family and loved ones' concerns over what care is appropriate. Adopting one or more advance directives can help to preserve a person's autonomy, as well as possibly eliminating the need for legal intervention should the person become physically or mentally incapacitated.