Championing for the rights of the elderly and disabled.
Osborne & Osborne, P.A., prides itself on its dedication to Florida elder law. The term “Florida elder law” is a bit of a misnomer. While at its core, “elder law” refers to any area of law of concern to individuals as they age, such as long-term care planning, Medicare benefits, nursing home and assisted-living facility rights, and eligibility for available financial benefits for long-term care (including eligibility for Medicaid and Veteran’s Administration benefits), most Florida elder law attorneys also address the unique issues surrounding disabled individuals, including minor children.
Our attorneys analyze an individual’s unique needs in the context of their family circumstance and utilize various legal techniques to protect and preserve assets while ensuring that the individual requiring care maintains a quality standard of living in the most appropriate long-term living arrangement, which includes home-based care as a primary option if medically advisable. Should placement in a facility be advisable, we aid in the transition to the facility to make this process as stress-free as possible. We are strong advocates for our clients who reside in facilities and their families, and we are available to participate in care plans for our clients and their families in order to ensure that an individual’s personal needs and preferences are accommodated to the greatest extent possible.
Planning for individuals with special needs is also one of our core practice areas. We recognize the unique difficulties that families with special needs individuals confront, and we understand the emotional and financial toll that providing high-quality care and services to a special needs individual can take on a family. These issues are particularly important when planning for the time that a special needs individual’s primary caregiver can no longer provide such care. Our Florida elder law attorneys strive to effectively implement the best strategy for an individual’s unique situation by:
- Identifying situations in which such specialized planning would be appropriate;
- Formulating the necessary asset protection plans;
- Preparing and implementing special needs trusts;
- Drafting advanced care directives, and other legal documents.
In doing so, our Florida elder law attorneys offer comprehensive and effective legal advocacy for individuals with special needs that is tempered with compassion and delivered with excellence.
Our Florida elder law attorneys are also well-versed in incapacity and guardianship advocacy. While it is our goal to avoid court-imposed guardianships whenever possible through proper planning, we recognize that this is not always possible. Guardianships are often emotional and stressful on an individual and his or her family, even in the absence of family conflict, and it is our goal to provide effective advocacy that both balances the rights and dignity of an incapacitated individual while ensuring that the individual is protected from harm and not vulnerable to others’ influences. As a result of our experience and compassion in this area, our Florida elder law attorneys are able to guide our clients through these very difficult and often emotional proceedings.
