Many times I see in the forum "consult an elder law attorney, but they can be expensive". What kind of hourly rate do they charge?

I always hear people say consultation is free or at a low cost. The first eldercare attorney I went to charged me $750 and did nothing for me. Then I went to an estate planner and while very expensive he helped me get my father VA benefits which was such a lifesaver.

Many elder attorneys do a "package deal" for all your end of life documents, will, dpoa, health care proxy and advanced directive.

A consultation with a highly specialized attorney who is very familiar with Medicaid is often recommended when a couple is applying for LTC Medicaid for one of them.

Any lawyer who is licensed to practice law in your state can do a POA, Last Will and Testament, or a Living Will for a person. It does not have to be one who specializes in elder law and estate planning.
I remember when my father did his POA and Living Will back in 2013 at the lawyer's office. It cost about $350 then. Some law firms get more than others. Call around and you'll find what you're looking for.
If I were you, I would not go with using online documents to try and set this up yourself. I'm speaking from experience when I say many times places like hospitals, care facilities, banks, credit card companies, etc... will not even accept documentation if it does not bear the stamp of a law firm on it. I had trouble like this until I had an official, done at the law firm with their stamp copy of his POA and Living Will. The copy my father had given me didn't have the law firm stamp on the back page so no one would deal with me as POA.
Please just spend the money and get this work done by a lawyer officially. You will only have to go once and they'll get it done in one shot.

As with all professionals you need to do your due diligence to ensure that you are getting what you paid for and not being ripped off, which is HIGHLY probable dealing with attorneys. Higher priced is not needed.

We interviewed many and we were quoted as much as 18,000.00 for a package deal, that actually used the forms from our states Attorney General website to the 1,200.00 by a certified elder law attorney (www.nelf.org) that was able to review our existing documents and tell us what needed updating and what was fine. He told us that all of these forms are just fill in the blanks and no reason that someone is charging thousands of dollars for them, they are regulated by state law, so they must read a certain way to be valid.

I used the forms from our Attorney Generals website for my dad, fillable PDF, never had one problem with them being accepted. So if money is a concern, see what is on your states AG website, use those and then get an attorney to fill in the blanks, if there are any.

The problem with end of life paperwork and wishes not being honored is that you must have a physical copy to show at the time it is needed or the medical industry will do everything to preserve life, just sayings it exists doesn't work. So providing your doctors with a copy isn't helpfulness when you are at the hospital. You can put everything in a bright colored envelope and put it on your fridge, indicate what is inside, most 1st responders will look to see if there is anything on the fridge.

It is important to make our wishes known and to save our loved ones the heartbreaking task of making decisions, so kudos for getting this done.

I think more important than what you pay is whether you accomplish what you want. That may sound obvious but each persons situation is different.

I paid $400 an hour two different times over 12 years for my elders. I went for consultations and to have existing documents blessed.* This was a top of the line, published, highly respected firm who literally wrote the book on elder law in their state. I found them through a personal referral (who happened to be an attorney himself) so the trust level was high on my end. The peace of mind I had from those consultations was priceless.

When I took my DH aunt to her choice, a small town family lawyer, he just wanted to sell his “package” for $250 which included free updates. She has since used the service twice as individuals mentioned in her will or POA have died.

I wasn’t too happy about this choice because I knew he had given what I considered poor advice to some extended family members. They were happy with him because he gave them what they wanted. If the person they were conspiring against had been as vindictive as they were and gotten a lawyer they would have lost. But then the attorney wasn’t given an unbiased overview of the circumstances. Regardless, they bullied their way through the points of contention and got away with it. This says more about the family members than the lawyer but his position was weak IMO.

What I think I learned was a lot of the strength of your documents depends on who cares if what you want is followed or carried out. In the medical arena we are all vulnerable without an advocate. Perhaps a visit to your medical establishments and a request for their documents might also help you know and be comfortable with their policies. I had several hospitals ask me to sign their documents to have on file for my elders.

In your case, having an estranged step son and no other children might be a situation that needs to be addressed to make sure your wishes are followed. A prefab document might not protect you from that? Or it might be just fine? That is the problem, we just don’t know without our crystal ball. Then there is the situation with your husbands dementia and how to best protect him if you should pass before he does. So that’s a couple of things a good elder attorney could readily address as they are more likely to have dealt with your issues before. If your local family attorney has experience with your type issues, then that’s great. Be sure to ask. Don’t assume.

Do your best to educate yourself on what you want. Under the care topics there are articles on Elder Law and there is a link to guide you to elder lawyers for your state. Then when you visit with the attorney you will be ready to address the most important to you topics. The more you have to protect or the more complicated your situation might dictate which services are best for you.

*I got the idea from a popular PBS program to take existing documents to the attorney of choice and ask them to look the docs over. The certified elder lawyer said the ones I had were fine for our circumstances.

The less expensive lawyer, being familiar with his own documents, felt more comfortable selling aunt those. He didn’t say anything was wrong with hers, he really didn’t look at them except for the clause I noted where she excluded a potential heir in order not to disrupt his Medicaid and the inclusion of a gravesite she wanted to leave him. That wasn’t covered in his boilerplate offering. Easy to add but had to be brought to his attention. Each persons experience is different.

Yes, you are looking at approximately 350.00 to 400.00 an hour; however, few hours are needed if this is an uncomplicated estate, and you know what you want ahead of time. But what you really need is a Trust and Estate attorney to do your paperwork. They often charge by the Trust and by how complicated the Trust is. If only a will may be as little as 500.00 for the documents you need. Or as much as 3,000.00. As far as doing your own paperwork online, my advice is, DON'T, if you want good, solid, bullet-proof and well written decoments. If it is only you and your husband, and children as heirs, your paperwork is simple, but must be GOOD, especially documents appointing one another as DPOA if you are living but in need of care, and documents appointing a child as "second". You may not need a trust, but only a will. More importantly you want the paperwork to care for one another if one of you needs care and is incompetent to act for him or herself; and you will again need an elder law attorney at that time to help you work out keeping assets clear of recovery for your own care while you care for the spouse needing placement care. You should also get educated, self or attorney, as to rules about medicaid, and gifting at this time. It's not the time to be giving "gifts " of cash to children, that you may need for your own care. It could stop your getting medicaid funds when needed for yourself due to lookback. There are books you can order to get started. One of them is Don't Die, but if you DO die, what Do I Do Next (by Gruber and Gruber, father and son attorney) . And another is "When Someone Dies by Scott Taylor Smith (which has a useful index for records keeping). You should speak together, handle things you are able to together. Not exactly fun stuff but will be helpful later to know where everything is and have some idea what to do.

Caveat:   I've worked in law almost all my life, including for firms that provided probate and estate planning services for middle class individuals up to "individuals of high net worth" (wealthy ones).   The focus of the firm and its clients makes a big difference in the attorneys you choose and what you'll pay.   The ones who give "free seminars" and are sole practitioners are ones I wouldn't choose.   Some are good; some are definitely not.  

The one I chose was a firm that had a multitude of practice areas, some complimentary to estate planning, as well as others with a more business oriented focus.    The firm was closer to the higher side pricewise, but also reasonable for individuals who didn't have massive estates and assets.  I had worked there long enough to be comfortable with their advice.

Depending on the assets and needs of the client, the documents can be pro forma with nominal changes, or they can be very tailored to individual needs, especially if the client has complex assets.

If I remember correctly, we got a package deal for about $2K, back in 2001 or 2002.   Obviously, that would be much more costly today.

But we also had a Trust created, so there were extra documents:   Warranty Deed to transfer house title, Living Trust, as well as the Pour-Over Will, Bill of Sale (transfer of all miscellaneous assets to the Trust, w/o identifying each specifically, Certificate of Trust Existence & Authority (recorded with the County Register of Deeds), DPOA and Living Will, all indexed in a nice binder to keep everything and accessible.  I handled the specific stock transfers myself.

Today that kind of package would probably could 2 - 3x as much, but that's just a guess.

Not only was I comfortable with the firm and its attorneys, it had multiple practice areas such as litigation and real estate.  In addition, our attorney also practiced in probate when the occasion arose on contested issues or something arising from estate planning.

Yes, EP attorneys CAN be expensive, but they can also be realistic.   When I read that people are concerned about expense, I always wonder if they're aware of how much plaintiff PI attorneys take.   To handle an injury, car accident, or similar PI issue, attorneys typically took 1/3 of the settlement.   That was back about 20 years ago though.   Some of the more high profile attorneys (like the ones who have multiple commercials) may charge more.  

I wouldn't recommend any website or software program to provide "accurate" advice or forms.   Our attorneys published regular newsletters with updates not only on probate, but also on the other areas of practice in the firm.   The changes can be VERY complex, and I wouldn't rely on any website other than a recognized and reliable firm for that kind of advice.  

You take a big chance relying on prepared forms.  Unless you have legal background and understand case law and interpretations, how do you know that the forms are even current?  You don't, unless you're in the legal field.  

This isn't a criticism of your approach (I do understand the need for financial conservatism), but I wonder how much people have invested in tech devices, which seem to be proliferating, but aren't as important as end of life documents.  TVs (one of more), smart phones, Internet access, Alexa type devices....how much do they cost per year?   Do they provide the same protection as solid legal advice?   What's worth more to someone when considering their financial legacy to their family (and/or friends)?

Confused5,

Any lawyer can draw up the kinds of documents you need. You won't have to go out of town for it to find anyone special.

Thank goodness I was able to see a copy of my parents Will while they were still alive and thinking clearly. They used a regular Attorney to draw up the Wills and POA. Good grief, the Will had so many landminds I couldn't believe it. I could tell that the Attorney didn't give any advise, and that he was unfamiliar with Elder Law.

I quickly got my parents an appointment to speak with our Elder Law Attorney, she created a Trust, new POA's, Medical Directives, and other required paperwork that my parents didn't realize they needed. What a relief. It was money well spent. She was part of a large firm, so if she should move, there would be other Elder Law Attorneys within the firm to choose.

Plus if there are any changes to our State laws, the Elder Law Attorney will call us to talk over the changes, and if important to our case, she will update the paperwork for our signature. Yes, more out-of-pocket cost, but without the changes it would have cost our estate more.

Never use on-line, do-it-yourself, forms. All it takes is one missing or misplaced word to totally change the Will into something you didn't want. Plus, the internet isn't going to ask you questions related directly to your estate like an Elder Law Attorney would ask.