Practice Areas
Andrew Byers provides the following legal services:
Estate Planning
Andrew Byers does estate planning for clients of all ages and circumstances. This can include long-term care asset protection and disability planning where appropriate, as well as trust services.
Comprehensive Estate and Medicaid Planning Evaluations
Andrew Byers begins his representation of many clients with a comprehensive estate and long-term care planning evaluation. This evaluation dictates the best planning strategies to pursue in order to meet the estate planning and long-term health care objectives of the client. Andrew Byers examines all aspects of the client’s financial well-being and issues a follow-up letter which summarizes the client’s unique situation, reviews the law, and explains the recommendations for the best possible estate plan for the client. The complex and ever-evolving rules of Medicaid play an increasingly important role with respect to traditional estate planning concerns. A knowledge of elder law, therefore, is absolutely critical for a truly comprehensive estate planning evaluation and plan.
Guardianship and Conservatorship Services
Andrew Byers represents clients seeking guardianship and conservatorship of relatives who can no longer manage their personal or financial affairs and assists family members in fulfilling the duties imposed by these new roles.
Estate Administration
Andrew Byers provides full representation of fiduciaries administering estates. Probate administration includes filing the petition for appointment of the personal representative, preparing and filing the inventory of estate assets, paying the decedent’s debts, distributing assets, filing tax returns, and filing an account with the Probate Court. If real property must be sold, the firm provides representation during the real estate transaction as well.
Medicaid Advocacy
Andrew Byers prepares in the preparation and submission of the Medicaid application to the Department of Human Services (DHS). At the client’s request, we handle all communications with the DHS, thereby removing the individual as much as possible from the tedious and often frustrating application process. In addition, Andrew Byers represents clients in connection with Medicaid appeals in administrative hearings and before the applicable court.
Veteran's Benefits
Most VA pensions are only for veterans who were actually wounded or disabled while they were serving in the armed forces. However, many other wartime veterans and their spouses may be eligible for other, special monthly pension benefits because they are over 65 years of age and are homebound, in assisted/supportive living, or in a nursing home. Those veterans and/or their widows need to prove that their medical expenses exceed certain income and asset amounts. This Veteran's benefit can provide significant help in paying for long term care costs. Andrew Byers helps Veterans and their families understand how to obtain benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Personal Injury Settlements
Andrew Byers works closely with personal injury attorneys, Workers Compensation attorneys, and clients to make sure that their settlement funds are properly managed and that they continue to receive the public benefits to which they are entitled. What may appear at first to be a large recovery can be quickly dissipated if invested unwisely or spent on health care needs and living expenses that might be provided by other sources. Proper planning is required to make sure the money lasts a lifetime. Each individual’s situation is different and requires a strategy crafted to meet his or her needs. Andrew Byers works with attorneys, clients, family members, social workers, and courts to create the best strategy available in each case.