What an Elder Law Attorney Actually Does for You
Elder law is a branch of legal practice built around the unique challenges that come with aging. It covers a wide range of issues, from TennCare and Medicaid planning to wills, powers of attorney, long-term care, conservatorships, and asset protection.
What sets elder law apart from general estate planning is its focus on the present, not just the future. Estate planning addresses what happens to your assets after you pass away. Elder law also addresses what happens while you are still living, particularly when aging, illness, or incapacity enters the picture.
For Franklin families, that distinction matters enormously.
A skilled elder law attorney brings together expertise across healthcare law, government benefit programs, probate, and estate planning. Our attorneys in Franklin work with clients to see the full picture and build plans that actually hold up when they are needed most.
Medicaid and TennCare Planning
In Tennessee, Medicaid is administered through TennCare. For older adults facing nursing home costs or long-term care needs, TennCare can be the difference between preserving a lifetime of savings and watching it disappear.
But TennCare eligibility is not automatic, and the rules are strict.
There are income limits, asset limits, and a five-year look-back period. Any assets transferred within that five-year window may trigger a penalty period that delays TennCare coverage. Families who are not aware of these rules often make financial decisions that create serious problems later.
Without planning, a common scenario looks like this: a parent needs nursing home care costing many thousands of dollars a month, their savings appear to disqualify them from TennCare, and no one in the family knows what to do next. We see this situation more than most people would expect. And in many of those cases, earlier planning could have protected a significant portion of what was lost.
A Situation We See Regularly
Consider a situation we see regularly. A father in his late seventies enters a nursing home with $300,000 in savings. His family assumes he will not qualify for TennCare and begins paying out of pocket. Within two years, most of those savings are gone. When they finally call an attorney, the options that were available three years earlier have largely disappeared.
That is not an unusual story. It is a common one. And in most cases, a conversation with an elder law attorney years earlier could have changed the outcome significantly.
An experienced elder law attorney can help you understand which assets are exempt under Tennessee law, identify planning strategies before the look-back period becomes an obstacle, and protect as much as possible while preserving TennCare eligibility.
The earlier you begin, the more options you have. If a care situation has already started, there may still be steps available. Either way, speaking with an attorney now puts your family in a stronger position.
Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, commonly called a MAPT, is one of the most powerful planning tools in elder law. It is an irrevocable trust designed to hold assets so that, once the five-year look-back period has passed, those assets are no longer counted toward an individual’s TennCare eligibility limits.
When assets are transferred into a MAPT, the person who created the trust gives up direct ownership of those assets. That is the trade-off. In exchange, once the five-year window closes, those assets are shielded from TennCare spend-down requirements. Families can preserve real estate, savings, and investment accounts for a surviving spouse, children, or other loved ones, even after nursing home care becomes necessary.
A MAPT requires careful drafting to comply with both Tennessee law and federal Medicaid rules. We regularly meet with families who waited too long to establish one and lost the opportunity entirely. Our attorneys help Franklin families structure these trusts correctly and integrate them into a broader elder law plan.
The most important thing to understand about a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is that timing drives everything. Because of the five-year look-back period, a MAPT only provides full protection if it is established far enough in advance of a TennCare application. If you are in your 60s and have not yet looked at this option, the time to act is now.
Long-Term Care Planning
Long-term care is one of the most significant financial risks older adults face. Whether it involves in-home assistance, assisted living, or nursing home care, the costs accumulate quickly and can deplete a lifetime of savings in a matter of years. We have seen families spend down hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have been protected with the right plan in place.
Long-term care planning addresses how to prepare for those costs before they arrive.
This process typically involves reviewing your existing estate plan, evaluating the financial resources available to you, and identifying the legal tools that can help protect your family’s financial security. For many families in Franklin and across Middle Tennessee, a combination of advance planning, a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, and properly drafted legal documents can make a significant difference in how things unfold.
Life care planning takes this a step further. It coordinates care decisions with legal planning so that your loved ones are not scrambling when a health crisis hits. Our attorneys, Thomas Steelman and Alexandra Hulme, work with clients and their families to think through these scenarios in advance, aligning legal documents, financial protections, and care preferences before they are urgently needed.
Wills and Estate Planning for Older Adults
A will is the foundation of any estate plan. For older adults, it is also one of the most commonly outdated documents in the entire family.
Life changes. Marriages, divorces, deaths, new grandchildren, and shifting financial circumstances can all make a will that was properly drafted years ago no longer reflect what you actually want. Under Tennessee law, a will that is outdated, improperly drafted, or missing entirely can create significant delays and disputes when your estate goes through probate.
A valid, current will gives you control over how your assets are distributed, names the personal representative who will manage your estate, and gives your family clear direction at a time when they most need it.
But a will is only one piece of a complete elder law plan. Trusts, beneficiary designations, and elder law planning tools work alongside your will to protect your assets and ensure that what you have built actually reaches the people you care about. Our attorneys help clients in Franklin review what they already have in place and build a plan that works under Tennessee law.
Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives
A durable power of attorney is one of the most practical and important documents in any elder law plan. It designates a trusted person to manage your financial and legal matters if you become unable to do so yourself.
Without it, your family may have no legal authority to pay your bills, manage your accounts, or handle your affairs, even if the need is urgent.
A healthcare power of attorney serves the same function for medical decisions. It names a person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you cannot communicate your own wishes. Without this document in place, your family may be forced to pursue a conservatorship through the Tennessee courts, a process that takes time, costs money, and adds significant stress during an already difficult period.
A living will and advance directives allow you to express your preferences about end-of-life care in advance. These documents give your healthcare providers and family clear guidance when they need it most and take a heavy burden off the people who love you.
Together, these documents form a critical layer of legal protection. Our attorneys help clients throughout Franklin and Williamson County put them in place before a crisis forces the issue.
Conservatorships for Incapacitated Adults
When an adult loses mental capacity and does not have a durable power of attorney or healthcare power of attorney in place, Tennessee law provides a path forward through conservatorship.
A conservatorship is a court-supervised arrangement in which a judge appoints a person, called a conservator, to make financial, legal, and personal decisions for the incapacitated individual. It is an important protection for someone who cannot advocate for themselves.
It is also a process that takes time and involves ongoing court oversight.
Conservatorships in Williamson County are handled through Chancery Court and require filing a petition, submitting medical evidence of incapacity, attending a hearing, and obtaining court approval. Once established, the conservator must report to the court regularly and seek approval for major decisions.
The best way to avoid a conservatorship is to have the right documents in place before it is ever needed. A durable power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney accomplish the same protective goals without the cost, delay, and court supervision. Our elder law attorneys encourage every client to get these documents in place early.
If a conservatorship has already become necessary for a loved one, our firm can guide your family through the Tennessee court process, help make sure the conservatorship is structured correctly, and assist with the ongoing reporting requirements.
Asset Protection Strategies
For older adults with significant savings, real estate, or business interests, asset protection is at the heart of elder law planning. The goal is to preserve what you have worked to build while staying within the legal boundaries that govern TennCare eligibility and estate planning in Tennessee.
Tennessee law offers several tools to accomplish this. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is often the most effective option when larger assets, particularly real estate, need protection from nursing home costs. Depending on your situation and the time available before care may be needed, life estates, strategic beneficiary planning, and carefully structured trusts can also play an important role.
Our elder law attorneys work with Franklin families to build strategies that protect long-term financial security within the bounds of both Tennessee law and federal Medicaid rules.
For some Franklin families, that planning also needs to account for a loved one with a disability, which adds a layer of complexity that requires its own attention.
Special Needs Planning
When a family includes a loved one with a disability, elder law planning takes on additional complexity. The challenge is ensuring that a family member who relies on government benefits, including Medicaid or Social Security, continues to receive that support even after inheriting assets or being included in an estate plan.
A special needs trust holds assets for the benefit of a person with disabilities without disqualifying them from needs-based benefit programs. Without this structure in place, an inheritance can inadvertently eliminate a loved one’s access to the benefits they depend on.
Our attorneys help Franklin families evaluate whether a special needs trust belongs in their elder law plan and how to structure wills and other documents to protect everyone involved.
John Crow 
Thomas Steelman 
