Simasko Law

Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys in Mount Clemens, Michigan

A family's legal needs can change quickly when an older parent or spouse begins requiring more care. Questions about nursing-home costs and Medicaid eligibility may arise alongside concerns about protecting a home, managing retirement assets, or making sure someone has authority to handle financial and medical decisions. Other families may be planning ahead through wills and trusts or dealing with probate, guardianship, or inheritance disputes after a crisis has already occurred.

Simasko Law focuses on elder law, estate planning, Medicaid and long-term-care planning, probate, and related matters from its Mount Clemens and Southfield offices. The firm's services include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, medical directives, Lady Bird deeds, special-needs planning, guardianships, conservatorships, veterans benefits planning, and probate litigation.

Attorneys Patrick M. Simasko and James M. Simasko have extensive practices involving elder law and estate planning, while the firm's probate attorneys also represent clients in contested estate, guardianship, and conservatorship matters.

A Parent or Spouse Needs Nursing-Home Care

The need for nursing-home care can confront a family with financial and legal questions they have never previously considered.

Simasko Law assists families with Medicaid qualification and planning when long-term care becomes necessary. Its work includes both advance planning and situations in which someone is already entering or residing in a nursing facility.

Medicaid eligibility involves financial requirements that can make an individual's assets, income, property ownership, and other circumstances important to the planning process. For married couples, the needs of the spouse who remains at home may also need to be considered alongside the care requirements of the spouse entering a facility.

The firm works with families on Medicaid applications and planning strategies based on the individual's circumstances rather than limiting its elder-law practice to estate documents prepared years before care is needed.

Protecting Assets While Planning for Long-Term Care

Long-term-care planning can involve property accumulated over a lifetime.

Simasko Law advises families about asset preservation in connection with Medicaid and nursing-home planning. Its work addresses assets such as the family home and retirement accounts as well as concerns about Medicaid estate recovery.

These issues can become especially important when an older adult wants to prepare for care while also considering the financial security of a spouse or property intended for family members.

The timing of planning can matter. Someone preparing well before long-term care is needed may face a different set of circumstances from a family seeking assistance after a nursing-home admission.

Simasko's elder-law practice addresses both situations, allowing families to seek advice whether they are planning ahead or responding to an immediate need for care.

Creating a Plan Before Incapacity Becomes a Crisis

Estate planning can establish who should handle important responsibilities if illness, dementia, or another condition prevents someone from acting independently.

Simasko Law prepares durable financial powers of attorney and medical directives as part of its planning services. These documents allow clients to select trusted people to handle financial and healthcare responsibilities under the authority provided by the documents.

Putting these arrangements in place while an individual can make those choices can be particularly important for families concerned about future cognitive or physical decline.

Estate planning can therefore address two distinct questions: what should happen to property after death and who should have authority to act during the individual's lifetime if assistance becomes necessary.

Wills, Living Trusts & the Transfer of Property

Simasko Law prepares wills and revocable living trusts for individuals and families establishing how property should ultimately be handled.

A will can provide instructions for probate property after death. A living trust offers another structure through which assets can be held, managed, and ultimately distributed.

The firm also addresses trust funding. Creating a trust document alone does not transfer assets into it, so ownership of property must be considered when implementing a trust-based estate plan.

Trusts can also provide continued management when a beneficiary should not receive an inheritance outright. This allows families to consider not only who should inherit but also whether property should remain under the management of a trustee.

Using a Lady Bird Deed for Michigan Real Estate

For many families, the home is one of the largest assets that needs to be addressed.

Simasko Law prepares Lady Bird deeds as part of its estate and elder-law services. This type of deed can be used in appropriate circumstances to establish how Michigan real estate will transfer after the owner's death while allowing the owner to retain specified rights during life.

Real estate planning may also intersect with Medicaid and long-term-care concerns, making the treatment of the home relevant to more than simply deciding who ultimately receives the property.

The firm incorporates Lady Bird deeds into its broader work involving estate planning, elder law, and asset preservation.

Providing an Inheritance for Someone With Special Needs

An inheritance can require additional planning when a beneficiary has a disability or receives government assistance.

Simasko Law prepares special-needs trusts for families who want to provide resources for a beneficiary while considering eligibility for government benefits.

A trust can also provide ongoing management when the beneficiary needs assistance handling inherited property independently.

For parents and other relatives, this means estate planning can address the beneficiary's individual circumstances instead of providing the same type of outright inheritance to every family member.

The plan can establish who will manage the property and how those resources should be available for the beneficiary over time.

Guardianship or Conservatorship for a Vulnerable Family Member

Advance planning is not always in place when someone loses the ability to manage important affairs.

Simasko Law represents families in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. These matters can involve older adults with dementia as well as people with developmental disabilities or others who cannot independently manage personal or financial decisions.

A guardian can receive court-authorized responsibility involving personal matters, while a conservator can be appointed to manage property and finances.

These proceedings differ from powers of attorney created voluntarily in advance because authority must instead be established through the Probate Court.

The firm handles both the planning documents that can establish authority beforehand and Probate Court proceedings when guardianship or conservatorship becomes necessary.

Veterans Benefits and the Cost of Care

Simasko Law also assists eligible veterans and families with veterans benefits related to long-term-care needs.

Its elder-law services include planning involving VA Aid and Attendance, which can provide additional financial assistance for qualifying veterans and surviving spouses who meet applicable requirements.

For families facing care expenses, veterans benefits may need to be considered alongside other financial resources and long-term-care planning.

Simasko incorporates veterans-benefit issues into its broader elder-law work rather than treating them separately from the family's care and estate-planning concerns.

Probate and Inheritance Disputes

Some families need representation after a death because an estate has become contested.

Simasko Law handles probate litigation, including disputes involving decedent estates and inheritance claims. Its probate work also encompasses contested guardianship and conservatorship matters.

Attorneys Patrick M. Simasko and Scott E. Bright handle probate litigation involving estates, guardianships, and conservatorships.

These cases can require Probate Court resolution rather than routine administration when family members, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, or other interested parties have competing positions.

The firm's practice therefore extends from planning before incapacity or death to representation when disputes later arise over an estate or Probate Court matter.

A Practice Focused on Michigan Elder Law

Patrick M. Simasko has dedicated his legal career to elder law. His practice includes estate planning, Medicaid planning, veterans benefits, and related matters. His professional involvement has included serving as chairman of the Macomb County Bar Association's Elder Law Committee and work with the Alzheimer's Association.

James M. Simasko also practices in elder law and estate planning, including wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, and medical powers of attorney.

The firm's elder-law focus allows estate planning to be considered alongside the legal and financial concerns that can accompany aging, incapacity, long-term care, and the need for assistance managing another person's affairs.

Serving Mount Clemens and Southeast Michigan

Simasko Law's Mount Clemens office is located at 319 Northbound Gratiot Avenue. The firm also maintains an office in Southfield and serves families throughout Macomb, Wayne, Oakland, St. Clair, and Sanilac counties.

Practice Areas

• Elder Law

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Revocable Living Trusts

• Trust Funding

• Durable Financial Powers of Attorney

• Medical Directives

• Lady Bird Deeds

• Medicaid Planning and Qualification

• Long-Term-Care Planning

• Nursing-Home Planning

• Asset Preservation Planning

• Medicaid Estate Recovery

• Special-Needs Trusts

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Veterans Benefits Planning

• VA Aid and Attendance

• Probate

• Probate Litigation

• Inheritance Claims

• Guardianship and Conservatorship Litigation