Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Neufeld.
Jason, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I actually started out as a personal injury attorney (Neufeld, KIeinberg & Pinkiert, PA) and settled a case for a large amount.
The client thanked me for my efforts but lamented that he would likely have to spend the next year or so in a skilled rehab/nursing facility and that the high cost (about $9,000 a month) would eat away at a significant portion of his personal injury recovery.
This is when I discovered that it was possible to engage a Medicaid planning attorney to legally and ethically protect significant assets and still get Medicaid to pay for some or all of one’s long-term care expenses.
I was amazed and decided to learn more.
Fast forward and Elder Law/Medicaid Planning has become the bulk of my practice and I recently started Elder Needs Law, PLLC to assist my elder law clients.
I also published a book called: How to get Medicaid to pay for some or ALL of your long-term care expenses: without having to wait five years; without having to sell your house; and without having to go broke first (available on Amazon).
My typical client is not involved in a personal injury case. Rather, they are over the age of 65, may own their own house, and on top of that have between $50,000 – $750,000 in assets. It can be a shock when they realize how expensive long-term care can be. I can help these people get much of their long-term care costs paid for to: (a) preserve what they have worked their whole lives to accumulate, which leads to a higher quality of life; and (b) increase the likelihood that they will have a legacy to leave to their loved ones.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My greatest struggle is the fact that most people do not know that Medicaid planning even exists.
Or, if they do know that Medicaid planning is possible, there are so many misconceptions/misinformation out there. For example, many people think that you can’t engage in Medicaid planning if you need Medicaid in the next five year. This is incorrect. 95% of my clients come to me needing LTC assistance now and have too much money to qualify. I am able to get them Medicaid-eligible in a very short period of time.
Some people think that Medicaid planning is unethical or illegal (it’s not, I very much like having my Florida Bar license, thank you very much). The best analogy I can give is to have people imagine that they had $10,000,000 in the bank. They would meet with a tax attorney and ask them for ways to legally and ethically pay as little taxes as possible. I do something very similar – except I do it for the middle-class.
To dispel these myths, I try to lecture and present to local groups as much as possible. I have also written a book that is available on Amazon.
Please tell us about Elder Needs Law, PLLC.
I specialize in protecting people’s assets against the threat of long-term care expenses. This can be done way in advance – but more likely, people need help paying for home health care, ALF care or nursing home care now (or they will lose their life savings).
I believe a few things set our firm apart:
1. Transparency.
When someone comes in for a consultation, I explain exactly what we can do to protect their assets and get Medicaid to pay for some or all of their long-term care expenses. We also provide a pros/cons analysis of each of the strategies that are brought to the table in order to help the family choose the plan that makes the most sense for them.
2. We explain things in a way that non-lawyers can understand.
We actually get a significant amount of business from people who come to us after meeting with another Elder Care Lawyer and thank us for being so patient and taking time to explain these difficult concepts so thoroughly.
3. We’re nice.
I know that sounds like an odd remark. But we’re not only excellent at what we do, but we also listen, we care, and we genuinely want to help. We understand that this is a stressful time for our clients and our goal is to take the burden off of them.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was four or five, my family used to go to the beach almost every weekend. I loved playing in the sand with my brother and mother. My father used to put me on his shoulders walk into the ocean and dramatically pretend that oncoming waves were going to knock us over (they never did) and we would both laugh.
Pricing:
- I charge $350.00 for a consultation, but if hired I apply that to the final balance.
- All elder law/Medicaid planning clients will get a flat fee at the end of the consultation.
- The total flat fee is usually between $2,000 – $6,500 (can be higher or lower depending on how much work needs to be done).
Contact Info:
- Address: 2641 NE 207th Street, #100
Aventura, FL 33180 (offices in South Miami and Hillsborough County coming soon) - Website: https://www.elderneedslaw.com/
- Phone: 305-931-0478
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElderNeedsLaw/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/NKPelderlawandmedicaidplanningattorneysMiami
Image Credit:
Jason Neufeld
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