Practice Areas

Dillman & Assoc., assists elders and their families in taking steps now to protect their future. The firm counsels and represents older persons and their legal representatives in these capacities:

Estate Planning

We offer advice and prepare documents regarding wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, real estate issues, gifting, and the financial and tax implications of any proposed action. Trust planning includes: Living Trusts (Revocable Trusts); Irrevocable Trusts; Supplemental Needs Trusts (also known as Special Needs Trusts); and Testamentary Trusts.

Health And Personal Care Planning

We offer advice and prepare documents regarding advance medical directives (health care powers of attorney, appointment of health care agent, living wills, and health care declarations) and counsel about medical and life-sustaining choices and related personal life choices.

Public Benefits Advice And Asset Protection Planning

We assist clients in obtaining eligibility for Medicaid (Title 19), Social Security Disability, Supplemental Social Security Income and other government benefits. We also counsel clients who are currently receiving benefits to ensure that there is no interruption in benefits. We plan to protect a client’s assets and affairs in advance to guard against risks that the assets would ordinarily be subject to. In particular, we are committed to ensuring that a spouse living in the community remains financially secure if his or her spouse is admitted to a nursing home. We also advise clients on Medicare issues.

Estate Administration And Probate Matters

We assist clients with the estate settlement process in the case of decedent’s probate estates. We also assist clients where there is no probate estate, but there are other post-death issues to contend with. We work with clients who are acting as legal representatives under a conservatorship or other protective proceeding.

Trustee And Fiduciary Services

We provide trust administration services for a full complement of trusts. We understand the complex fiduciary responsibilities of a trustee. We serve as executor, attorney-in-fact, guardian, conservator, or other formal or informal fiduciary arrangements. We also provide counsel to and represent clients who are serving as fiduciaries.

Planning For Persons With Disabilities

We assist families who have a disabled child or another disabled family member in planning for that person’s future through creation of supplemental needs trusts and other arrangements. We also counsel trustees of supplemental needs trusts in the trust administration issues that are unique to these trusts.

Long-Term Care, Skilled Nursing Facility And Housing Issues

We counsel with respect to nursing home admissions, discharges, and quality of care issues. We offer advice on long-term care planning including long-term care insurance issues. We act as a resource to elder clients who are considering a variety of housing options including counseling on making the “Stay at Home” option a financially and personally viable one.

Litigation And Administrative Advocacy

We advocate in connection with all of the above matters including will contests, contested capacity issues, elder abuse (including financial fraud), fiduciary administration, public benefits, nursing home care issues, and discrimination.