Hello and welcome, I’m John Frazier. It’s true that when you hire an elder law attorney, you’re entering into a relationship based on trust. And there are many choices out there. So how will you choose?
You need to trust that your lawyer will put your interests first. You will trust he or she has the legal skills, knowledge, and expertise to preserve your assets while putting the best long-term care plan in place for you and your loved ones.
I will do my best here to help you know more about me as a person as well as a lawyer.
I have dedicated my professional practice wholly to Florida Medicaid planning, elder law, veterans’ benefits, and tax law for seniors. This means I help individuals and their loved ones plan for the future as they navigate the many legal issues of aging—so they may age with dignity and protect what they value, in both non-crisis and crisis planning situations.
Here’s what makes me different and hopefully the right choice for you.
Over 3500 People Helped
My strength is helping clients to preserve their income and assets and to resolve long-term care dilemmas that often require comprehensive Medicaid planning.
Over the last 19 years, I have helped over 3500 families to establish Medicaid eligibility and obtain Medicaid coverage for nursing home care. This more than anything distinguishes my elder law practice from my attorney colleagues, as well as from non-lawyers who offer Medicaid planning services.
I believe advanced Medicaid planning is one of the most important parts of any estate plan. I also know how quickly unforeseen events happen that require rapid action. When a family member needs emergency admittance into a nursing home, Medicaid crisis planning is the priority.
Each Medicaid planning scenario requires uninterrupted focus and the commitment to reach a prompt and successful resolution. I can help you avoid the dangers of poor or absent Medicaid planning.
95% of My Practice Is Medicaid Planning for Nursing Home Care
With Medicaid planning such a vital part of long term care planning, you want to work with an elder law attorney who holds Medicaid planning as their focus. Here are a few reasons why:
- As legal practice areas, both estate planning and elder law have become quite diverse. Some elder law attorneys may be well-versed in estate planning and guardianships, but not know much about Medicaid law.
- Medicaid planning is highly technical. Applying for and receiving Medicaid benefits invokes Medicaid’s complex income and asset laws and limitations. Confusion about lookback rules, errors in gifting, or timing an application wrong can result in tragic financial loss. Even courts misapply the rules on occasion! Guidance from an experienced Medicaid planning attorney is essential as there is no room for error.
- My techniques are time tested and proven within the boundaries of Medicaid planning law. Every Medicaid plan is very fact-specific. Your Medicaid plan will be a unique merger of the best and most appropriate strategies to manage you and your family’s risk, needs, relationships, and successful and timely preservation of assets and income.
Clearest, Fairest Pricing
I make my legal services the most affordable in Florida. I do this by charging a flat fee based on the size and complexity of each case. We generally do not bill by the hour. This way, you are 100% clear on the scope of our agreement before I start any work, and what my fee includes and excludes.
I believe fees set up in this manner drive professional efficiency and serve the interests of my clients. You will be confident I will not nickel and dime you for such things as photocopies or research. You know you won’t be charged extra for calling me with questions or concerns, and this encourages communication. And you will know that the fee reflects all Medicaid planning activities (or other Elder Law services I do for you) based on the complexities of your case.
Affordability should never be cast aside just because an attorney has more experience. My competence and efficiency give each of us a huge advantage, together.
Use an Affordable Lawyer over a Non-attorney Medicaid Planner
It is a personal choice whether to hire a lawyer to represent your Medicaid planning or to hire a non-lawyer Medicaid planner referred by a nursing home. But be careful. While paying a non-attorney for Medicaid planning might (or might not) be cheaper in the beginning, it can be a costly mistake.
This is no small matter because the financial stakes are very high in Medicaid cases. Many of these non-lawyers will serve two masters: you, and the nursing home that referred them. They are neither licensed nor regulated by the Florida Bar, meaning there is no accountability for complaints or lawsuits.
Over the past decade, many Florida seniors and their families have suffered financial harm at the hands of individuals operating as Medicaid planning specialists or advisors, but are without the proper training, licensure, and accountability. So much so that, to protect the public, Florida has issued regulations that hold certain activities of nonlawyer Medicaid planning as the prohibited unauthorized practice of law.
I take accountability for everything I do.
As my client, my loyalty is to you alone. It is my ethical responsibility to maintain confidentiality and to protect you. I have the fiduciary duty and the knowledge of the entire range of Medicaid planning options that are available to structure your income and assets to qualify you for Medicaid. If I make a mistake, I am accountable to you and my legal malpractice insurance is there to make you whole.
I am, along with my reputation, firmly entrenched in the eldercare community. I work together with local nursing homes, assisted living facilities, geriatric care managers, financial advisors, accountants, and other attorneys.
Industry Leadership and Recognition
As Chair of the UPL Subcommittee of the Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section, I was instrumental in the petitioning of Florida Supreme Court Advisory Opinion No. SC14-211: The Florida Bar Re: Advisory Opinion – Medicaid Planning Activities by NonLawyers, which became a final rule on April 10, 2015.
I have been recognized as an authority in elder law by being selected as a contributing author in the published book, Elder Law Client Strategies in Florida: Leading Lawyers on Understanding Medicaid Laws, Estate Planning, and Long-Term Care (Inside the Minds) — in the chapter entitled, “Asset Protection Issues for Elder Law Attorneys and Clients Under Florida’s Medicaid Laws.”
I have authored self-help books on Florida elder law, Medicaid planning, estate planning, and disabled and elderly veterans’ benefits, which are available as free downloads on my Elder Law Books page or for hard-copy purchase through book stores.
Peace of Mind
Last in order but not of importance—my experience in matters of nursing home and other long term care planning options will be your peace of mind. You have the confidence of working with legal counsel who will properly help you plan for and resolve the types of legal problems that seniors and their families face.
My firm works in association with the Law Offices of Joseph F. Pippen Jr. & Associates, with multiple offices throughout Florida, which allows me to deliver to you all of the resources of that firm as well. I believe that I can do an excellent job for you.
Get In Touch
The legal issues of elder law, paying for nursing home care, tax laws, VA pension, and more can be overwhelming. Call for a free, no-obligation, telephone consultation and let’s find out how I may help:
- Week days call us directly at (727) 260-2581
- After 5 PM or weekends please call my cell phone at (813) 431-3193