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Emily Starr CELA

Starr Vander Linden

Emily Starr CELA

Starr Vander Linden

Emily Starr CELA

Starr Vander Linden

Emily S. Starr, managing partner of the firm's Elder & Disability Law Group, concentrates primarily in the areas of Medicaid and estate planning, guardianship and probate. She has a particular interest in preservation of personal injury awards through the use of Special Needs Trusts and is counsel to personal injury lawyers, disabled individuals, and trustees. Ms. Starr is Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation.[1]

She has published numerous articles in this field, the most recent entitled Special Needs Trusts Help Preserve Public Benefits in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, December 3, 2001 and Settling Personal Injury Matters for Plaintiffs Receiving Public Benefits in the handbook for Elder and Disability Law Conference, 2000, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). She is the co-editor of the leading Massachusetts elder law treatise, a three volume set published by MCLE entitled Estate Planning for the Aged and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts and co-edited Legal Handbook for Massachusetts Elders for the Massachusetts Bar Association. For twenty years she has co-chaired the leading continuing education program on elder law given by MCLE and has frequently spoken at programs run by Suffolk University's College of Advanced Legal Studies. She regularly lectures to both professional and non professional groups on various aspects of estate and Medicaid planning, her most recent presentation being at the 2003 Bar Day of the Worcester County Bar Association on The Probate Court's Role in Establishing Medicaid and Estate Plans.

Ms. Starr has served on the Board of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) which awarded her the honor of Fellow. She has been President of both the Boards of Elder Home Care Services of Worcester Area, Inc. and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She currently serves on the Board of Jewish Family Service of Worcester, the Ethics Committee of Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community, and the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Ms. Starr is a graduate of Vassar College and received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.


Footnotes:
[1] An organization approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) to offer certification in elder law. The ABA is a private organization whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Firm Description

Starr Vander Linden Elder and Disability Law Group offers a comprehensive team approach to meeting the legal challenges of aging, disability and illness. The attorneys and paraprofessionals of the Group have decades of experience addressing the legal needs of elderly and disabled clients, their families, and other caregivers. Among the services provided are:

* ESTATE & LONG TERM CARE PLANNING

* ADVOCACY

* REPRESENTATION OF FIDUCIARIES

Hours

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Cost

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What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

625 Main Street
Fitchburg, MA 01420

Seven State Street
Worcester, MA 01609

On the web

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Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

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Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

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Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

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Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

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Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

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ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

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Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

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Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

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Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

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Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

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Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

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Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

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