At What Age Should You Contact An Elder Law Attorney?

Attorney Marty Fogarty | 888-981-5604 | Schedule Your Consult Today

The idea of making estate plans can be daunting and stressful to arrange, causing many people to put off the task. However, it’s wise to begin making estate plans sooner rather than later. So, at what age should you contact an elder law attorney?

Marty Fogarty is a probate attorney and founder of The Heartland Law Firm, based in Glenview, Illinois. In this Quick Question, he says that if you’re in your 60s or 70s, you should consider contacting an elder law attorney.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-5604 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

Estate planning involves looking beyond the next several years.

It’s important to understand that estate planning involves looking into the long-term future, discerning possibilities of that reality, and planning accordingly. Since this can be difficult to do, it’s not a bad idea to get the advice of an elder law attorney who has helped many other clients do the same, and know what common factors might lie in store for you and should be accounted for in an estate plan.

Fogarty recommends beginning estate plans when you are in your 60s or early 70s.

A person’s 60s and early 70s preempt a transitionary period in their lives. As people pass these years, they are often considering significant changes to their lifestyle, which might increase the importance of having an estate plan. It’s never too early or a bad idea to start an estate plan. Nobody knows what the future holds, so it’s a good idea to prepare for all scenarios.

However, for most people, there is no rush to begin estate planning until they reach their 60s and early 70s. Research has proven that this is the ideal time to start deciding how you want your property handled in the case you are no longer able to control it yourself, or simply want to make sure certain family members or parties are provided for.

Retirement, career changes, and health concerns are a few common factors that inspire people to begin making estate plans.

While beginning estate plans may imply something dire, that is not always the case. In fact, there are many factors a person experiences in these years which make evident the usefulness of an estate plan, but do not indicate any darker implication. Some of these factors may include retirement, the choice to begin working part-time, and any health concerns that may limit your mobility in the future. Any factor in your life that may change the amount of pay you receive or use to provide for your family may indicate it’s a good time to begin making estate plans, so you can make sure your property goes where you want it to.

An experienced estate planning lawyer can predict the benefits and possible pitfalls of your desired estate plan and make recommendations based on it to make sure your family is provided for in the best way you see fit. Especially if you feel your estate plan might be complicated to create, having an estate planning lawyer by your side can be invaluable to the overall effectiveness of your estate plan to care for your assets and your family the way you want it to.

To learn more, contact Marty Fogarty directly by calling 888-981-5604 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

Video Transcript:

Leslie Rhode:
I’m Leslie Rhode and this is an AskTheLawyers.com Quick Question. At what age should a person contact an elder law attorney? We ask attorney Marty Fogarty of Illinois.

Marty Fogarty:
In estate planning, we’re always planning not for the next couple of months or even years, we’re kind of planning over the horizon. We’re planning for maybe the chapter after next. So if I am in my late-60s, certainly by my early 70s, I wanna be having a conversation with someone who can tell me, “Hey, what does the landscape look like to the chapter after next?” Because I pretty much know what’s going on now. Maybe I’m retiring. Maybe I’m working part-time. I’ve got certain health issues but the next chapter might be a step down from that, but the next chapter I need someone to help me understand that. So that's the elder lawyer, and you wanna be talking to him really late 60s, early 70s. Even if you're completely alive and well.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.