Finding a lawyer for your elderly relative
Collaborative post
Finding a lawyer for your elderly relative might feel overwhelming – especially if you haven’t needed legal representation before. Your relative might need a lawyer for several different reasons. They might need additional care because they have a new disability (for military disabilities, see this VA disability calculator), or perhaps they need assistance organizing their will.
Whatever the reason, it can be difficult to know where to start, and you might not know how to navigate the legal system. There are plenty of things that you can do to care for your elderly relative, but there are some areas that a lawyer is best placed to inform you in. So, how can you find the suitable lawyer for your elderly relative?
Recommendations
Due to our aging population, more people are seeking help from the elder law industry than ever before. Whilst people are living longer, social care continues to be expensive and difficult to organize, and this means that more families are struggling to meet the needs of their elderly relatives. So, if you’re looking for legal representation, it’s always useful to ask around and see if a friend or colleague has a recommendation. It seems likely that someone will know someone. If you can get a personal recommendation, you will be able to trust the lawyer and feel confident that they will do the best possible job. Your friend won’t have an agenda, and will simply want what’s best for you and your family.
Ask questions
The best way to find a suitable lawyer for your elderly relative is to meet with several lawyers in person and ask questions. This situation will probably be very new to you, so you might want to prepare a list of questions and make sure that the lawyer answers everything in detail. Don’t be afraid to be forward and speak your mind: the key to a lawyer-client relationship is communication and honesty. By doing so, you will get a good sense of how the lawyer communicates and values your relationship. Plus, you’ll be able to tell how professional the office is and what the other employees are like. It’s important to trust your gut and determine whether this is someone you want to represent your loved one.
Background check
When hiring any kind of lawyer, it’s always sensible to run a background check on the firm and establish their reputation. If they have positive online reviews and feature on a number of directories, you can probably assume that they are a reputable agency with plenty of experience. It’s also worth checking to see what kinds of cases a law firm has dealt with and what the outcome has been. If they have cases that are like yours then they will be experienced in that field, and are probably the law firm your family member could need. However, if they lack experience or don’t seem to get tangible results, then you may want to continue in your search.