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ELDER LAW
We help Wisconsin families plan their estates, protect their assets, and stay out of probate, with a focus on elder law, Medicaid planning, and long-term asset protection.
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WHAT USUALLY STARTS THE CALL
Almost every first conversation traces back to one of these moments. None of them are the wrong time to call, but each one narrows the options a little further.
01
A parent goes in for a broken hip and the discharge planner starts talking about rehab, then long-term care. Decisions that took years to build up now have a two-week deadline.
02
Dementia, Parkinson's, ALS. Care needs are going to grow, and the family has some runway. This is the point where planning does the most good and is most often postponed.
03
Someone at the hospital or facility says the family needs to apply for benefits, spend down assets, or sign paperwork nobody has read. Often the first time anyone mentions elder law.
WHY IT MATTERS
Someone has to sign, someone has to pay, and someone has to decide where Mom lives now. What's in place beforehand decides whether that week is a series of phone calls or a series of court filings.
WITHOUT ELDER LAW PLANNING
Without valid powers of attorney, the family goes to court for guardianship before anyone can sign anything.
Private pay at $9,000 to $11,000 a month, until the money is gone and Medicaid finally applies.
Wisconsin's spousal protections exist, but only if someone claims them correctly and on time.
Transfers made to "protect" the house often trigger a divestment penalty instead.
With nothing written down, the family fills the gap with opinions, and sometimes lawyers.
WITH A HILDEBRAND PLAN
Financial and healthcare documents are signed, current, and accepted, so no court is needed.
Planning done early means the home and savings can often be protected in full.
Income and asset allowances are claimed correctly, so one illness doesn't impoverish two people.
We file the Medicaid application and handle the county, so approval isn't delayed by paperwork.
Roles and wishes are written down, which is how families stay families through this.
WHAT WE HANDLE
Elder law questions rarely arrive one at a time. These are the pieces we work on, often together.
01
Deciding how care will be paid for before the first bill arrives, and protecting what can be protected.
02
Qualifying lawfully, and filing the application with five years of records the county will accept.
03
Current, properly drafted documents that hospitals and banks will actually honor when it counts.
04
When capacity is already gone and no documents exist, we petition the court and see it through.
05
Providing for a child or grandchild with a disability without disqualifying them from benefits.
06
When someone has taken advantage of a parent, we work to unwind it and stop it from continuing.
A COMMON MISUNDERSTANDING
The two overlap, but they answer different questions. One is about what happens after you're gone. The other is about the years before that, when you're still here and needing care.
ESTATE PLANNING
Who inherits, and how. Trusts, wills, beneficiaries, and keeping your family out of probate.
Built once, reviewed periodically. A plan you set up and keep current as life changes.
Doesn't address care costs. A trust alone does nothing about a $10,000 monthly nursing home bill.
Documents can go stale. A power of attorney signed in 2004 may not be accepted today.
ELDER LAW
Who pays for care. Medicaid, spousal protections, and preserving assets against care costs.
Who decides if you can't. Agents, directives, and guardianship when documents don't exist.
Timing changes everything. The five-year look-back means the calendar is part of the strategy.
Hands-on, not just drafted. Applications filed, counties handled, families walked through it.
One conversation is usually enough to know where you stand and what comes next.