Frequently Asked Questions

The Elder Law Planning Guide is a free, AI-powered educational assistant that helps families navigate elder law topics like Medicaid planning, estate planning, guardianship, veterans benefits, and long-term care. It walks you through a guided conversation, collects information about your situation, and provides state-specific educational information to help you prepare for working with an attorney.

This tool is designed for adult children, spouses, and caregivers who are trying to understand elder law options for a family member — especially when a loved one is facing a diagnosis like Alzheimer's or another degenerative condition. It's also helpful for anyone beginning to think about long-term care, Medicaid eligibility, or estate planning for an aging parent or spouse.

No. This tool provides educational information only and does not constitute legal advice, financial advice, or professional counsel of any kind. Elder law is complex and varies significantly by state. The information provided here is intended to help you understand your options and prepare better questions for a qualified attorney. For all final decisions, you should consult with a certified elder law attorney (CELA) licensed in your state.

We maintain verified Medicaid data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA), Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA), asset limits, lookback periods, penalty divisors, and more. This data is sourced from official state Medicaid agency publications and is updated regularly. However, rules change frequently, so always verify current figures with your state Medicaid office or an elder law attorney.

We have state-specific Medicaid data for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. When you tell our guide which state you're in, it automatically uses the correct figures for your state — including asset limits, income allowances, lookback periods, and penalty divisors.

After completing a planning session, you can download a personalized Word document (.docx) that includes: a summary of your situation, key educational points relevant to your case, recommended action steps with priorities and timelines, specific questions to ask an elder law attorney, and a glossary of important terms. This document is designed to be a useful reference when you meet with an attorney.

A typical session takes about 10-20 minutes, depending on how much detail you share and how many topics you want to explore. You can take your time — your conversation is saved in your browser, so you can close the page and come back later to pick up where you left off.

Your conversation data is stored locally in your browser's localStorage — it never leaves your device unless you're actively chatting (in which case your messages are sent to our AI provider to generate responses). We do not store your conversations on our servers, sell your data, or share it with third parties. You can clear your data at any time by clicking "New Conversation" in the chat, which removes all locally stored information.

Yes, absolutely. This tool is designed to prepare you for working with an attorney, not to replace one. Elder law involves legally binding documents, court filings, and strategies that require professional legal expertise. What this tool does is help you understand the landscape, organize your thoughts, and walk into your first attorney meeting informed and prepared — which can save you time and money.

The guide covers a wide range of elder law topics including: Medicaid planning and eligibility, estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney), long-term care options and costs, veterans benefits (Aid & Attendance, VA pension), guardianship and conservatorship, Medicare basics, disability planning, end-of-life planning (advance directives, healthcare proxies), and housing considerations.

Yes, the Elder Law Planning Guide is currently free to use with no sign-up required. You can start a planning session immediately and download your personalized report at no cost.

Yes. The Elder Law Planning Guide is fully mobile-responsive. The chat interface adapts to smaller screens with a tabbed layout so you can easily switch between the conversation and your progress tracker on any device.