Financial and legal resources
The financial and legal side of caregiving is where most families get surprised — by what Medicare doesn’t cover, by how Medicaid eligibility actually works, by the cost of not having the right documents in place. The resources below are organized into two sections: legal and estate planning, and Medicare and Medicaid navigation. They’re grouped separately because the questions are different, even when the family is sitting in the same crisis.
Legal and estate planning
The right legal documents in place — before a crisis — protect your parent and protect your family. The wrong moment to start this work is the hospital. These are the national organizations I’d point families to first.
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
The professional association of US attorneys specializing in elder law and special-needs planning. The NAELA directory is how to find a qualified elder-law attorney in your state. Useful for the Core Four documents (Health Care Proxy, Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Last Will and Testament), Medicaid planning, and guardianship questions. Elder-law attorneys are a specialty — a general-practice attorney is not the right person for a Medicaid look-back question. — naela.org
American Bar Association — Senior Lawyers Division
The nation’s largest legal professional association. The ABA’s Senior Lawyers Division provides pro-bono and low-cost legal resources for older adults, state-by-state lawyer referral services, and consumer-facing guides on common elder-law topics. A useful starting point for families who need help but aren’t sure a private elder-law attorney is within reach. — americanbar.org
Legal Services Corporation
Federally-funded national network of civil legal-aid organizations. For low-income elders and their families: the LSC directory connects families to legal-aid programs in every state. Common help includes Medicaid appeals, guardianship defense, elder abuse, and consumer fraud. Free for qualifying families. — lsc.gov
AARP Foundation
The charitable arm of AARP. AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program provides free tax preparation for older adults (income-eligible). AARP Foundation also funds legal advocacy on aging issues and operates local programs across the US. Distinct from AARP’s broader membership organization — AARP Foundation’s focus is specifically on low-income older adults. — aarpfoundation.org
Where to start in a hurry — legal
If you only do one thing this week: book an appointment with a NAELA-listed elder-law attorney for a flat-fee Core Four package. The cost is finite. The cost of not having those four documents in place — specifically the Durable Power of Attorney — is potentially unbounded once a parent loses cognitive capacity and can no longer sign.
Medicare and Medicaid navigation
Most caregiving financial confusion in the United States comes down to two programs most families learn at the worst possible moment.
Medicare.gov
Official US government site for Medicare. Plan finder, coverage rules, enrollment windows, and the Care Compare tool for comparing nursing homes, home-health agencies, and hospice providers. The authoritative source for what Medicare covers — and for confirming, in plain terms, what it does not. — medicare.gov
Medicaid.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
Official federal entry point for Medicaid. Medicaid is administered state by state, so the most useful page on this site is the directory of state Medicaid agencies — your parent’s eligibility, spend-down rules, and long-term care coverage all depend on the state they live in. — medicaid.gov
LongTermCare.gov (Administration for Community Living)
Federal long-term care planning resource. Cost calculators, planning frameworks, and a plain-English overview of what Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care insurance each cover — and don’t. A good starting point for families who are not yet in a crisis but can see one coming. — acl.gov/ltc
State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
Federally-funded Medicare counseling — free, confidential, and unbiased in every state. This is the answer to “where do I start with Medicare?” SHIP counselors are trained staff and volunteers who do not sell insurance — they have no financial stake in what you choose. Use the national locator to find your state’s program. The single most underused resource in Medicare decision-making. — shiphelp.org
Medicare Rights Center
Independent national nonprofit advocating for and counseling Medicare beneficiaries. The Medicare Rights Center’s national helpline provides free counseling; Medicare Interactive (medicarerights.org/medicare-interactive) is one of the most comprehensive free guides to Medicare available. Particularly useful for understanding appeals, coverage disputes, and the gaps between Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D. — medicarerights.org
National Council on Aging (NCOA) — Benefits Access Programs
Long-standing US aging-services nonprofit. NCOA operates two programs relevant here: BenefitsCheckUp (benefitscheckup.org) screens for federal and state programs your parent may qualify for — prescription assistance, food, utility, tax, and legal-aid programs. The Center for Benefits Access focuses specifically on low-income Medicare cost-savings programs: Extra Help (prescription drugs), Medicare Savings Programs, and Medicaid spenddowns. Both tools are free and available online. — ncoa.org
Where to start in a hurry — Medicare and Medicaid
For a Medicare question, your first call is your state SHIP (find it at shiphelp.org). For a Medicaid long-term care question — whether your parent may eventually qualify, what it means for their assets, how the five-year look-back works — your first call is an elder-law attorney (see the Legal and Estate Planning section above). Medicaid eligibility rules have permanent financial consequences; this is not the place for general internet research.