Hill and Kinsella

Our Story

At Hill & Kinsella, our experienced elder care lawyers are dedicated to helping families identify and understand their needs so that we may work together to find solutions. Contact Hill & Kinsella for assistance with Elder Law issues, including:

*Wills & Trusts
*Medicaid Eligibility for Nursing Home Care
*Powers of Attorney
*Advanced Directives
*Florida Probate and Trust Administration
*Life Care Planning

Why Choose Us?

*Legal Knowledge
Our team of attorneys, paralegals and staff works together to try to assure the best plans are in place for our clients.

*Financial Knowledge
Our financial team is made up of attorneys and staff who work with clients and financial advisors who are seeing the best ways to maintain quality of life while paying for care.

*Care Advocacy Knowledge
Our care advocacy system includes nursing oversight, education and guidance so that our clients can make wise choices and resolve issues early on. Our clients have learned that support can be invaluable while navigating complicated areas of the healthcare system.

Practice Areas:

*Life Care Planning

Caregivers are often overwhelmed when faced with helping their disabled, chronically ill, or elderly loved one. They want their loved one to receive the best possible care in the most appropriate setting. Yet, our system of services is so fragmented and confusing that few are able to sort through the myriad of information.

Some elder law attorneys provide services called Life Care Planning. This services is a multi-faceted collaborative team approach that addresses a variety of aspects including:

Legal services
Advocacy services
Elder care coordination services
Medicare and insurance assistance.

The resulting plan provides the elder and their caregiver with much needed support. Life Care Planning services are designed to:

Help ensure that those in need of care get appropriate care in the best suited setting whether that be at home or in a residential facility;
Locate sources (both public and private) to help pay for long term care and address associated asset protection issues;
Provide peace of mind and hopefully, a good night’s sleep to caregivers and those in need of care.

Life Care Planning is best suited for:

Persons with an ill or disabled spouse,
Persons in the early stages of chronic illness,
Persons with disabled children or dependents, and
Family members (local or long distance) who need help caring for their disabled or elderly loved ones.


*Elder Law

Elder law attorneys at Hill & Kinsella are a resource to their clients because they understand their clients’ needs may extend beyond basic legal services. They stay informed and connected to the local networks of professionals who serve the elder population throughout Pinellas County, Florida.

What is an Elder Law Attorney?

A lawyer who deals with legal issues that impact elderly clients:

Health and personal care planning which include powers of attorney and living wills, lifetime planning, and family issues;
Fiduciary (financial) representation, housing opportunities and financing, income, estate, and gift tax matters;
Planning for a well spouse when the other spouse requires long term care, asset protection, public benefits such as Medicaid, insurance, and veteran’s benefits;
Capacity, guardianship, and guardianship avoidance;
Resident rights in long-term care facilities and nursing home claims;
Employment and retirement matters, age or disability discrimination, and grandparents’ rights.
Will and trust planning, planning for minor or adult special needs children, and probate;
Life care planning- planning for all aspects of aging, illness, and incapacity. The specialization requires a practitioner to be particularly sensitive to the legal issues impacting elder clients

For example, when planning an estate, an elder law attorney would take into consideration the health of the person or couple, the potential for nursing home care, and the wishes and concerns of the person or couple if that event were to occur.

If need arises, the elder law attorney will associate other legal experts. Elder law covers all aspects of planning, counseling, education, and advocating for clients.

*Estate Planning:

Estate Planning is important regardless of the amount of assets owned. Frequently, good planning is more critical for someone with a nominal amount of assets than for the wealthy.

Peace of mind should be the goal when attorneys and clients work together to plan an estate. Peace of mind comes from:

Fully understanding your options
Making informed decisions
Obtaining legal documents designed to distribute your property according to your wishes with the least possible taxes, expenses and delay

Estate planning also includes planning for disability, which may last for many years before death.

*Probate:

The word probate means to prove. In Florida, probate court is where certain matters pertaining to a deceased person’s estate are proved in a judicial proceeding. Basically, probate is the court’s way of making sure a person’s wishes are honored.

The basic goal is to pass clear title to assets on to the rightful beneficiaries. Assets that are the subject to the process are known as probate assets. These assets pass either subject to a Last Will and Testament or without a Will. Dying with a Will is called Atestate. Dying without a Will is called Intestate.

Non-probate assets pass outside of probate. Examples of non-probate assets are:

IRA’s that designate beneficiaries,
Life insurance policies that name beneficiaries,
Assets in a trust that designates a beneficiary, and
Accounts set up with a joint tenancy with right of survivorship provision

Typically, in a testate estate (with a Will) the Will names a Personal Representative to identify and collect the assets, pay the decedent’s debts and expenses, and distribute the remaining assets to the named beneficiaries. Through the Will, trusts can be created for minors and other beneficiaries who need protection.

If the person died Intestate (no Will,) the State of Florida determines who will be the beneficiaries or heirs. Heirs are the spouse (if one) and children. If there are no children or grandchildren, then it would be other close relatives. Passage of assets in accordance with these laws may or may not be the way a deceased wanted the assets to pass. In any event the intestate estate will have to be administered through the court probate process.