Welcome to the Law Offices of  F. Michael Hanson

Our law office is a Contra Costa and east bay Medi-Cal Planning, Estate and Long Term Care Planning firm which focuses on the unique and complex area of Elder Law.  This includes protecting homes, cash, investments, and other assets from nursing home expenses, avoiding Medi-Cal spend-down requirements, creating structured gifting plans which do not violate Medi-Cal "look-back" rules, assisting clients in accelerating, obtaining, and retaining Medi-Cal eligibility, protecting assets from Medi-Cal "liens" and estate claims, and creating, or updating, estate plan documents to provide nursing home asset protection abilities which almost all older estate plans do not now contain.  Our practice also includes special needs trusts planning, as well as conventional living trust estate planning, and trust administration.

Mr. Hanson is a Pleasant Hill - Walnut Creek, California attorney with 33 years of estate planning experience, the last 20 years of which have been focused exclusively on the elder law, nursing home asset protection, and long term care planning issues described above, as well as special needs trusts, traditional living trust estate planning, and trust administration.  He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Trusts and Estates Section of the California State Bar.

In those circumstances where the tremendous cost of nursing home care is anticipated, or already an immediate "emergency" issue, Mr. Hanson offers seniors and their families reasonably-priced initial meetings to carefully discuss the options which are available - options which can minimize or eliminate the loss of assets which Medi-Cal spend down requirements impose - and thereby ease the stress and confusion which comes with the expectation, or the onset, or the current impact, of nursing home expenses.

Frequently with Mr. Hanson's assistance, and the participation of his clients and family, a significant and sizeable savings can be accomplished.  And nursing home Medi-Cal eligibility can be obtained and preserved.

Although Mr. Hanson endeavors to assist his clients in preserving their assets and avoiding nursing home care, in those circumstances where nursing home care has become a permanent medical necessity, he has managed over the years to save his clients and clients' families literally millions of dollars in assets, and has, in that process, protected client assets and estates from Medi-Cal "liens" and estate claims, unnecessary income taxes, excessive property taxes, and otherwise unnecessary legal expenses.

Often, clients will only need a few changes or updates to their existing estate plan documents - to install an array of protective powers and options for the benefit and protection of spouses and/or children - in order to deal more effectively with an eventual incapacity or the possibility of future nursing home care.

On the other hand, if nursing care is already being administered, and nursing home expenses are already being incurred, there are still options to protect assets for a spouse and family.

Call us for more information or an appointment.  We look forward to helping you keep and protect what you've worked so hard to earn... and without sacrificing the quality of care you desire.

F. Michael Hanson
Attorney at Law
3478 Buskirk Avenue, Suite 265
Pleasant Hill, California 94523
(925) 944-1665
(707) 422-5550 (Solano extension)

or contact us at info@fmichaelhansonlaw.com 

Also take a moment to review our web log (Elder Law Blog) for more elder law information, guidance, and commentary.  Remember, however, that because of the intricacy and scope of elder law, you should not use anything on this site as a basis for attempting your own elder law estate planning or nursing home Medi-Cal  planning.  Doing so can create unexpected consequences and considerable damages.  You should instead consult with Mr. Hanson personally (or with any other experienced elder law estate planning and Medi-Cal planning attorney) concerning the elder law and Medi-Cal issues specific to your particular case before you act.  The information presented at this site should not be construed as formal legal advice or as forming a lawyer/client relationship.