The Law Office of Stephen A. Evans provides the following legal services to its clients:

We offer estate and retirement planning for clients of all ages and circumstances. This can include long-term care and disability planning where appropriate, as well as trust services.

Long-Term Care Planning

We begin our representation of many clients with a comprehensive estate and long-term care planning evaluation. This evaluation dictates the best planning strategies to pursue in order to meet the estate planning and long-term health care objectives of the client. We examine all aspects of the client's financial well-being and present our recommendations for the best possible estate plan for the client. The complex and ever-evolving rules of Medicaid play an increasingly important role with respect to traditional estate planning concerns. A knowledge of elder law, therefore, is absolutely critical for a truly comprehensive estate planning evaluation and plan.

We prepare or assist in the preparation and submission of the Medicaid applications (called MassHealth in Massachusetts) to the appropriate long-term care unit of the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA). At the client's request, we handle all communications with the DMA, thereby removing the individual as much as possible from the often frustrating application process. In addition, we represent clients in connection with Medicaid and Medicare appeals in administrative hearings.

We represents clients seeking guardianship and conservatorship of relatives who can no longer manage their personal or financial affairs and assists family members in fulfilling the duties imposed by these new roles. In some cases this can be accomplished with a durable power of attorney and health care proxy.

We provide full representation of individuals administering estates. Probate administration includes filing the petition for appointment of the personal representative, preparing and filing the inventory of estate assets, paying decedent's debts, distributing assets, filing tax returns, and filing an account with the Probate Court. If real property must be sold, we can provide representation during the real estate transaction as well.

We assist clients with disabilities with legal planning for their long-term needs. We also advises the parents or other family members of disabled persons on how they can effectively provide for them, with careful regard for preserving eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits. The firm provides information about planning options, drafts supplemental needs trusts and other documents as appropriate, and advises trustees of trusts for the benefit of disabled persons concerning trust administration.