John L. Roberts
Certified Elder Law Attorney
Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning. Probate of Estates in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Guardianships and Conservatorships under the Massachusetts Probate Code. Advance Directives that avoid the need for Guardianship - Conservatorship: Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy. Real Estate Purchase and Sale. Supplemental Needs Trusts. Obtaining and coordinating benefits covered by Mediciad, Medicare, VA, Social Security, private insurance, and other resources.
I prepare and coordinate estates and trusts for people who plan for succession of their assets and property, and protect benefits eligibility for themselves and for disabled family members.
I serve as legal counsel, and provide estate administration services, to Administrators and Executors of taxable and non taxable estates.
I resolve and avoid problems in a wide variety of circumstances involving probate, real estate and Medicaid estate recovery
- Western New England University School of Law
- J.D.
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- Honors: cum laude graduate; Law Review staff member
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- Boston University
- B.S. | Journalism
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- Practicing Attorney
- Law Office of John L. Roberts
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- Judicial Law Clerk
- United States District Court
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- Law Clerk
- United State Department of Justice
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- Law Clerk
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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- Sustainable Home Care Part 2
- NAELA New
- Sullivan v. Five Acres Realty Trust, 487 Mass. 64 (March 12, 2021), Real Estate Section, Springfield, MA
- Hampden County Bar Association
- A mansion on 5 green acres in Dover with ceilings in danger of collapsing sets the scene for a discussion of construction defect litigation and a Purchase and Sale Agreement that released the Sellers from liability.
- Intersection of Real Estate and Elder Care Planning., Massachusetts Practitioners' Forum, Massachusetts
- WFG National Title Insurance
- Negative examples (from Bankruptcy Court and MassHealth Hearings Decisions) discussing why planning real estate ownership should be coordinated with Caregiver Compensation whenever elder care is provided by family members.
- Discussion of real estate title issues in Guilfoil Case, Springfield, MA
- Hampden County Bar Association Real Estate Section
- Medicaid Applicant was denied eligibility for MassHealth based on Nominee Trust real estate ownership arrangement. (See video)
- Estate Planning for Digital Assets, Springfield, MA
- Hampden County Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Practice Section
- Summary at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpGir4B710o Focus on an SJC case and the difficulty for a family seeking to access the emails of a man who died without making a Last Will & Testament that included Digital Assets.
- Hospital Observation Status cancels Medicare nursing home coverage and "Improvement Standard” can’t cut off Medicare nursing home days, Moderator, Westfield, MA
- Massachusetts Chapter, NAELA
- https://masshealthhelp.com/pdf/MassNAELA%20Hospital%20Observation%20Summary.pdf Medicare laws enacted by Congress say a patient becomes qualified for Medicare paid skilled nursing home care, IF he was a hospital inpatient for 3 days in a row.
- Certified Elder Law Attorney
- National Elder Law Foundation, a private organization,whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. NELF is accredited by the American Bar Association to certify lawyers in the specialty area of elder law.
- Hampden County Bar Asociation Real Estate Section
- Member
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- Massachusetts Chapter of NAELA, The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Member
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- Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts
- Member
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- Hampden County Estate Planning Council
- Member
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- Connecticut
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- Massachusetts
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- 1st Circuit
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- 2nd Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
My clients value the ability to control expenses and manage their circumstances. I charge flat fees that help you and your family obtain the elder care planning and estate planning services you need. I do handle Social Security Disability Insurance cases on a contingency fee basis. The fee is paid only when I recover retroactive benefits for you.
- Elder Law
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
- Social Security Disability
- Public Benefits
2021 Real Estate Client Reviews Attorney Roberts
Client who sold home through a real estate broker.
Beneficiary Designations and what could happen if you don't update them:
Be sure you are making the right beneficiary choices. The estate planning attorney can explain how beneficiary designations can achieve your intentions. Download the Trust and Estate Planning Template at: https://estateplansplus.com/pdf/Estate_Planning_Template.pdf https://estateplansplus.com/pdf/Estate_Planning_Template_Married.pdf
Big Difference between 2 types of Supp Needs Trusts
If you have decided to set up a Trust for your disabled child or grandchild, be sure about which type of trust that you are working with: a 3rd Party Supplemental Needs Trust with no Medicaid Payback Clause, or a First Party (d)(4)(A) Trust that does pay back Medicaid
Can I get paid to take care of my parents?
Negative examples (from Bankruptcy Court and MassHealth Hearings Decisions) discussing why planning real estate ownership should be coordinated with Caregiver Compensation whenever elder care is provided by family members.
Don't Lose the House to Medicaid Estate Recovery
a court case that dramatized how your Estate (life savings, house) could be hit with Medicaid lien IF you used Medicaid paid Elder Care but DON'T HAVE A PLAN to avoid Probate. You can download more information from: http://masshealthhelp.com/
Is Probate always required for Real Estate after death of the property owner?
https://estateplansplus.com for PDF Estate Planning Calculator This video is about Probate License to Sell Real Estate. If an owner of real estate has passed, you need either Power of Sale in the Will or License to Sell from the court before you can sell the property. UNLESS the owner planned to use a WILL SUBSTITUTE.
Massachusetts Probate Estate Client Reviews Attorney John L. Roberts
Probate Client reviews Attorney Roberts' work on a large estate that required Massachusetts Estate Tax filing and release of lien.
Massachusetts Real Estate Law Trumps Medicaid nursing home denial
Guilfoil Case
MassHealth Home Care Asset and Income Limits
Link to At Home Care page. Download PDF on Home Care Income, News Articles on Sustainable Home Care and MassHealth Memo on Income: https://masshealthhelp.com/html/at-home-elder_care.html
Money Follows the Person + other MassHealth Home Care Programs
Home care page: https://masshealthhelp.com/html/at-home-elder_care.html MassHealth Home Care Programs in Hampden County PDF: https://masshealthhelp.com/pdf/athomecare.pdf
Part 2: Will Big Tech's TOSAs control YOUR Digital Assets?
The law provide ways to designate who gets control of your digital assets upon disability or death. In this video, see how you can designate a back up person, using online tools provided by account custodians. But understand if you decide to do that, your Will and Power of Attorney documents no longer control the digital asset. On the other hand, your Will and Power of Attorney documents can specifically say who will be in charge, and what assets they can access.
Potential problem if you don't update your Will after Second Marriage
Plan to Prevent Probate Problems: Massachusetts Spousal Elective Share This video explains what happened when a Massachusetts resident didn't update his Will.
Probate Client Reviews Attorney Roberts - Part 1: Guardian and Conservator
Guardian - Conservator client protected her mother from scammers who prey on elders with memory loss. Client Reviews Attorney Roberts' work for the family.
Review of Attorney from 2021 Real Estate Clients
Client Review from 2021 Client who sold their house by owner
Supp Needs Trusts Protect Eligibility & Assets
If you are a parent or grandparent, and you want to provide an inheritance for a disabled child or grandchild, you need to make sure the money will end up helping the disabled person and won
Your Purchase and Sale Agreement is very important! It protects your interests.
Your Purchase and Sale Agreement is very important! It protects your interests. Clients who are ready to sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement to get a house under contract need to know what