If no one in your area has recommendations you are stuck with your usual search engine, today's "yellow pages". Try to do some sort of phone interview with staff to find out cost of consultation. Make certain this is a specialty. If you need more specialized help tell them (ie help with medicaid). You can check with the licensing bar for any complaints against the person; basically your person specialized in Elder Care can do Elder Care. Learn all you can on your own. Have your questions ready. Google for answers in your state to questions you may have.
Why do you need an "elder lawyer". Do u need him/her for a POA, a Will? If so any lawyer can do that. Do you need them for Medicaid? Well, from what I have read on the forum, being an elder lawyer does not mean they know the ins and outs of Medicaid. One member got conflicting info from 2 different lawyers. Another had trouble with their lawyer getting the paperwork done in a timely manner. So for me its finding a lawyer well versed in Medicaid law. And willing to find out the answers when not sure.
When the Area Agency on Aging sponsored elder care seminars, there typically would be 3 -4 small practice law firms focusing on elder care with booths, and free information sheets as well as a "ticket" for a free consultation. In this area, the AAA terminated involvement with those kinds of seminars.
There also used to be local community or senior center sponsored events, with a variety of law firms and other firms or individuals offering related products or services. I don't know if any communities or senior centers have resurrected that practice, which was discontinued when the pandemic began.
What you can do is research the (a) Boynton Beach county bar association and the (b) Florida State Bar Association, searching for "elder law" and/or "estate planning" practice areas. You could also contact local communities to see if they do have any events with senior citizen needs planned.
In Florida, I'm guessing there would be a lot of attorneys focusing on these practice areas. That's also a caution: do a lot of research to ensure that you find a good attorney or practice.
Once you've identified several in your area, check out their websites and see (a) how many attorneys they have (b) what their practice areas (specialties) are (c) any articles posted on their website (d) any public service events, or specific client events.
Some law firms for which I've worked offer free practice area seminars for corporate clients, and their employees. These are not the same "seminars" that individual attorneys present at nursing homes, often with a financial adviser lurking in the background to identify clients with potential incomes to invest.
Make a checklist of your concerns, issues, and anything else you want to ask, such as whether or not an estate planning package is a flat fee, or hourly. Often the individual members' profiles in the firm's website will provide information on law school graduation date, and other information such as other organizations in which the attorneys may have participated.
What you're looking for is someone with good experience, over a reasonable period of time, and a law firm with ancillary practice areas that can overlap or complement an elder care practice.
E.g., one of the attorneys for whom I worked had decades of experience in estate planning (before the term "elder law" became more well known and popular). She handled estate plans, probate, probate litigation, trusts and EOY gift tax form preparation and filing. Another attorney had more experience with different kinds of trusts. There also were real estate, tax and litigations attorneys who could step in to assist a client if the need arose. They could all work together if necessary when presented with specific circumstances.
Another advantage is that they worked with the IRS to obtain a list of EINs for Trusts. When my sister and later my father died, I called them and got an EIN the next day and didn't have to deal with the IRS and wait months to get just a number for the Trust.
https://nelf.org
There also used to be local community or senior center sponsored events, with a variety of law firms and other firms or individuals offering related products or services. I don't know if any communities or senior centers have resurrected that practice, which was discontinued when the pandemic began.
What you can do is research the (a) Boynton Beach county bar association and the (b) Florida State Bar Association, searching for "elder law" and/or "estate planning" practice areas. You could also contact local communities to see if they do have any events with senior citizen needs planned.
In Florida, I'm guessing there would be a lot of attorneys focusing on these practice areas. That's also a caution: do a lot of research to ensure that you find a good attorney or practice.
Once you've identified several in your area, check out their websites and see (a) how many attorneys they have (b) what their practice areas (specialties) are (c) any articles posted on their website (d) any public service events, or specific client events.
Some law firms for which I've worked offer free practice area seminars for corporate clients, and their employees. These are not the same "seminars" that individual attorneys present at nursing homes, often with a financial adviser lurking in the background to identify clients with potential incomes to invest.
Make a checklist of your concerns, issues, and anything else you want to ask, such as whether or not an estate planning package is a flat fee, or hourly. Often the individual members' profiles in the firm's website will provide information on law school graduation date, and other information such as other organizations in which the attorneys may have participated.
What you're looking for is someone with good experience, over a reasonable period of time, and a law firm with ancillary practice areas that can overlap or complement an elder care practice.
E.g., one of the attorneys for whom I worked had decades of experience in estate planning (before the term "elder law" became more well known and popular). She handled estate plans, probate, probate litigation, trusts and EOY gift tax form preparation and filing. Another attorney had more experience with different kinds of trusts. There also were real estate, tax and litigations attorneys who could step in to assist a client if the need arose. They could all work together if necessary when presented with specific circumstances.
Another advantage is that they worked with the IRS to obtain a list of EINs for Trusts. When my sister and later my father died, I called them and got an EIN the next day and didn't have to deal with the IRS and wait months to get just a number for the Trust.