Introduction
Slaton Schauer Law Firm, PLLC has positioned its practice around elder law and estate planning from Cedar Park, Texas, operating at 102 Raley Road, Cedar Park, Texas 78613. The firm’s work centers on the intersection of healthcare, financial planning, and legal protection for aging individuals and their families. A significant portion of the practice addresses Medicaid planning, a legal discipline that requires precise knowledge of income and resource limitations that standard estate planning attorneys often lack. The firm can be reached at (512) 258-9455.
Beyond Medicaid, the attorneys at Slaton Schauer are specifically equipped to help veterans and their families access VA benefits including pensions, healthcare, and Aid and Attendance, a specialty that requires knowledge of an entirely separate regulatory framework.
Practice Areas
Elder Law
Elder law encompasses the legal challenges that emerge as individuals age: healthcare decision-making, financial protection, housing security, and long-term care planning. Slaton Schauer’s elder law practice addresses all of these areas.
The firm handles guardianship petitions and objections, which arise when individuals can no longer manage their own affairs and a court-supervised arrangement is required. Advance directives for healthcare preferences are prepared to ensure clients’ wishes regarding medical treatment are legally documented and enforceable. Retirement planning assistance addresses Social Security, pensions, and the financial structures that affect long-term security. The firm also handles housing discrimination matters, which affect elderly clients in residential care and other housing contexts.
Medicaid Planning
Medicaid planning is the firm’s core specialty. The financial stakes are substantial: Medicare and most private health insurers do not cover long-term care costs, which can reach many thousands of dollars per month. Without planning, these costs can deplete decades of accumulated assets within a few years.
Medicaid imposes strict income and resource limitations on applicants. Slaton Schauer’s attorneys work with clients to navigate these limitations using legal tools and strategies that can protect assets while maintaining or achieving Medicaid eligibility. Timing, asset structuring, and documentation all matter in this process, and errors can result in penalties or disqualification. The firm’s focus on this area means its attorneys have the specific knowledge to handle these matters accurately.
VA Benefits
Veterans and surviving spouses may be entitled to VA benefits that they are not currently receiving, including VA pensions, healthcare enrollment, and the Aid and Attendance benefit, which provides additional monthly income to veterans who require help with daily living activities. Access to these benefits requires understanding eligibility criteria, asset and income thresholds, and the application processes specific to each benefit. Slaton Schauer’s attorneys assist veterans and their families in identifying available benefits and pursuing them.
Estate Planning
The firm’s broader estate planning practice serves clients who want to organize their legal and financial affairs to protect what they have built and ensure it passes according to their intentions. Estate planning work integrates with elder law and Medicaid planning, since decisions made in one area affect outcomes in the others.
Location and Service Area
The office is at 102 Raley Road, Cedar Park, Texas 78613. The phone number is (512) 258-9455. Cedar Park is located in the Austin metropolitan area, and the firm serves clients throughout the region. Clients seeking elder law, Medicaid planning, or VA benefits assistance can call to arrange a consultation.
Client Focus
Slaton Schauer serves three main client groups. The first is aging individuals who need to plan for long-term care while protecting assets they have spent a lifetime accumulating. The second is families of aging parents or spouses who need to understand their options before a healthcare crisis forces rapid decisions without a plan in place. The third is veterans and surviving spouses who may be eligible for benefits they are not yet receiving.
In each case, the firm’s work is technical and specific. Medicaid rules change regularly. VA benefit eligibility criteria are complex. Guardianship procedures require court involvement. These are not areas where general practice attorneys typically have sufficient depth. The firm’s specialization in elder law means clients work with attorneys whose knowledge base is aligned with the problems they are trying to solve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Aid and Attendance benefit?
Aid and Attendance is a VA benefit that provides additional monthly income to veterans or surviving spouses who need assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, or other care. Eligibility depends on service history, income, assets, and care needs. Slaton Schauer assists clients in determining eligibility and applying for the benefit.
Why doesn’t Medicare cover long-term care costs?
Medicare covers short-term skilled nursing care following a qualifying hospital stay, but it does not cover custodial long-term care such as assisted living or nursing home residence on an ongoing basis. Medicaid is the primary public program for this coverage, but it requires meeting strict financial eligibility requirements.
What is involved in Medicaid planning?
Medicaid planning involves structuring income and assets in ways that are legally permissible while meeting Medicaid’s eligibility criteria for long-term care coverage. The process is time-sensitive because Medicaid has a look-back period for asset transfers. Early planning generally produces better results than planning done in a healthcare crisis.
What is a guardianship, and when is it needed?
A guardianship is a court-supervised legal arrangement established when a person can no longer make decisions about their own finances or healthcare. It requires a court petition, evaluation, and ongoing reporting requirements. The firm handles both petitions to establish guardianship and objections when a proposed guardianship is disputed.
Can the firm help someone who has already missed early Medicaid planning opportunities?
Yes. While earlier planning generally offers more options, the firm works with clients regardless of where they are in the process to identify whatever options remain available.
Closing
Slaton Schauer Law Firm, PLLC addresses a concentrated set of legal needs that arise as people age, and does so with specific expertise in Medicaid planning, VA benefits, and elder law that distinguishes the practice from general estate planning firms. For clients in Cedar Park, Austin, and the surrounding area, the office at 102 Raley Road, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 is reachable at (512) 258-9455. More information is at austinestateplan.com