In September of 2020, my oldest aunt had a stroke.  She was eighty (80) years old at the time.  Initially it seemed like she would be able to return to her home after rehab, but her health declined as dementia took hold. My aunt was widowed and had no children. She didn’t have a Will or any savings. My seventy-three-year-old(73) mother and another one of her sister’s who was seventy (70) took on the responsibility of finding an assisted living facility for my aunt and figuring out how to pay for it. During this same period of time, I was studying to take the Indiana bar but had not decided what area of law I was going to practice.

After spending hours researching, we determined that we needed to help my aunt apply for Medicaid.  Without legal advice, the task seemed impossible, so we began to look for an attorney.  After meeting with a few attorneys on her own my mom confided in me that she felt very discouraged.  She explained that the lawyers hadn’t listened to her, and, that many of her questions hadn’t been answered. 

I saw my mother’s struggle and her embarrassment over being made to feel small and unimportant because of her age. I became determined to devote my legal career to helping caregivers and family members in similar situations feel seen, heard and respected.