Medicare, Medicaid, and SSI The three major categories that make up elder law are: 1. Estate planning and administration, including tax questions;
2. Medicaid, disability and other long-term care issues; and
3. Guardianship, conservatorship and commitment matters, including fiduciary administration.

Other issues found under the umbrella of elder law include such areas as estate planning; wills; trusts; guardianships; protection against elder abuse, neglect, and fraud; end-of-life planning; all levels of disability and medical care; retirement planning; Social Security benefits; Medicare and Medicaid coverage; Medicaid planning (United States); consumer protection; nursing homes and in-home care; powers of attorney; physicians' or medical care directives, declarations and powers of attorney; landlord/tenant needs; real estate and mortgage assistance; various levels of advice, counseling and advocacy of rights; tax issues; and discrimination.

Planning for Adult Children with Disabilities (from specialneedsalliance.org)

As parents of children with disabilities age, there are many issues that they must address. First, parents must plan for their own retirement, possible disability and eventual death. To add stress and complication to that planning, parents must also consider the impact their retirement, disability or death will have on their children. Often, parents seek counsel and devise a plan to ensure that their child will be able to obtain or maintain access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the Medicaid program while their children are still young. As both parents and children age, parents should revisit those plans and inquire into any other programs or benefits that might be available. One important social security insurance benefit is the Childhood Disability Benefit (CDB), which is sometimes referred to as the Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefit. For purposes of this article we refer to the benefit as Childhood Disability Benefit or CDB.

Childhood Disability Benefits Defined

CDB is a monthly cash payment to a child based on the social security earnings record of a parent of that adult child. The amount of the payment is based on the parent’s primary insurance amount (PIA). A disabled adult child is entitled to one-half of the parents’ PIA if the parent is living, and three-fourths of the PIA if the parent is deceased. If both parents are disabled, retired or deceased, the child is entitled to CDB benefits on the higher account of the two. A disabled adult child is entitled to CDB based on the social security record of a parent only if all of the following conditions are met:

1. An application for CDB is filed;
2. The child meets the definition of “disabled” applicable to all social security disability insurance (SSDI) applicants;
3. The child is not married, or is married to a social security beneficiary;
4. The child is age 18 or older and under a disability which must have begun before age 22; and 5. The parent is entitled to social security disability insurance or retirement insurance benefits, or is deceased.
In some cases a child may be eligible for CDB benefits on the account of a grandparent or stepparent.