My Story

DAVE'S STORY

My life changed in the early to late 1990's, although I didn't recognize it at this time. That is, when my wife's grandfather was living independently in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

One night I received a call from my mother-in-law. It was late at night. It was unusual for the phone to ring that late, so I answered the phone, with a feeling of foreboding, only to hear my mother-in-law's voice say that her father, my wife's grandfather, had fallen. Shortly after that, he was taken to the hospital. After medical treatment at the hospital, he was taken to a nursing home.

I was the attorney in the family, so everything was left to me. During this time, I had lots of questions: what options were available; what if granddad had to stay in the nursing home, would we be able to find a good one and would he get good care there; and if so, how were we going to pay for it? I tried to find answers to these questions, that I now answer for others. But I could only catch glimpses of the big picture. That research was my first act into the practice of elder law and life care planning.

After granddad was in the nursing home, I read about a meeting of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. I attended the conference and at the end of the first day, I knew I had found my new profession – the practice of elder law. When I returned home, I threw myself into learning about elder law. I researched the area using law books and materials from the conference and I started putting together what later turned out to be the beginning phases of my new life care planning practice and my calling.