Washington, DC Elder Law & Estate Planning
Top Elder Law Attorneys in Washington, DC
The best Elder Law attorneys in DC help you plan for aging, incapacity, long-term care, and the legacy you intend to leave.
A strong estate plan done by one of the best estate planning attorneys in DC answers what happens when you die. A strong Life Care Plan done by one of the top Elder Law attorneys in DC also addresses what happens if you live a long life, lose capacity, need expensive care, or must qualify for Medicaid without unnecessarily sacrificing everything you have built.
Serving individuals and families throughout Washington, DC, including Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Kalorama, Adams Morgan, Palisades, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Led by a Certified Elder Law Attorney certified by the National Elder Law Foundation
Focused on the legal realities of aging and long-term care
Incapacity Planning, Estate Planning, Asset Protection Planning, and Life Care Planning
Elder Law, Medicaid, Estate Planning, tax, and related concerns
The Central Planning Question
Washington families need more than a collection of legal documents.
A Will does not pay for long-term care. A Revocable Living Trust does not protect assets from nursing-home expenses. A Power of Attorney does little good if it does not give the agent the authority needed when a crisis occurs.
And an estate plan designed without considering DC Medicaid rules, incapacity, beneficiary protection, long-term-care risk, and the District’s separate estate-tax system can perform exactly as drafted while still producing a poor result for the family.
That is why Elder Law planning should begin with the problems the family needs to solve — not with a menu of documents.
Lifetime Protection Planning
Four different planning needs. One coordinated strategy.
Many estate plans stop after Level 2. For families concerned about aging, long-term care, or asset preservation, that can leave the largest financial risks unaddressed.
Level 1
Incapacity Planning
Who acts for you if illness, injury, dementia, or another condition prevents you from managing finances or health-care decisions?
Level 2
Estate Planning
How should assets pass at death, how should beneficiaries be protected, and how should probate, taxes, and administration be handled?
Level 3
Asset Protection Trust Planning
Should assets be repositioned before a crisis so they are better protected from future long-term-care expenses and other risks?
Level 4
Life Care & Medicaid Planning
When care is needed now, what lawful strategies can protect assets, coordinate care, preserve a spouse’s security, and pursue Medicaid eligibility?
Washington, DC Elder Law Services
Start with the problem that could disrupt the family.
Elder Law is not one narrow service. It is the coordination of legal, financial, health-care, public-benefits, and family issues that become more important as people age.
Estate & Incapacity Planning
Wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, advance medical directives, beneficiary planning, fiduciary selection, and incapacity planning designed to work in real life.
Medicaid & Long-Term Care Planning
Planning for nursing-home care, home-based care, Medicaid eligibility, the DC Elderly and Persons with Physical Disabilities Waiver, and the financial consequences of long-term care.
Asset Protection Planning
Trust and ownership strategies designed to preserve assets before a crisis rather than relying on a last-minute liquidation of a lifetime of savings.
Special Needs Planning
Trust planning for beneficiaries with disabilities, protection of public benefits, inheritance coordination, and long-term support.
Probate & Trust Administration
Guidance for executors, trustees, and families administering an estate or trust after death, including fiduciary duties, distributions, and tax coordination.
Guardianship & Crisis Decision-Making
Help when planning documents are missing, inadequate, or no longer workable and court involvement may be required to protect an incapacitated adult.
Timing Changes the Strategy
Planning ahead and planning during a crisis are not the same thing.
The correct strategy depends heavily on when the family begins. Earlier planning creates more choices. But a nursing-home admission does not automatically mean that planning is over.
Planning Ahead
Protect options before long-term care becomes urgent.
- Review existing estate documents
- Coordinate beneficiary designations and asset ownership
- Consider long-term-care insurance and other funding strategies
- Evaluate Medicaid Asset Protection Trust planning
- Strengthen powers of attorney and incapacity documents
- Plan around DC estate-tax exposure where relevant
Time-of-Need Planning
Care has begun. The family needs answers now.
- Analyze Medicaid financial eligibility
- Identify lawful transfers and asset-protection strategies
- Protect the financial security of a spouse
- Review prior gifts and transfers
- Coordinate nursing-home, home-care, and waiver planning
- Correct inadequate powers of attorney where possible
Why Washington, DC Is Different
District planning requires a District-specific analysis.
Washington, DC is not simply Virginia or Maryland with a different address. Medicaid administration, probate practice, real-estate issues, taxation, and public-benefits procedures are District-specific.
DC also imposes its own estate tax. For decedents dying in 2026, the District’s estate-tax exclusion amount is $4,988,400. Families whose estates approach or exceed that level need to coordinate lifetime planning, beneficiary designations, trust structure, and tax planning rather than assuming the federal estate-tax exemption is the only number that matters.
Washington families also include many current and retired federal employees. Federal retirement benefits, survivor elections, the Thrift Savings Plan, life insurance, and beneficiary designations should be coordinated with the estate plan rather than handled as separate financial paperwork.
Experienced Elder Law Leadership
A broader approach grew out of a simple problem with traditional estate planning.
Early in his career, Certified Elder Law Attorney Evan Farr practiced traditional estate planning. He came to recognize that a perfectly drafted and fully funded Revocable Living Trust could avoid probate — yet still do nothing to protect a client from catastrophic long-term-care expenses.
That realization led him into Elder Law and ultimately to the development of the Living Trust Plus® Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.
Today, Farr Law Firm’s planning model integrates incapacity, estate planning, asset protection, and long-term-care planning rather than treating them as unrelated legal services.
Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation
Member of the NAELA Council of Advanced Practitioners
Author of four bestselling books addressing Estate Planning, Elder Law, Asset Protection, and Long-Term Care
Developer of the Living Trust Plus® Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
Serving Washington, DC
One DC office. Families throughout the District.
Our Washington office serves clients throughout the District. Neighborhood names below describe areas we serve — not separate Farr Law Firm office locations.
Washington Office
1750 H Street, NW, Suite 360
Washington, DC 20006
Free Book & Newsletter
Learn how Medicaid Asset Protection Trust planning works before you need it.
Get Evan Farr’s free Medicaid Asset Protection Trust book and receive practical Elder Law updates through the Everything Elder Law newsletter.
“This book is a must-read for anyone who is serious about protecting their assets from the nightmares of probate, lawsuits and nursing home expenses.”
Simon Stapleton, Elder Law Attorney
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Professional Recognition
What other attorneys say about Evan Farr.
“Evan is one of the go-to guys for lawyers in the Virginia Elder Law community. If we have a question, Evan will help with the answer.”
Ross Hart Elder Law Attorney
“Evan Farr is one of the foremost authorities in elder law in the State of Virginia. He has a true passion for his clients and solid competence.”
Thomas Begley, CELA Certified Elder Law Attorney
“Evan Farr, is, in my view, one of Virginia’s foremost authorities on the subject of elder law.”
Ben Glass Attorney
Washington, DC Planning Questions
Questions families ask before making major decisions.
These are starting points. The correct answer depends on the individual’s assets, health, family structure, prior transfers, care needs, and timing.
Is Elder Law the same as Estate Planning? +
No. Estate Planning addresses incapacity and the transfer of assets. Elder Law goes further by addressing long-term care, Medicaid, asset protection, disability, guardianship, special needs, and the legal consequences of aging.
Is it too late to plan after someone enters a nursing home? +
No. A nursing-home admission does not automatically end planning opportunities. Time-of-need Medicaid planning can still involve lawful strategies to protect a spouse, preserve permitted assets, restructure ownership, address prior transfers, and pursue eligibility.
Does Medicare pay for long-term care? +
Medicare does NOT pay for long-term care. Medicare can cover qualifying skilled care for limited periods, but it does not finance ongoing custodial nursing-home or home-care needs.
Why does the DC estate tax matter if the federal exemption is higher? +
Washington, DC has its own estate-tax system. For deaths in 2026, the DC exclusion amount is $4,988,400. A family can therefore have no federal estate-tax exposure yet still have a DC estate-tax issue.
Can a Revocable Living Trust protect assets from nursing-home costs? +
No. A traditional Revocable Living Trust is excellent for probate avoidance and incapacity management, but assets remain available to the trust creator and therefore are not protected from long-term-care expenses simply because they are titled in the trust.
Does Farr Law Firm have a physical office in Washington, DC? +
Yes. Farr Law Firm’s Washington office is located at 1750 H Street, NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20006.
Protecting What Matters Most
Before you transfer assets, spend money, change title, or assume it is too late, understand your options.
The right plan starts with your family, your assets, your health, your timing, and the law that actually applies in Washington, DC.
Start Your Planning Now