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Gina Barry

Bacon & Wilson, P.C.

Gina Barry

Bacon & Wilson, P.C.

Gina Barry

Bacon & Wilson, P.C.

"I focus my practice on helping people plan for the future. Even young people should start thinking about how they will support themselves in their retirement years, and everybody needs a basic estate plan, including a will, health care proxy and power of attorney. I am down to earth, and I pride myself on making difficult and complex issues easy to understand for my clients. I have a broad client base including a mix of ages, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations."

Gina is a member of the Estate Planning/ Elder Law Department whose practice includes sophisticated estate planning issues.

Education:
Western New England College, J.D., cum laude, 1999
Westfield State College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1996

Areas of Practice:
Estate Planning & Elder, Real Estate & Zoning
Additional areas of expertise include guardianship, conservatorship, planning for long-term care and residential real estate.

Bar & Court Admission:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State Of Connecticut
District Court of Massachusetts

Professional Associations & Memberships:
Massachusetts Bar Association
Hampden County Bar Association
Estate Planning Council of Hampden County, Member
Connecticut Bar Association

Professional & Community Activities:
Hampden County Bar Association, New Lawyer's Section, Chair, 2003-2004; Probate Court Bench Bar Liaison
Greater Springfield Business & Professional Women's Club, Second Vice President
Western Massachusetts Elder Care Professionals, Member, Steering Committee
Holyoke North Business Network International, Membership Committee
Women's Partnership Communications Committee, Co-Chair
Women's Partnership Board of Directors, 2003-2005
Meadows Homes Human Rights Committee, Member
Women's Business Owners Alliance of the Pioneer Valley, Inc., Cheryl Reed Memorial Loan Fund Chair

Awards, Achievements & Appointments:
"Up and Coming Lawyer 2004" distinction, MA Lawyers Weekly, 2004
Pi Sigma Alpha
Alpha Chi
Catherine Bean Street Scholarship, Recipient
CALI Award for Excellence in Torts
CALI Award for Excellence in Critical Race Theory
Notary Public
Certified Mediator
Law Clerk to the Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court, 1999-2000
Western New England Law Review, Articles Editor, 1998-1999
Western New England Law Review, Staff Member, 1997-1998

Publications & Lectures: Lecturer: Beyond Boilerplate: Singles, Unmarried and Same Sex Couples, April 2005
Author: Unlikely Bedfellows: Preserving Assets While Financing Nursing Home Care, Business West, November 2004
Lecturer: Guardianship/Mental Health Guardian Ad Litem Training, November 2004
Lecturer: How To Probate an Estate, November 2004
Author: When Mom and Dad Won’t Move – Sweeping the Minefield of Long Distance Caregiving, Business West, August 2004
Lecturer: National Multiple Sclerosis Society Legal Clinic, June 2004
Lecturer: Staying in Control: Avoiding Guardianship with Advance Directives, July and August 2004
Lecturer: Advising Elder Clients in Crisis, May 2004
Lecturer: Guardianship and How to Avoid It: The Power of Advance Planning , May 2004
Lecturer: A Map Through the Maze - An Interdisciplinary Conference for Alzheimer's Professionals, May 2004
Lecturer: Practical Medicare and Medicaid Skills in Massachusetts, April 2004
Guest: WWLP TV Senior Showcase, 11/03
Author: Brewing Elder Abuse – A Recipe For Disaster, Valley Business Outlook, May 2003 & Healthcare News, August 2003
Author: How To Avoid Guardianship, Healthcare News, April 2003
Author: When You Aren’t Really You: Take Steps Now to Protect Yourself From Identity Thieves, Business West, January 2003
Court-Certified GAL Training for Category D Matters, MCLE, November 2002
Author: ‘Tis the Season…To Review Your Estate Plan, Prime Times, March 2002
Author: Homestead Exemption Update: WP Channels, August 2001
Author: United States v. Kirby: The Case for Appellate Review of Grants of Bail by District Court Judges in International Extradition Cases, 21 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 565 (1999)

Firm Description

Bacon & Wilson's Elder Law group is unparalleled in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. Clients have convenient access to its services with offices in Springfield, Westfield and Northampton. The focus is on preserving assets and protecting the rights of elders, and Bacon & Wilson boasts many successive generations as clients.

Hours

Please contact this attorney for firm hours by clicking here.

Cost

What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

33 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103

9 Chapel Street
Westfield, MA 01085

31 Trumbull Road
Northampton, MA 01060

6 South East Street
Amherst, MA 01002

On the web

View Firm Website


Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

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Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

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Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

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Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

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Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

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ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

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Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

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Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

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Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

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Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

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Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

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Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

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