Search Articles

Find Attorneys

;

Janet Colliton Esq.

Colliton Elder Law Assocs., PC

Janet Colliton Esq.

Colliton Elder Law Assocs., PC

Janet Colliton Esq.

Colliton Elder Law Assocs., PC

Janet Colliton was elected twice to the Board of Directors of the Chester County Bar Association and has been Chair of the Elder Law Section of the Chester County Bar for over ten years.  She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (PAELA), the Pennsylvania Bar Association Elder Law Section, and the Chester County Estate Planning Council.  She was a Charter Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners.

Ms. Colliton is co-author with Jerry A. Hyman, Esq. of The Medicaid Program: Interstate Planning Opportunities in Pennsylvania and Delaware published by Half Moon, LLC, Eau Clair, Wisconsin, 2004 and co-author with Jeffrey Marshall, Esq. and other Pennsylvania elder law attorneys of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute primary reference source in the field Elder Law in Pennsylvania 3rd ed. 2012 where Ms. Colliton was responsible for the Social Security section.  She has lectured extensively on elder law topics including financing of long term care and incorporating long term disability into estate planning.

JanetCollitonFor the past 16 years, Ms. Colliton has authored a popular weekly newspaper column, “Planning Ahead” on senior planning issues in West Chester’s Daily Local News, totaling over 800 columns on subjects including Social Security, Medicaid, long term care insurance, Medicare supplemental insurance and Family Agreements for care.  She co-hosts with Phil McFadden, Home Instead Senior Care, a weekly radio program on Wednesdays on WCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead.”

Janet Colliton is a graduate of Chestnut Hill College (1969) and James Beasley Temple University School of Law (JD, Class of 1977) and has background in public and private practice.  Before establishing her private practice, Mr. Colliton was First Assistant County Solicitor for Chester County, Pennsylvania where she supervised counsel for Department of Aging, Mental Health and other County social service agencies.  She also served as a Hearing Examiner for the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement Service (SERS).  She is a former Board President of the YWCA of Greater West Chester and lives in the West Chester area with her daughter.

Firm Description

Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 36 years, 35 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.  Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.

She practices in all of the suburban Philadelphia counties including Chester County, Delaware County, and Lancaster counties and, in conjunction with a related business, Life Transition Services, LLC, headed by Jeffrey M. Jones, Certified Senior Advisor, provides comprehensive support for the elderly, their spouses and families, and special needs individuals as they transition from independent living to assisted living or skilled long term care whether at home or in a facility.  Special focus is placed on helping spouses to survive financially while their spouse is receiving long term care.

Hours

Please contact this attorney for firm hours by clicking here.

Cost

Please contact this attorney for more information about fees by clicking here.

What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

790 East Market St.
Ste 250
West Chester, PA 19382

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.

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.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

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

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

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

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
Medicare

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

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE