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Joan M. LeGraw

Bourget Law Group LLC

Joan M. LeGraw

Bourget Law Group LLC

Joan M. LeGraw

Bourget Law Group LLC

Joan M. LeGraw has recently joined the Bourget Law Group specializing in elder law and mental health law. Joan is also the general counsel and consultant for ethical and regulatory affairs for the Cape Cod Research Institute in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She sits on the Ethics Committee at Cape Cod Hospital and serves on the FibroMuscular Dysplasia Society of America Advisory Counsel. She is an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk University Law School where she teaches bio-medical law and public policy. For seven years Joan was a voting member of the Institutional Review Board for Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Joan is a member of NAELA, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys. Joan received a BS in Nursing cum laude from Fitchburg State College in 1983. A JD magna cum laude from New England School of Law in 1988 and Masters in Public Health from Harvard University 2000.

Joan has been published in the Human Rights Quarterly, Ethics & Behavior, Biolaw & Business and New England Law Review.

Firm Description

Our promise to each of our clients is to work diligently to find individualized solutions for the concerns they face as they endeavor to protect themselves and their families. Attorney Cynthia Bourget, Joan LeGraw, and T.J. Hurrie combine the skills of empathy, expertise and legal knowledge to develop and implement each plan.

The Best Plan For Your Family

Whether your family includes just you or multiple generations, we believe that a plan for the future should include Estate and Incapacity planning. Our specialization in Elder Law, Estate Planning and Incapacity Planning brings cutting edge knowledge and skills to bear on problem solving for our clients.

We have the ability to address a wide range of services from complex Estate Plans, Medicaid applications, to Guardianships and Special Needs Trusts. Each plan implements various aspects of estate planning such as:

  • Wills and Trusts;
  • Tax minimizing planning;
  • Living Wills, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxy; and
  • Long Term Care Planning
  • Guardianships and Other Estate Planning Tools

You can expect a competent approach from the team of Bourget and LeGraw. If you are interested in a consultation to better understand your planning options, or you have already ascertained a specific need, please call to schedule an initial consultation without charge.

Bourget Law Group, LLC has two convenient locations in Falmouth and Centerville. Our clients come from all over Southeastern Massachusetts including, Nantucket, Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties. Home visits can be arranged for those unable to travel to Falmouth or Centerville.

Hours

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Cost

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What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

765 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601

194 Old Main Road
North Falmouth, MA 02556

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.

READ MORE
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.

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.

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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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