What is elder law?
Elder law isn’t really a separate area of practice with its own set of statutes — it’s a combination of several legal fields, brought together around the needs of aging clients and their families. Estate planning, probate, guardianship and conservatorship, and long-term care Medicaid planning can all fall under the “elder law” umbrella. What ties them together isn’t a single law, but the client: elder law is about the legal issues that come up as people age, plan ahead, or respond to a health crisis affecting themselves or a loved one.
At Harper Law Firm, elder law touches a large part of our overall practice. A single client’s situation often involves several of these pieces at once — for example, a guardianship proceeding, a Medicaid application, and estate planning work, all for the same family at the same time.
What falls under “elder law”
- Guardianship and conservatorship — court proceedings to appoint someone to make personal, medical, and/or financial decisions for an adult who can no longer safely make those decisions alone.
- Powers of attorney — financial and medical durable powers of attorney that let a trusted person step in without a court proceeding, ideally put in place before a crisis.
- Estate planning — wills, trusts, and advance directives, often revisited as health or family circumstances change with age.
- Probate and estate administration — settling a loved one’s estate after death.
- Medicaid and long-term care planning — helping families understand and qualify for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) to help pay for nursing home or in-home care.
- Protection from financial exploitation and abuse — addressing situations where a senior has been financially exploited, neglected, or abused, including by a family member or caregiver.
Guardianship and conservatorship in Colorado
When an adult can no longer manage their own personal care or finances — often due to dementia, a stroke, or another condition affecting capacity — a court can appoint a guardian (for personal and medical decisions), a conservator (for financial matters), or both. In 2026, after two earlier attempts, Colorado adopted a significant overhaul of its guardianship and conservatorship law (the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act). The new law pushes courts toward less restrictive alternatives where they’ll work — such as powers of attorney or limited, rather than full, guardianships — and adds more court monitoring to guard against exploitation. These cases can move quickly when a family is in crisis, and they require careful, timely filings.
Medicaid and long-term care planning
Long-term care is expensive — a Colorado nursing home now averages roughly $10,000 a month — and most families don’t have long-term care insurance to cover it. Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) can help, but it comes with strict income and asset limits (for 2026, generally $2,000 in countable assets and $2,982 in monthly income for a single applicant), a 60-month “look-back” period on asset transfers, and specific rules protecting a spouse who remains at home. Planning ahead — ideally well before a crisis — generally gives families far more options than trying to qualify after a health emergency has already begun.
How we can help
Harper Law Firm regularly represents seniors and their families throughout Colorado’s 64 counties in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, Medicaid applications for long-term care, powers of attorney, and the estate planning and probate work that often goes hand in hand with them. If you’re caring for an aging parent or spouse, planning for your own future, or facing a Medicaid application or guardianship proceeding, we can help you understand your options.