Lauren Keane Dowley

My mom had a stroke and we wanted to protect her home from all the medical fees she was incurring. Lauren said that we needed to (a) sell the house, (b) put the money in a trust, and (c) get on MassHealth. She said we could avoid a MassHealth lien on the house by just stating that the proceeds of th...e sale were going into a trust. That way the money from the sale of the house would be protected. Unfortunately we had some problems: (1) we could not sell the house quickly, (2) my mom's application for MassHealth was rejected about 6 times over a span of a year despite the fact that we submitted all requested information each time, and (3) the nursing home filed a lawsuit against us for failure to pay the 'private pay' amount, and (4) MassHealth eventually put a lien on the house. Problem (1) was due to the market and outside of Lauren’s control. Problem (2) was because, Lauren said, that my mom's investments were a bit unusual and the investment company could not provide the necessary documents. Problem (3) was, as Lauren said, a frivolous lawsuit because the nursing home was aware we were in the process of applying for MassHealth. The summons was handled well since we were able to avoid going to trial though we did incur legal expenses. Problem (4) was because the 'intent to sell' protection against liens was only good for 6 months or so. So it was partly due to problem (1) but also a lack of communication about the impending deadline should the house not be sold by such-and-such a date. Over all, I was impressed by Lauren's knowledge of the process and professional demeanor. The negatives were the MassHealth application delays and eventual lien on my mom’s house, and the lawsuit by the nursing home. I believe ours was a difficult case that Lauren handled fairly well. However, in the end, very little of the money from the sale of the house was left after medical and legal expenses.