Daniel Baltuch

Daniel assists elders and their families with sensitivity and foresight through his practice of elder law.

Protecting the assets of elders from the high costs of long term care

Long term care can be extremely expensive. Daniel uses proven strategies to help protect his clients’ life savings from these financially devastating expenses. He assists individuals and families at all phases of the long term care process, from advanced financial planning to paying for immediate care needs to qualifying and applying for Medicaid.

The earlier an individual or family starts planning financially for potential long term care, the more assets they can protect. Daniel helps individuals and families who are thinking about their future with proactive asset protection planning.

Daniel also helps clients who are already in a long term care facility or are already using long term care services. In such cases, Daniel assists clients to save as many of their assets as possible, and to qualify and apply for Medicaid to cover their long term care costs.

Some of the other areas of elder law in which Daniel practices include: veterans aid and attendance, guardianships, powers of attorney, advanced directives, living wills, trusts, and tax and estate planning for elders.

Working together to achieve client goals

Daniel often meets with clients in their home or nursing home, which is generally easier and more comfortable for clients. Daniel guides his clients and their families through the legal maze by first helping them to identify their needs and goals. Then Daniel works together with clients and families to craft a plan to achieve those goals. Sometimes, for example, a plan will involve one or more trusts, sometimes gifts to family or to charities, sometimes creative problem-solving, and most frequently a combination of many elements.

But always, regardless of the details of the plan or the nature of the decisions, sensitivity to the client’s comfort, dignity, and well-being come first. When clients and their families feel confident and secure in their plan and in their decisions – and see them working well – Daniel knows he has done his job.

Professional and educational background

Daniel serves as the founding vice-president and (pro bono) legal counsel for First Seder, Inc., an organization that provides adult education classes to retirees and others. Before he began practicing Elder Law, Daniel advised and represented a Fortune 100 company in all aspects of state and local tax law in all 50 states. Before that, Daniel was a legal intern for the Honorable Anne E. Lazarus of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Daniel also spent time at the American Law Institute-American Bar Association, where he worked on books on estate planning, the Uniform Trust Code, health care law, and legal ethics. He served as a legal intern and Sparer Fellow at the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, which is where he first represented clients in securing Medicaid, Social Security and other federal and state benefits. Daniel has published articles in multiple legal journals and periodicals, including in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Law Journal and in Estate Planning. He is a trained mediator. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Daniel graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In addition to his law degree, he earned a certificate in business and public policy from the Wharton Business School and also received the Distinguished Pro Bono Service award. Daniel also received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and graduated magna cum laude in only two and a half years.

Why Elder Law?

While in college, Daniel volunteered in and directed a hospital patient visitation program. He supported and counseled patients and their families through illnesses and crises. 

This turned out to be one of the most important things he has ever done, even beyond the great worth of the work itself. Daniel got to know his future wife while he was training her to become the next program director. And the experience also led Daniel to realize that his calling was to help individuals and families prepare for and navigate the complexities of such stressful times and circumstances in their lives.