Geoffrey Hamilton Hoatson

We recommend Geoff and Family First Firm to all of our residents' families. They navigate families through the qualification process for VA and Medicaid benefits. These benefits can be a great way to supplement care costs for memory care services like ours. Geoff's team is excellent to work with, and... they always answer our questions with proven experience and knowledge.

In October 2023, I hired Geoffrey Hoatson’s firm for assistance with my elderly mother’s Medicaid application and to manage her limited assets. Unfortunately, their mismanagement caused financial strain, emotional stress, and jeopardized her well-being. Below are key examples of their negligence. 1.... Failure to Follow Up and Understand Family Objectives - After an initial call with Attorney GH and Case Manager SG, several asset management strategies were suggested, but follow-ups were neglected. I sent dozens of emails asking for updates, guidance, or clarification, with little to no proactive communication from the firm. It quickly became clear that the firm didn’t keep proper case notes or understand my mother’s situation. In every interaction, I had to repeatedly explain basic details about her case, our family’s goals, and that I don’t live in Orlando. Unrealistic deadlines for document submission were imposed, often with only days to comply. The lack of oversight and proactive communication caused unnecessary delays in my mother’s care and added to the emotional burden on my family. 2. Negligence in Medicaid Application Process - The firm submitted my mother’s Medicaid application without thoroughly reviewing her financial documents, even after I provided everything. As a result, Medicaid denied the application in February 2024. This left our family responsible for $20,000 in unreimbursed nursing home bills. 3. Unauthorized and Harmful Resolution Plan - After Medicaid was denied, the firm replaced SG with MR, who was equally disorganized and uninformed. In her introduction email, she mistakenly called my mother "Mrs. Hamilton," which isn’t her name. She later apologized but used the last name "Case" - also not my mother’s name. Around this time, the nursing home started calling weekly for payment of the overdue amount. I told MR that I believed the firm was at fault and responsible for the debt. MR met with Hoatson to create a "plan" that went against our family’s goals. Without my knowledge, they arranged with the nursing home for my mother to stay there indefinitely, using her Social Security benefits to pay off the $20,000 debt. I was shocked and upset to learn about this plan. At no point was I consulted about this "plan," which I found despicable and completely disregarded my repeated emphasis on relocating my mother to an assisted living facility. In previous emails and calls, I consistently stressed that our top priority was to REMOVE my mother from that facility. 4. Errors in critical documents, like my mother’s durable power of attorney. 5. Risking Exposure of Sensitive Client Data - I’ve received emails from the firm’s attorneys that were clearly generated by ChatGPT or similar AI tools. This raises serious concerns about the privacy of my mother’s sensitive financial and personal information. I was never informed or asked for permission. 6. The firm provided incorrect advice about a financial investment through Elder Planning Income Concepts (EPIC), involving my mother’s life savings. These funds were meant to cover her assisted living and medical expenses for the long term, but due to poor guidance, her financial security is now at risk. I told the attorneys my mother might relocate out of state, and they assured me the investment would be transferable. This was false. I said we’d need to withdraw funds as my mother’s expenses grew with age or a potential move. They recommended a flat fee option for penalty fees associated with early termination, which I understood to be 8%. This was also false. Less than three months after the investment, I was shocked to learn the termination fee would be over $37,000. As a result, my mother’s life savings are now insufficient to sustain her in an assisted living facility. Instead of lasting a decade as planned, her funds will run out in less than three years. This firm has caused serious harm to my family.