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Sarah E. Fortune

Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp & Sleik

Sarah E. Fortune

Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp & Sleik

Sarah E. Fortune

Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp & Sleik

Attorney Sarah Fortune counsels clients in estate planning, elder law, business succession, and trust & probate administration matters. “People often think of attorneys after a crisis, but what I like most about my work is that I help clients prevent disputes and financial crisis in their business and personal lives through good planning.”  She crafts custom estate plans using wills, trusts, and other tools that allow her clients to manage their healthcare, finances, childcare, and gifting before and after death or disability.

In her free time, Sarah enjoys gardening and spending time with her nieces at the family farm.  Sarah loves to travel and her adventures have included swimming with beluga whales in the Arctic Circle and camping in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

Firm Description

WHEN YOU WORK WITH ONE ATTORNEY, YOU ACCESS THE POWER OF THE ENTIRE TEAM

Hale Skemp is committed to excellence and dedicated to providing clients with the comprehensive work of a large firm while maintaining the responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and hands-on approach of a smaller firm.

We take a collaborative approach to serving clients by sharing our expertise, strategies, and ideas with each other, so that you receive the absolute strongest representation. Hale Skemp offers a diverse team of attorneys, each with an extensive knowledge in legal matters, including estate and elderlaw planning, business/corporate law and succession planning, family law, personal injury law, probate & trust administration, and insurance defense and coverage. Your case will be staffed with a team that understands the intricacies of the legal issues at hand and works collaboratively to maximize successes and minimize legal expenses.

Our firm exists because we’re passionate about achieving the right result in each situation. We provide each client with sensible, sound, and honest guidance that serves their immediate and long-term interests. We pride ourselves on serving our clients as counselors and advocates.

Hours

Day From To
Monday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM
Tuesday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM
Wednesday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM
Thursday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM
Friday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM

Cost

What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

505 King Street
Suite 300
La Crosse, WI 54601

On the web

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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.

READ MORE
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.

READ MORE
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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