Both can draft a will. Both can set up a trust. The difference is what happens when those aren’t the only things your family needs.
An estate planning attorney focuses primarily on what happens to assets when someone dies. Tax efficiency, probate avoidance, beneficiary structures, business succession. That’s genuinely valuable work, and for families whose main concern is legacy and inheritance, it’s often all they need.
An elder law attorney focuses on what happens while a parent is still alive. How to fund long-term care. How Medicaid works and what it takes to qualify. How to handle a guardianship proceeding when a parent can no longer make decisions. How to protect against financial exploitation. They operate at the intersection of legal planning, care coordination, and public benefits, and they deal with questions that a traditional estate planning practice rarely touches.
The practical question is which set of problems your family is actually facing.
If your parents are in good health, their finances are relatively straightforward, and the main goal is making sure assets go to the right people when the time comes, a strong estate planning attorney is probably the right fit. If there are questions about how care will be paid for, signs of cognitive decline, Medicaid on the horizon, or concerns about a parent’s vulnerability to financial pressure, an elder law attorney is likely the better starting point.
Many practices now cover both, and some of the most useful attorneys for families navigating aging parents are the ones who are equally comfortable with a trust document and a Medicaid application. It’s worth asking directly when you call: how much of your practice involves long-term care planning and Medicaid? That answer tells you quickly whether they’re the right fit for where your family actually is.
Membership bodies are a reasonable shortcut when you’re trying to narrow the field. ACTEC signals strong credentials in trusts and estates. NAELA signals a focus on elder law and long-term care. Neither guarantees quality, but both suggest a level of specialisation worth looking for.
One thing families sometimes discover is that they started with a general estate planning attorney and later needed to bring in elder law expertise to fill gaps around care planning, Medicaid, or guardianship. Getting that assessment right at the outset saves time and, often, a significant amount of money.
If you’re not sure which you need, describe your parents’ situation honestly to a few attorneys and see who asks the sharper questions.