Legal & Financial
Information and Resources to Help You Find Legal and Financial Help.
Senior Rights Assistance (Program of Senior Services of Seattle/King County)
206 448-5720 ▪ www.seniorservices.org/SRA/sra.asp
Assistance with legal or consumer issues. More than 50 specially trained volunteers under the supervision of an attorney in downtown Seattle and community sites throughout King County. They provide one-on-one assistance with powers of attorney and advance directives, Medicare and health insurance, long-term care insurance, social security problems, guardianship, consumer issues, landlord/tenant problems, homeowner concerns, estate planning information, and victims of crime assistance.
Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens Age 55+ Employment Resource Center
206-684-0500 info line ▪ 206-684-0477 job line ▪ www.seattle.gov/humanservices/mosc
The Age 55+ Employment Resource Center helps older workers find jobs. The Center also finds training for older job seekers who need to upgrade their job skills.
KC Prosecuting Attorney - Elder Abuse Financial Prevention
www.kingcounty.gov
Information regarding suspected elder financial neglect or abuse--commingling-mingling funds, stealing, or giving assets away inappropriately.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
877 267-2323 ▪ www.cms.hhs.gov
This is the main federal website for information on Medicare and Medicaid.
Medical Assistance Customer Service
800 562-3022 ▪ wws2.wa.gov/dshs/onlinecso/abdmedical.asp
Information on the State of Washington’s Medicaid programs
Government Benefits
www.govebenefits.gov
Provides information on eligibility for government benefits.
Social Security Administration
800 772-1213 ▪ www.ssa.gov
Information on social security, SSI, or disability benefits. Arrange for direct deposit and check on your benefits.
Caring Connections
HelpLine: 800.658.8898 Spanish HelpLine: 877.658.8896 ▪ Email: caringinfo@nhpco.org ▪ www.caringinfo.org
Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), is a national consumer and community engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life, supported by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Caring Connections provides free advance directives and instructions for each state that can be opened as a PDF (Portable Document Format) file.
WSBA (Washington State Bar Association)
800-945-9722 ▪ 206-443-9722 ▪ www.wsba.org
Legal information and consumer information pamphlets covering among many other things, Probate, Revocable Living Trusts, Trusts, and Wills. They also have a lawyer referral program.
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
520 881-4005 ▪ www.naela.com
Referrals to elder law attorneys who specialize in issues of wills, trusts, estates, power of attorney, guardianships, and other issues concerning the elderly
FirstGov for Seniors
800-333-4636 ▪ www.firstgov.gov
FirstGov is the door to an enormous government information network, providing links to millions of Web pages on a vast array of topics. FirstGov for Seniors focuses on senior issues including health and housing, money, taxes, legal and financial issues.
BenefitsCheckUp
www.benefitscheckup.org
Many older people need help paying for prescription drugs, health care, utilities and other basic needs. Ironically, millions of older Americans – especially those with limited incomes – are eligible for, but not receiving benefits from, existing federal, state and local programs. Ranging from heating and energy assistance to prescription savings programs to income supplements, there are many public programs available to seniors in need if they only knew about them and how to apply for them. Developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), BenefitsCheckUp is the nation's most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources.
