Kristen Matthews Law

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Kristen Matthews Law

Kristen Matthews Law is an Estate Planning and Elder Law Firm located in Downingtown, PA. We help families navigate the complex issues life brings with age.

Kristen R. Matthews's law career has been exclusively devoted to helping clients with estate planning and elder law issues. She works closely with individuals and their families on all aspects of estate and trust planning and administration, by implementing necessary legal documents, such as a Will, Living Will, and General Durable and Healthcare Powers of Attorney. Kristen counsels families throu

gh the emotional and often daunting process of qualifying for government benefits such as Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, and Social Security. Through strategic planning, Kristen helps individuals and families facing the high costs of long-term care to safeguard their lifetime savings. Kristen also assists families with disabled loved ones through establishing and administering special needs trusts, as well as obtaining permission from the Pennsylvania Orphans Court to appoint a guardian. Kristen assists veterans and their surviving spouse with qualifying for the Aid & Attendance benefit, a monthly cash payment that can be used to offset escalating medical expenses. Kristen has achieved the designation of Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) from the National Elder Law Foundation. The CELA designation is recognized and authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and is only awarded to attorneys who have demonstrated extensive experience in practicing in the areas of estate planning and elder law, passed a day-long exam, and received recommendations from other attorneys who hold the CELA designation. Since 2015, Kristen has been recognized as a “Top Lawyer” in Elder Law by Main Line Today magazine and the Daily Local News. In 2016 and 2019, Main Line Today named Kristen #1 Top Lawyer in the Elder Law category. Since 2017 Kristen has earned the title of Pennsylvania Rising Star, an award given to less than 3% of Pennsylvania attorneys. Prior to founding Kristen Matthews Law, Kristen was one of the first female associate attorneys promoted to partner at the oldest and largest law firm based in Chester County. The first attorney in a family of teachers, Kristen connects with her clients on a meaningful level, equipping them with the requisite knowledge to gain confidence and control over their affairs. A lifelong resident of Downingtown, Kristen and her husband Lee are the proud parents of 3 active boys.

09/04/2026

September is Healthy Aging Month, and it is a good reminder that aging well does not happen by accident.

It takes intention. It takes planning. And it takes having the right people in your corner, whether that is a doctor who knows you, a family that communicates openly, or an attorney who understands what is at stake.

Healthy aging is not just physical. It is legal and financial too. Having a power of attorney, an advance directive, and a Medicaid plan in place means that if health ever changes, the decisions are already made. On your terms.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

09/01/2026

September is World Alzheimer's Month, and it is a reminder that residents with cognitive decline can be among the most vulnerable in long-term care settings and the least able to speak up for themselves.

If you have a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility and something feels wrong, you do not need proof before asking for help. You just need to describe what you saw, when it happened, and why you are concerned.

Here is where to turn:

911 — immediate danger or serious injury
Long-Term Care Ombudsman — free advocacy in every state for care quality complaints and abuse
Adult Protective Services — for residents being neglected or exploited
National Elder Fraud Hotline — 1-833-372-8311 for financial exploitation
Eldercare Locator — 1-800-677-1116 if you are not sure where to start

Document everything as soon as a concern arises. You do not have to figure this out alone.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/31/2026

Most people have never heard of the Certified Elder Law Attorney designation until they are already searching for an elder law attorney. By then, knowing what it means can make a real difference in who they choose.

The CELA is the only nationally recognized certification in elder law, granted by the National Elder Law Foundation and accredited by the American Bar Association. In Pennsylvania it is also recognized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

What makes it meaningful is how hard it is to earn. Candidates must have devoted years of their practice exclusively to elder law, handled a minimum of 60 cases across seven distinct subspecialties, submitted peer references, and completed significant continuing education before they are even eligible to sit for the exam. The exam itself has a pass rate of less than 30 percent. Highly experienced elder law attorneys take it and do not pass.

The designation is rare because the bar is genuinely high. For families navigating some of the most consequential decisions of their lives, that is exactly the point.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/27/2026

Here is a scenario that plays out more often than most people realize.

A parent has a stroke. They are in the hospital, unable to communicate, unable to sign documents, unable to manage their finances. The adult children want to help, but the bank will not let them access accounts. The doctors will not discuss treatment options. The bills are piling up and no one has legal authority to act.

Without a durable power of attorney in place, the family's only option is to go to court and petition for guardianship. That process takes time, costs money, and adds an enormous amount of stress to an already devastating situation.

A power of attorney is one of the simplest and most important documents an older adult can have. It takes one appointment to put in place. It has to be signed while your parent still has the legal capacity to do so.

If you have been putting this off, today is a good day to stop putting it off.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/21/2026

Today is National Senior Citizens Day, and I want to take a moment to honor the people at the heart of everything I do.

The older adults I work with are not a demographic. They are people who built things, raised families, survived hard seasons, and are now navigating a chapter of life that requires more planning, more patience, and more advocacy than most people realize.

It is a privilege to do this work. Happy National Senior Citizens Day to every older adult and to the families who love and care for them.

08/17/2026

If you or a loved one has both Medicare and Medicaid, you may qualify for a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan, or D-SNP. These plans are designed to bring both programs together under one managed care plan, but they come with their own set of challenges: prior authorization denials, narrow provider networks, confusing communications, and sometimes enrollment you did not even ask for.

Knowing your rights and knowing what questions to ask can make a real difference.

In this post, I break down the most common D-SNP problems and practical steps to address each one: https://kmatthewslaw.com/medicaid/issues-you-might-face-with-d-snps/

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/12/2026

One of the most misunderstood rules in Medicaid planning is the five-year look-back.
Here is how it works: when someone applies for Medicaid to cover long-term care costs, the state reviews every financial transaction made in the five years before the application date.

Gifts to children, transfers to grandchildren, money moved into a family member's account, all of it is examined.

If the state finds transfers that were made to help qualify for Medicaid, it can impose a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for care, even if the applicant otherwise qualifies. That penalty period can last months or years depending on the amount transferred.

The families who get into trouble with this rule are usually the ones who acted with the best intentions, not knowing that timing and structure matter enormously.

Planning ahead, before the five-year window becomes urgent, changes everything.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/10/2026

Estate planning and elder law are not the same thing, and the difference matters more than most people realize until they are already in the middle of a situation.

Estate planning is primarily about what happens after you die: wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, the transfer of assets to the next generation. It is important work, and everyone should have these documents in place.

Elder law is about what happens while you are still living: how to pay for long-term care, how to qualify for Medicaid without losing everything you have built, who has legal authority to make decisions if you cannot, how to protect a healthy spouse when the other needs nursing home care.

The two areas overlap, and a good elder law plan will coordinate with your estate plan. But if your attorney only does estate planning, they may not have the focused knowledge your family needs when long-term care becomes part of the picture.

That is exactly the gap the CELA designation was created to address.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

08/07/2026

"The afternoon of life is just as full of meaning as the morning; only its meaning is different."
- Carl Jung

So much of what I do is help families make space for that meaning. The planning, the documents, the conversations nobody wants to have until they have to. When those things are in place, the afternoon of life gets to be what it should be.

08/03/2026

If your family is beginning to look at assisted living or memory care for a loved one with dementia, there is a lot to navigate, and the name on the brochure does not always tell you what level of care a facility can actually provide.

Did you know that 44 percent of assisted living residents live with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia? Or that Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care, meaning most families pay out of pocket, sometimes for years?

In my latest post I walk through what assisted living and memory care actually offer, the questions families should ask before signing anything, and why having an attorney review a facility contract before you commit can protect your family in ways you may not expect.

Read more here: https://kmatthewslaw.com/healthcare-decisions/choosing-assisted-living-memory-care-for-dementia/

Long-term care decisions are rarely just emotional. They are legal and financial ones too.

484-789-9137 | kmatthewslaw.com

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14 E Welsh Pool Road
Exton, PA
19341

Website

http://kmatthewslaw.com/

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