Melissa Q. Leavy represents clients in Medicaid and VA eligibility cases as well as matters involving the Missouri Department of Social Services, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), otheru00a0Social Security Administration programs, and Veterans Administration. Melissa's VA-accreditation authorizes her to represent clients directly in their initial claims and appealsu00a0for Veteran Benefits. She helps clients and their families with a wide-range of long-term care issues, including Medicaid, Veteranu2019s Benefits, other government programs, tax and estate planning, asset protection and Specialu00a0 Needs Trusts, and Probate matters. Our firm focuses on helping elderly and disabled persons with their legal needs. This could include assistance with paying for skilled care, ensuring their wishes are honored, protecting assets through a special needs trust or other type of trust, protecting existing government benefits if ongoing benefit coverage is threatened, and a variety of other issues related to aging, illness, and family planning. In addition, we help people of all ages with estate planning and tax planning issues for passing wealth after death without the need for probate and planning for the possibility of future incapacity.