10 Best Elder Law Attorneys in Elkton, KY

Elkton is a small town of about 2,000 people and the seat of Todd County, Kentucky, and it supports exactly one dedicated elder law practice of its own. This guide starts there and then works outward through the region Elkton residents actually turn to for this kind of help: nearby Hopkinsville and Bowling Green, Kentucky, Clarksville, Tennessee, and the larger elder law markets in Louisville, Lexington, and Nashville, where several firms built specifically around Medicaid planning, long-term care, and veterans’ benefits serve clients from across Kentucky and Tennessee, including rural counties like Todd.

This list is not ranked and is not sponsored. Elder law is a specialty distinct from general estate planning: it covers Medicaid eligibility and crisis planning, VA Aid & Attendance and pension benefits, guardianship and conservatorship, and long-term care decisions, in addition to the wills and powers of attorney a general practice attorney might also draft. When comparing firms, it helps to ask how much of the attorney’s actual caseload is elder law specifically, whether they hold the Certified Elder Law Attorney credential from the National Elder Law Foundation, a certification only a small number of attorneys nationally hold, and whether they handle Medicaid crisis planning, which requires moving quickly when a family faces an unplanned nursing home admission.

1. Collins Law, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Mark D. Collins, Founder
• Headquarters: 707 West Main Street, Elkton, KY 42220
• Phone: (270) 483-3001
• Website: collinslawky.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, Wills & Trusts, Veterans Benefits
• Firm Size: Boutique; founding attorney has practiced since 1994, with 23 years serving as Assistant County Attorney for Todd and Christian Counties

About the Firm : Mark Collins is the only attorney headquartered in Elkton whose practice centers on elder law, and he built it after decades representing Todd and Christian County as an Assistant County Attorney. He is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys and Elder Counsel, an accredited VA Claims Attorney, and active in both the Kentucky and Tennessee Bar Associations’ elder law sections.

Collins operates under the name Elder Law Advocates for his elder law work specifically, and serves clients in Elkton and the surrounding Todd and Christian County area as well as across the state line into Clarksville, Tennessee. For families in Elkton itself, this is the only truly local option, which also means less bench depth than a multi-attorney firm for a family that needs several matters handled simultaneously.

2. Crow Estate Planning & Probate

• Attorney/Key Figure: John W. Crow II, Owner
• Headquarters: 203 E 9th Street, Hopkinsville, KY 42240 (with a second office at 512 Madison St, Clarksville, TN 37040, and additional locations in Nashville, Franklin, and Springfield, TN)
• Phone: (270) 569-0006 (Hopkinsville) / (931) 218-7800 (Clarksville)
• Website: johnwcrow.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Probate, Conservatorships, Business Planning
• Firm Size: Boutique; founded in 2019, deliberately limited to estate planning, probate, and business planning

About the Firm : John Crow founded the firm in 2019 after a decade at a larger Clarksville firm, with the specific goal of narrowing his practice to just a few areas rather than taking on general litigation. That focus shows in the firm’s Hopkinsville office, roughly 20 minutes from Elkton, which offers elder law services including Medicaid planning and long-term care guidance alongside standard estate planning.

The firm’s reach across both Kentucky and Tennessee, with offices in Hopkinsville and Clarksville in addition to locations further into Tennessee, makes it a practical option for Elkton-area families, since Collins Law is the only option physically closer. Clients should confirm which of the firm’s attorneys handles their specific elder law questions, since the practice also carries a significant business planning caseload.

3. Kentucky ElderLaw, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Kelly Gannott, Elder Law Attorney
• Headquarters: 941 Lehman Avenue, Suite 101, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (with additional offices in Louisville and Shepherdsville, KY)
• Phone: (270) 467-0002
• Website: kyelderlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, Life-Care Planning, VA Benefits, Estate Planning, Probate
• Firm Size: Mid-size; multi-office firm with in-house elder care coordinators in addition to its attorneys

About the Firm : Kentucky ElderLaw dedicates its practice entirely to elder law rather than treating it as one service among many, and its staff includes elder care coordinators who help families navigate care decisions alongside the legal work, something the firm says most general practice firms don’t offer. Its Bowling Green office, roughly 45 minutes from Elkton, is the firm’s closest location to Todd County.

The firm’s multi-office structure across Louisville, Bowling Green, and Shepherdsville gives it more staff depth than a solo practice, useful for Medicaid crisis situations that need fast turnaround. Families further from Bowling Green should weigh the drive against the firm’s specialized focus and expect most meetings to happen by phone or video rather than in person.

4. Mason & Associates Law Firm

• Attorney/Key Figure: Jake Mason, Owner
• Headquarters: 1531 Hunt Club Boulevard, Suite 208, Gallatin, TN 37066 (with an additional office in Nashville, TN)
• Phone: (615) 989-7054
• Website: planyourlegacy.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, VA Pension and Disability Benefits, Special Needs Trusts
• Firm Size: Boutique; practice dedicated exclusively to elder law and estate planning, serving Tennessee and Kentucky

About the Firm : Jake Mason holds board certification in both elder law, through the National Elder Law Foundation, and estate planning and probate, through the Estate Law Specialist Board, a dual credential the firm says makes him the only attorney in Tennessee or Kentucky certified in both areas. He is also accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to handle VA pension and disability claims.

The firm is licensed in both Kentucky and Tennessee and serves clients across the state line, which matters for an Elkton-area family since Todd County borders Tennessee directly. Gallatin is roughly 75 minutes from Elkton, closer to Nashville than to the Pennyrile region, so this is a better fit for a family already comfortable working by phone or planning a single in-person visit.

5. Johnson McGinnis Elder Care Law & Estate Planning

• Attorney/Key Figure: Barbara Boone McGinnis, Partner
• Headquarters: 104 Wyncrest Way, Suite 100, Hendersonville, TN 37075 (serving the greater Nashville and Middle Tennessee area)
• Phone: (615) 824-2571
• Website: tn-elderlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Life Care Planning, Medicaid Planning and Appeals, Estate Planning, Probate
• Firm Size: Mid-size; more than 100 years of combined experience, formerly known as Takacs McGinnis Elder Care Law

About the Firm : Barbara McGinnis spent more than two decades as a registered nurse and gerontological nurse practitioner, including running nursing services at a Nashville-area continuing care retirement center, before becoming a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation. The firm says it was the first Life Care Planning law firm in the United States and is widely considered a national leader in that model, which coordinates legal planning with hands-on care navigation.

McGinnis’s clinical background is a genuine differentiator for families trying to understand a loved one’s medical trajectory alongside the legal planning. The firm is roughly 90 minutes from Elkton, making it a option mainly for Todd County families who already have ties to the Nashville area or want access to its life-care-planning specialty specifically.

6. Cochran Gersh Law Office

• Attorney/Key Figure: Christina Rueff Cochran, Owner
• Headquarters: 916 Lily Creek Road, Suite 102, Louisville, KY 40243
• Phone: (502) 423-7023
• Website: cochrangersh.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, VA Benefits Planning, Trust Administration
• Firm Size: Boutique; founded in 1989, more than 35 years of combined attorney experience

About the Firm : Christina Cochran has more than 20 years of experience and is a founding member of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Elder Law Section, with membership in Elder Counsel, WealthCounsel, and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys. The firm, formerly known as Gersh Law Office, has focused exclusively on estate and elder law since 1989, longer than most firms on this list.

Louisville is roughly two and a half hours from Elkton, which makes this firm a fit mainly for families with Louisville ties or those who want access to a long-established, exclusively elder-law practice and are comfortable handling most of the relationship remotely. Its single Louisville office means no satellite location closer to Western Kentucky.

7. Bluegrass Elderlaw, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Katherine E. Finnell, Attorney
• Headquarters: 120 N Mill Street, Suite 201, Lexington, KY 40507
• Phone: (859) 281-0048
• Website: bgelderlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Settlement, Trusts, Asset Preservation, Medicaid, Guardianship, Special Needs Planning
• Firm Size: Boutique; voted the top elder law firm in a 2024 “Best of Lexington” reader poll

About the Firm : Bluegrass Elderlaw keeps its practice narrowly focused on estate planning and elder law for Central Kentucky families, with a team of attorneys, including Katherine Finnell, working specifically on Medicaid crisis planning, guardianship, and special needs trusts. The firm’s recognition as Lexington’s top elder law firm in a recent local readers’ poll reflects sustained local reputation rather than a one-time award.

Lexington is roughly three hours from Elkton, well outside a practical driving radius for most in-person needs, so this firm fits Todd County families who have Lexington-area relatives already working with the practice, or who are comfortable with remote consultations for the bulk of the relationship.

8. Elder Law Guidance (The Elder Law Practice of Scott E. Collins, PLLC)

• Attorney/Key Figure: Scott E. Collins, Founder
• Headquarters: 815 W Main Street, Richmond, KY 40475 (with an additional office in London, KY, and service across Central and Southeastern Kentucky)
• Phone: (859) 544-6012
• Website: elderlawguidance.com
• Practice Areas: Medicaid Planning, Crisis Medicaid Planning, VA Disability and Pension, Estate Planning, Probate, Guardianship and Conservatorship
• Firm Size: Boutique; founded in 2015, veteran-led with two Kentucky office locations

About the Firm : Scott Collins founded the firm in 2015 specifically to help Kentucky families protect their assets from the cost of long-term care, with a particular emphasis on crisis Medicaid planning, the kind of fast-turnaround work needed when a family faces a sudden nursing home admission. The firm’s veteran-led background also shapes its VA disability and pension practice.

With offices in Richmond and London, Kentucky, this firm serves Central and Southeastern Kentucky more directly than it serves the Elkton area, roughly three hours away. It’s included here for families weighing VA-benefits-focused elder law options broadly across the state, but it’s a less practical choice for anyone who needs in-person meetings.

9. Pitt & Emison

• Attorney/Key Figure: Christine Emison, Attorney
• Headquarters: 10525 Timberwood Circle, Suite 201, Louisville, KY 40223
• Phone: (502) 721-7147
• Website: pittemison.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Power of Attorney, Probate, Asset Protection, Business Succession Planning
• Firm Size: Boutique; founded in 2003, with several attorneys on staff

About the Firm : Pitt & Emison has practiced estate planning, probate, and asset protection out of Louisville since 2003, with attorney Jane Schmidt focusing specifically on elder law, Medicaid planning, and VA Aid & Attendance benefits within the broader firm. That internal specialization means Elkton-area families working with the firm should ask to be routed to the attorney whose practice is elder law specifically, rather than the firm’s broader estate planning team.

Like the other Louisville firms on this list, the roughly two and a half hour distance from Elkton makes this a fit mainly for people with existing Louisville connections or those planning a single trip to handle most of the legal work in one visit.

10. Southend Elder Law

• Attorney/Key Figure: Mark B. Wallace, Owner
• Headquarters: 7403 Saint Andrews Church Road, Louisville, KY 40214
• Phone: (502) 937-1125
• Website: southendelderlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Elder Law, Medicaid Asset Protection, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Negligent Nursing Home Care
• Firm Size: Boutique; attorney has represented Southwest Jefferson County clients for 23 years

About the Firm : Mark Wallace has practiced in Southwest Jefferson County for more than two decades and operates Southend Elder Law alongside his broader practice, Wallace Law. The firm’s elder law work covers the core services families typically need, Medicaid asset protection, wills, trusts, and probate, along with claims involving negligent nursing home care specifically.

As with the other Louisville-area firms here, the distance from Elkton, roughly two and a half hours, means this is a realistic option mainly for families with an existing Louisville connection rather than Todd County residents seeking a nearby office.

Elkton, KY Elder Law Resources

• Elkton Police Department: Provides local law-enforcement services, police reports, and assistance with matters involving the Elkton community.
• Elkton City Hall: Provides city government services and information for Elkton residents, including access to city departments and municipal services.
• Elkton Lawyer Referral Services: Helps Elkton residents locate an attorney appropriate for their legal needs. Kentucky’s official lawyer-referral information explains that referral services connect people with attorneys based on their legal needs.
• Elkton Legal Aid Resources: Local residents can use legal-aid and lawyer-referral resources to identify appropriate legal assistance when they need help with an elder-law matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don’t more elder law attorneys serve Elkton directly?

Elkton is the seat of Todd County, Kentucky, one of the state’s smaller and more rural counties, with a population of roughly 2,000 in town and about 12,000 countywide. Elder law is a specialized practice area, and most dedicated elder law firms cluster around larger population centers like Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, and Nashville, where there are enough clients to support a practice focused narrowly on Medicaid and long-term care planning rather than general estate or family law.

What does Medicaid crisis planning mean, and when do I need it?

Crisis Medicaid planning refers to fast-turnaround legal strategies used when a family faces an unplanned nursing home admission and needs to qualify for Medicaid quickly, often within weeks rather than the years of advance planning elder law attorneys usually recommend. Firms like Elder Law Guidance and Kentucky ElderLaw specifically advertise this service, which typically involves spend-down strategies, asset protection trusts, or spousal protections under Kentucky and federal Medicaid rules.

What is a Certified Elder Law Attorney, and does it matter?

The National Elder Law Foundation certifies attorneys as Certified Elder Law Attorneys, or CELAs, based on a minimum number of elder law cases handled, continuing education, and a specialty exam. It is a relatively rare credential nationally. Attorneys like Barbara Boone McGinnis and Jake Mason on this list hold it, and it’s a reasonable question to ask any elder law attorney you’re considering, since the title “elder law attorney” itself is not restricted the way the certification is.

Should I use a nearby general practice attorney or travel to a dedicated elder law firm?

A local general practice attorney, like those in Elkton itself, can usually draft a basic will or power of attorney, but Medicaid planning, VA benefits claims, and guardianship proceedings involve rules that change frequently and vary by state. For complex situations, especially a looming nursing home admission or a VA benefits claim, the specialized knowledge of a dedicated elder law firm, even one requiring travel, often outweighs the convenience of a local general practice attorney who handles elder law only occasionally.

Can an elder law attorney licensed in Tennessee help a Kentucky resident, or vice versa?

Attorneys must be licensed in the state where they practice, so a Tennessee-only attorney generally can’t represent a Kentucky resident on a Kentucky Medicaid application, and vice versa. Firms serving the Todd County area, including Collins Law, Crow Estate Planning & Probate, and Mason & Associates, are licensed in both Kentucky and Tennessee specifically because so many families in this border region have ties to both states.

Do elder law attorneys charge a flat fee or an hourly rate?

Elder law work is typically billed as a flat fee for defined services like a will, power of attorney, or Medicaid application, while more complex or contested matters, such as a guardianship dispute, may be billed hourly. Most of the firms on this list offer a free initial consultation, and it’s worth asking directly how a specific firm structures its fees before engaging them.

Disclaimer: Featuring local legal resources in Elkton, KY is intended solely to help families navigate available options for senior care planning. This list is unranked, independent, and unsponsored. Past case results or professional designations mentioned do not guarantee future outcomes. Please contact the respective law offices directly to confirm current consultation availability and scope of practice.