Elder law firm marketing
Marketing for elder law firms
The person searching for an elder law firm is usually not the person who will be the client. It's a daughter, a son or a spouse, often right after a fall, a diagnosis or a talk with a nursing home's admissions office.
By Charlotte Thompson, Co-Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
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The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Elder law marketing works when the firm is easy to find for an adult child in a hurry, explains Medicaid and long-term care in plain words, and runs intake knowing the caller and the client are different people.
We usually start with AI search, because families ask long, worried questions like "how do we pay for a nursing home without losing the house?", then add Google search ads for urgent Medicaid and guardianship searches. Google's Local Services Ads have no elder law category. The nearest, "Estate lawyer services", fits the wills and trusts side of the practice, not Medicaid or guardianship work by name.
We haven't published an elder law case study yet, so this page cites no results. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
How elder law clients choose
The caller is usually family, and something just happened.
Elder law searches tend to start with an event, not a plan. A family member searches on a parent's behalf, often between hospital visits and their own job.
- A crisis starts many searches
A hospital discharge to a nursing home, a dementia diagnosis, a parent who can no longer manage the bills. Suddenly the family needs to know who pays for care and who can sign for Mom.
- Families learn Medicare won't pay
Medicare's own site says Medicare and most health insurance don't pay for long-term care services, including care in a nursing home or in the community. Many families find that out at the worst moment, and their next search is about Medicaid.
- Medicaid questions are long and specific
Medicaid.gov calls Medicaid the primary payer across the nation for long-term care services, and the asset rules are where families get lost. Their searches read like questions: can we keep the house, what is the look-back, what happens to Dad's savings.
- Siblings decide together
One child often does the research, then sends links to brothers and sisters in other states. A clear page they can forward, and video consultations for relatives who live far away, help a family decision move.
- Patience counts as much as knowledge
Families want a lawyer who will be patient and clear with an elderly parent. Reviews that mention kindness toward a parent carry real weight with the next family reading them.
Channels that fit
Which channels fit an elder law firm, and why.
Elder law suits channels that answer detailed questions and catch urgent searches. AI search comes first; Local Services Ads play a smaller part than in many practices, because Google has no elder law category.
- AI search
Adult children type the whole situation into ChatGPT or Google's AI answers as one long question. Those tools name firms whose sites answer it clearly, one page per matter (Medicaid planning, guardianship, nursing home admission), with a Business Profile and reviews that match. Our guide on how firms show up in ChatGPT shows how they pick.
- Google search ads
Search ads catch the urgent searches, like "Medicaid planning lawyer" or "guardianship lawyer near me". Each matter needs its own landing page and its own call tracking, so you can see which searches turn into signed engagements.
- Local Services Ads
Google's US legal categories include no elder law, Medicaid planning or guardianship category. An elder law firm that also drafts wills and trusts can use "Estate lawyer services" for that work, after getting Google Verified. Don't build an elder law practice around it; our Local Services Ads vs Google Ads guide explains the trade.
- Referral relationships
Hospital discharge planners, social workers, care managers, financial advisers and estate lawyers who don't take Medicaid work all meet families at the moment of need. They recommend firms they trust, and the family checks the firm online straight afterwards, so the profile and reviews have to hold up.
- Social media and talks
Short videos that explain one Medicaid or guardianship question each give the researching child something to send their siblings. Talks for caregiver groups can still bring in families, though they take the lawyer's evenings.
| Matter | Usually starts with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing home Medicaid planning | AI search, Google search ads | Urgent, detailed questions from adult children |
| Guardianship | Google search ads, referral relationships | Families act after a parent's capacity has slipped |
| Wills and trusts for older clients | AI search, Business Profile, Local Services Ads (Estate) | The one part of the practice Google's categories fit |
| Long-term care planning before a crisis | AI search, social media video, talks | Calmer research over months |
Rules that shape it
Specialist claims, referrals and Medicaid facts need care.
Elder law firms often hold a certification, rely on referral sources and publish Medicaid explanations. Each of those comes with rules that change what the marketing can say.
- ABA Model Rule 7.2(c): a lawyer may say they are a certified specialist only if certified by an organization approved by a state authority or accredited by the ABA, and the certifying organization is clearly named. The ABA lists the National Elder Law Foundation's Elder Law program among its accredited certification programs. State versions of the rule differ, so check yours.
- ABA Model Rule 7.2(b): no giving anything of value for a recommendation, apart from exceptions such as reasonable advertising costs and nominal thank-you gifts not meant as payment. Relationships with discharge planners and advisers have to stay unpaid.
- Canada's Model Code (Federation of Law Societies of Canada), rule 4.3-1: no advertising as a specialist unless certified by the law society, and its commentary calls unrecognized "specialist" or "expert" claims misleading. BC's Ethics Advisory EA-2025-05 accepts "expertise" for areas you regularly practise, but not "specialist".
- The same Model Code, rule 4.1-2, bars taking advantage of a person who is vulnerable. Its commentary allows a lawyer to help when a close relative or friend contacts the lawyer for that purpose, which is how much elder law work begins.
Intake
Where elder law firms lose families after the first call.
Elder law intake has a problem most practices don't: the person on the phone usually isn't the client. Handle that well and families trust you; handle it badly and the matter stalls.
Meet the parent, not just the child
ABA Model Rule 1.14 says that when a client's capacity is diminished, the lawyer should still keep a normal client-lawyer relationship as far as reasonably possible. Intake should book a meeting that includes the parent, at the office, at home or by video.
Explain who pays and who the client is
When an adult child pays the fee, ABA Model Rule 1.8(f) requires the client's informed consent, no interference with the lawyer's judgment, and confidentiality kept. A short script that covers this on the first call prevents awkward surprises later.
Answer the discharge-deadline calls
A family told that Mom leaves the hospital for a nursing home on Friday will call several firms today. A live answer, or a callback within the hour, wins those families.
Send the document list early
Send a simple checklist (income, bank statements, existing estate documents, the care facility's paperwork) as soon as the consultation is booked, so the first meeting moves the matter forward. Track which channels bring signed engagements with our intake metrics guide.
See it for your firm
See what we work toward for your firm.
Pick "Elder Law" in the demo on our AI search page, then type your firm and city to see the kind of AI answer we work toward when an adult child asks about Medicaid, nursing home costs or guardianship. It's an illustration of the goal, not a real result.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
Results from elder law firms will be listed here once we publish one. We only show results from the practice a page is about.
We haven't published a case study from this practice area yet, so there isn't one here. Every result we show is real, and we'd rather show nothing than borrow one from another practice. On the call we can talk through the work we've done for similar firms.
FAQ
Questions elder law lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
Can an elder law firm use Google Local Services Ads?
Only in part. Google's US legal categories have no elder law, Medicaid or guardianship category. The nearest is "Estate lawyer services", which fits wills and trusts for older clients. For Medicaid and guardianship searches, Google search ads and AI search do that job.
Who should our marketing speak to, the parent or the adult child?
Both. Often an adult child reads your pages first, so write for them, then make the next step a meeting that includes the parent, who is the client.
Can we call ourselves elder law specialists?
In the US, only with certification from a state-approved or ABA-accredited program, and the certifier named. The National Elder Law Foundation's Elder Law program is on the ABA's accredited list. In Canada, "specialist" is reserved for law society certification, and BC bars the word.
Should our website explain Medicaid rules?
Yes, carefully. Explain the basics, like the 60-month look-back and estate recovery, cite the official source, and say that state rules differ. Clear, sourced pages are the kind AI tools tend to cite.
How fast does elder law marketing bring in matters?
Google search ads can bring crisis calls in the first weeks. AI search, reviews and referral relationships take months, then keep working. Judge the early months on consultations held with the right family members in the room. Our guide on what law firm marketing costs covers typical ad spend.
Do you work with elder law firms outside the US?
Yes. Medicaid is a US program, so for Canadian, Australian and UK firms we build pages around their own long-term care and capacity rules, starting with AI search and the Business Profile.
Further reading
Guides for the next question.
Longer answers to the questions that come up once a firm starts spending on marketing.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- Medicare.gov, Long-term care
- Medicaid.gov, Long-Term Services & Supports
- Medicaid.gov, Estate Recovery
- 42 U.S.C. 1396p, Liens, adjustments and recoveries, and transfers of assets (govinfo)
- ABA Model Rule 7.2, Advertising
- ABA, Private Organizations with ABA Accredited Lawyer Certification Programs
- ABA Model Rule 1.14, Client with Diminished Capacity
- ABA Model Rule 1.8, Current Clients: Specific Rules
- Federation of Law Societies of Canada, Model Code of Professional Conduct (2024)
- Law Society of British Columbia, Ethics Advisory EA-2025-05, Marketing activities
- Google Local Services Ads Help, eligible categories (US)
Written by
Co-founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads social media and content, runs onboarding for new client firms, and is on the regular check-in calls with clients.
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