I came to Esther Wang highly recommended, desperate for guidance on organizing my parent's…read morefinances, understanding their trust, and applying for Medi-cal after discovering that my father, a retired professor who always handled the family's finances meticulously, had become unable to manage his paperwork as his cognitive health declined. He hid this from us out of embarrassment. I was navigating this alone, without family nearby, while working full time as a teacher.
We were sent a 25+-list of documentation to gather, and I explained this would be nearly impossible to get before our consultation given my father's condition. We had our initial consultation and was sent to gather all of their financials with no guidance on how to approach it. My parents told me they would call different institutions and get records.
We did have to cancel one appointment last minute due to a medical emergency, and my parents arrived about 40 minutes late to the rescheduled meeting. Esther was gracious about this.
But when my parents arrived with a box of disorganized paperwork, Esther was visibly not happy. She went through a few outdated documents and told my dad they were no help, "this is from 2012," in an impatient tone. I became emotional and had to step out. Esther stopped the meeting, walked outside to me in the hallway, and seemed surprised at my emotional reaction.
I hired her thinking she was skilled in working with families in this position under real emotional strain and confusion.
Afterward, my parents told me they felt condescended to but would try to get their documents straight because they were desperate for help.
I tried to do this for them because they were overwhelmed, emailing updates to Esther for several months as I tried to gather documentation. When I asked if there was a portal to upload the documents because they were too long to print, I was told I could print them. I explained again they were multipage documents, to which they asked if I was sure we wanted to apply for Medi-cal, because it was "up to us." I explained I understood it was up to us, and as far as I knew, yes we were applying for Medi-cal.
School started and I lost track of where we were in the process for 1-2 months, and my parent's house was for sale so I had to dive back in. I had asked previously if they knew of organizations we could hire with experience getting elderly financials in order (every Googled resource I found was not it). She did not have ideas, just explained why who I contacted were not correct. I emailed back again asking for sone guidance so we could ensure we had everything necessary for the next meeting, and received no reply. A few weeks later I emailed again asking if I had missed a reply from them.
Esther wrote back saying she didn't believe we had ever been formally retained beyond the initial consultation. Throughout the months of document requests, meetings, and correspondence, I asked what we owed. I was told nothing yet, so I was surprised at her reply.
I asked how to retain her, and why this never happened (was I supposed to initiate that?), and that question was never answered.
Instead I was told again, it was our choice to apply for Medi-cal, to which I repeated, yes, we wanted to apply for Medi-cal, but I had asked for recommendations for obtaining all the required docs, as I had obtained most, but I did not know whether he had other accounts or how to find them.
She replied that the firm doesn't organize clients' financial paperwork. I never asked her to organize the financials for us. I asked for guidance on how to approach an overwhelming list given my father's cognitive decline.
That message was not acknowledged.
She just replied apologizing that we were not a good fit and she had no resources or ideas for us. She offered a refund for the initial consultation, but a $65 refund does not remedy this for us.
I asked for any other elder law attorney who may understand elder cognitive issues, or a Medi-Cal specialist - anyone who may be a better fit. She said she had no ideas other than a geriatric care manager, which was appreciated.
If your parents' finances are already well organized, this may not be an issue for you. But if you are dealing with a parent's cognitive decline, disorganization, and the shame that comes with it, which is exactly when families most need guidance, this is not the right firm.
