Chester County Certified Elder Law Attorney

Call Us Today: 484-874-2987

KRISTEN MATTHEWS LAW

Exton-based Certified Elder Law Attorney serving Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Southeastern Pennsylvania

Helping families navigate the complex issues life brings with age.

Call Us Today: 484-874-2987

Kristen Matthews Law

Exton-based Certified Elder Law Attorney serving Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Southeastern Pennsylvania

Helping families navigate the complex issues life brings with age.

How We Help

Every family’s situation is different. Our practice covers the full spectrum of Elder Law and Estate Planning so you have one trusted attorney for every stage of the journey.

Elder Law

When aging brings new challenges (such as a dementia diagnosis, a sudden hospitalization, a nursing home decision), Elder Law is the practice area that addresses both the legal and human dimensions. We help families understand their rights, protect their assets, and navigate Pennsylvania’s complex system of benefits and care options.

Estate Planning

A thoughtful estate plan is more than a will. We work with individuals and families to create documents that reflect your wishes, protect your loved ones, and hold up when it matters most. We create wills, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, and living wills, and they are all explained in plain language you can understand.

Estates and Trusts

Trusts are powerful tools for protecting assets, providing for a spouse or child with special needs, and ensuring your wishes are carried out exactly as intended. We help families understand whether a trust makes sense for their situation, and if so, design one that truly works.

Guardianships

When a loved one can no longer make safe decisions for themselves and hasn’t put legal protections in place, guardianship may be the path forward. We guide families through the Pennsylvania guardianship process with compassion and clarity, advocating for the dignity and wellbeing of your loved one at every step.

Tax Planning

Strategic planning considers not just what you want to leave behind, but how to do it as efficiently as possible. We help clients understand the tax implications of their estate plans and coordinate with financial advisors to achieve the best outcomes for the whole family.

Trust & Estate Litigation

When a will is contested, a trustee has acted improperly, or a vulnerable family member has been taken advantage of, families sometimes need an advocate in court. We handle trust and estate disputes, including cases involving undue influence, elder financial abuse, and removal of trustees, with the same care we bring to every client relationship.

Experience Matters

Recent Representations

Every family situation is unique, but the fears are often the same.
Here are a few examples of how we’ve helped real families protect what matters most.

Advised executor in probate and administration of mother’s Will.

Assisted husband in efficiently obtaining Medicaid benefits for his wife, preserving family assets above the statutory maximum.

Planned and implemented a strategy to assist a surviving spouse in obtaining Pension benefits to cover the cost of her medical care.

Counseled parents of a special needs child in establishing a Supplemental Needs Trust for their child’s benefit, preserving eligibility for government needs-based entitlement programs.

Established trusts for international clients to ease administration of their estates.

Prepared Powers of Attorney for elderly parents, allowing children to assist them with medical and financial decisions.

Assisted young couple in drafting their wills and setting up a trust and guardians for their minor children.

About Kristen R. Matthews, CELA

Kristen is one of approximately 75 certified Elder Law attorneys in Pennsylvania and one of only 3 with primary offices in Chester County. Her 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 through the emotional and often daunting process of qualifying for government benefits such as Medicaid 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.

What our clients say

Families Trust Kristen With The Decisions That Matter Most.

"Kristen is very knowledgeable about estate planning and it was a pleasure to work with her. She is most responsive to answering all questions and making sure that all parties involved fully understand the importance of the legal documents that are signed. She has provided estate planning to three generations in our family. We found her fees to be very reasonable, especially when compared to the large Philadelphia firms who do not provide the same personalized services that Kristen provides to her clients. I would highly recommend Kristen for estate planning."

"We had a fantastic experience working with Kristen in developing an estate plan for our family. We found Kristen to be extremely knowledgeable. She had an excellent way of making complex legal concepts easy for us to understand. Kristen was always quick to respond to our question and answered them in a friendly, clear, and concise manner. She was professional and personable – we felt at home dealing with her."

"Kristen is a great attorney. She genuinely cares for her clients and always has their best interests in mind."

"Kristen Matthews was recommended to me by a colleague and I couldn't be more grateful for the introduction. The title company told the buyer there will be at least one month delay which would have cost the seller thousands of dollars. Thanks to Kristen, her knowledge, experience, quick thinking, communication, and attention to detail my seller was able to settle on time. She is the best!!"