S. Thomas Hamilton

S. Thomas Hamilton is the attorney behind Kentucky Asset Protection. He practices estate planning, elder law and Medicaid planning from Bardstown, working with families, retirees and business owners across Central Kentucky.

This is the whole of his practice rather than a sideline to it. Most of the people he sees are not looking for a document; they are trying to work out how to keep a house, a farm or a lifetime of savings intact through a long-term care crisis, a probate, or the ordinary business of getting older. That work rewards knowing how Kentucky's Medicaid, probate and estate rules interact, and it is the reason the firm concentrates on it.

Background

Thomas is a Bardstown lawyer by choice. He returned to the community in 2010 after law school and began his career as an assistant Commonwealth's attorney, then moved into elder law and estate planning, which has been his focus since.

His approach reflects that history. Prosecution teaches you to prepare for the case that goes wrong; elder law is largely the same discipline applied earlier, when there is still time to prevent the problem. The earlier a family plans, the more can be protected. But even when someone arrives in the middle of a crisis, there is almost always something meaningful that can still be done.

Education

• J.D., University of Kentucky College of Law, 2010
• B.A. and B.S., Transylvania University, 2006 — political science and Spanish language and literature

Professional memberships

• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
• ElderCounsel
• Academy of Special Needs Planners

In the community

Thomas has served as vice president of the Kiwanis Club of Bardstown. Nelson County is where he grew up, practices and raises the questions his clients bring him about their own families.

How he works

Consultations start with the situation rather than the paperwork: what the family owns, who depends on whom, what everyone is worried about, and what a realistic outcome looks like. The plan follows from that. Clients get a clear explanation of the trade-offs in plain language, an honest answer about what a strategy can and cannot protect, and a document set that actually works together.

The practice covers estate planning, elder law planning, Medicaid planning and applications, trusts and asset protection, probate and estate administration, powers of attorney and advance directives, and special needs planning.