When a parent's health changes, the paperwork shouldn't be what keeps you up at night.
Most families don't realize how scattered everything is — bank accounts, insurance policies, medical records, legal documents — until a crisis forces them to pull it all together at once. Compass Elder Services collects, organizes, and delivers what you actually need, built around New York's five-year Medicaid look-back requirements, backed by nearly 20 years managing complex financial information at UBS. You don't have to do this alone, and you don't have to figure it out under pressure.
I'm Josh Papir, founder of Compass Elder Services.
For nearly 20 years, I worked at UBS managing one of the firm's most complex portfolios — billions in longevity-linked assets, including life insurance policies, annuities, and premium finance loans, much of it directly serving senior clients and their families. I learned what meticulous organization of sensitive financial and medical information actually looks like under real pressure — and how much it matters to the people on the other end of it.
The inspiration for Compass came from my own mother. When she needed Medicaid, I was managing her care and trying to track down years of bank statements, insurance policies, and records — often late at night, after the harder parts of the day were already behind me. The application itself wasn't the hardest part. It was piecing together a financial history with no clear roadmap, while also just trying to be present for her. No one was there to help me do both at once.
I hold FINRA Series 7, 63, and 24 qualifying credentials, current through 2030, independently verifiable via FINRA BrokerCheck. I've also served on the board of the Institutional Longevity Markets Association, and I'm a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®. Compass operates under professional liability coverage, currently being finalized, and a strict policy: I provide administrative document collection and organizational support only. I do not provide legal, financial, or tax advice; clients should continue to rely on their attorney, financial advisor, or other licensed professionals for those decisions. At no point do I take custody, control, or possession of any client funds, financial accounts, or assets, and I have no signing, transactional, or decision-making authority over client assets. Where document retrieval requires limited authorization, such as a Power of Attorney, that authorization is narrowly scoped to obtaining copies of records only. My role is strictly limited to organizing and delivering documentation.
Why This Matters
If You're Applying for Medicaid Now
An incomplete application doesn't just get delayed — it can be denied outright, triggering a penalty period that leaves your family covering nursing home costs privately, often $12,000–15,000 a month or more in the NYC area, while the case is reopened or appealed. Even after approval, your contribution is based on your loved one's income — but a complete file from the start means avoiding that unnecessary, avoidable spike in cost.
If You're Planning Ahead
Recertifications lapse. Records go stale. And when a health emergency hits, there's rarely time to track down five years of paperwork from scratch. Staying current means your family already has what's needed, when it's needed most.
Services
The Medicaid File
For families facing an active Medicaid application, I take scattered financial information and turn it into a clear, complete, attorney-ready file that is organized to meet New York's five-year look-back requirements. You hand me the chaos. I hand back a file that's ready for whatever comes next — your attorney, your advisor, or the next step in the process.
The Family Steward
For families who want to be prepared before a crisis, not during one. The Family Steward keeps everything organized and up to date — financial records, benefits eligibility, care planning needs — including an annual check confirming named assets are still active and reporting their current value, not just assumed. So when decisions need to be made, the information is already in place, accurate, and easy to access.
The Asset Check
A limited, fact-based check on what your family actually has . I confirm the current status and value of up to three named assets: a policy, an account, a property. No planning, no advice, just facts. Available directly to families who want clarity before a crisis, or to attorneys and advisors who need a fast answer for a client without committing them to a full engagement.
I work alongside elder law attorneys, estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, and care professionals as a trusted administrative partner. I don't provide legal or financial advice — I remove the stress of trying to piece everything together on your own.
How It Works
A short conversation to understand your situation — whether you're facing an active Medicaid application or want to get ahead of one. No cost, no obligation.
Step 2: I Build Your ChecklistStep 1: We TalkBased on your specific situation, I put together exactly what's needed — and start tracking down what's missing.
Step 4: You're Ready to Move ForwardStep 3: You Hand Off the ChaosA complete, organized file, built around New York's five-year look-back requirements, delivered to you, ready whenever you need it.
Send me what you have. I'll work directly with banks, insurers, and other institutions to track down the rest.
Who I Work With
I partner with the professionals families already trust:
Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys
I handle the document collection and organization so you can focus on legal strategy, not chasing paperwork.
Financial Advisors
When a client's family needs help organizing records for a parent's care, I'm a resource you can refer them to with confidence.
Care Managers & Care Professionals
I work alongside the people already supporting a family, filling the administrative gap so nothing falls through the cracks.
I provide administrative document collection and organizational support only. I do not provide legal, financial, or tax advice; clients should continue to rely on their attorney, financial advisor, or other licensed professionals for those decisions. At no point do I take custody, control, or possession of any client funds, financial accounts, or assets, and I have no signing, transactional, or decision-making authority over client assets. Where document retrieval requires limited authorization, such as a Power of Attorney, that authorization is narrowly scoped to obtaining copies of records only. My role is strictly limited to organizing and delivering documentation.
Who Does What
Compass Elder Services — I collect, organize, and deliver the documentation: building the file, tracking down records, keeping everything current. I never provide legal or financial advice, never touch client funds, and hold no fiduciary duty over them — my role is strictly limited to document collection and organization.
Your Professional Team — Elder law attorneys handle legal strategy, financial advisors handle the money and planning, and care managers coordinate day-to-day care. I don’t replace any of those relationships; I make them easier by handing over a complete, organized file instead of a shoebox of paperwork.
Doing It Alone — Possible, but families are often stuck piecing together years of scattered records under real time pressure, with no roadmap for what’s actually needed. That’s usually where a denial or delay comes from, not eligibility itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No — I’m not an attorney or a financial advisor, and I don’t provide legal or financial advice. I work alongside the professionals your family already has, whether that’s an elder law attorney, a financial advisor, or a care manager, handling document collection and organization so they can focus on their expertise instead of chasing paperwork.
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Start with a short discovery call — no cost, no obligation. We’ll talk through your situation, whether you’re facing an active Medicaid application or want to get ahead of one, and I’ll put together a checklist based on what you actually need.
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Either is fine. I can pick up a file that’s already in progress, or help rebuild one after a denial — a denial is often about a document gap or filing error, not actual eligibility. Get in touch and we’ll figure out where things stand.
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It depends what you mean by access. I regularly work with account statements and other records to build your file, so I do see that information. What I never have is control: I’m never a signer on an account, I never move money, and I never take custody of client funds or assets. Access to documentation is not the same as authority over it, and I don’t have the latter.
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It depends on your situation and which service fits best — The Medicaid File, The Family Steward, or The Asset Check. We’ll talk through the specifics on your discovery call, and you’ll know the cost before anything begins.
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Everything is collected and stored through a secure, encrypted document portal — never email attachments or shared drives. Access is limited to what’s needed for your file, and nothing is shared with anyone without your authorization.
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The Medicaid File is for an active application — a complete, attorney-ready file built around New York’s five-year look-back. The Family Steward is ongoing, keeping your records and benefits eligibility current before a crisis hits. The Asset Check is a narrow, fact-only confirmation of up to three named assets, for families or professionals who just need a fast answer.
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Yes. The Medicaid File is built for exactly this: I collect, organize, and deliver a complete, attorney-ready file for a New York Medicaid application, built around the state’s five-year look-back requirements, so you’re not tracking down bank statements and records on your own.
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Compass Elder Services provides this kind of document support for families across New York. I handle the collection, organization, and delivery of the paperwork a Medicaid application requires for an aging parent, working alongside your elder law attorney or financial advisor rather than replacing them.
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Send me what you have, and I’ll build a checklist for what’s missing and organize everything into a file that meets New York’s five-year look-back requirements. Most families don’t know exactly what’s needed until they’re already under time pressure, which is the part I take off your plate.
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Yes. The Family Steward is built for exactly this: ongoing organization of financial records and benefits eligibility so everything stays current before a crisis hits, not scrambled together after one.
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New York’s Medicaid look-back period examines five years of financial transactions and asset transfers when someone applies for long-term care Medicaid; disqualifying transfers found in that window can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. I’m not an attorney, so I don’t advise on look-back strategy, but I do build files organized specifically around this five-year window so your elder law attorney has what they need to evaluate it.
Get In Touch
If you're a family facing a Medicaid application, trying to get organized before a crisis, or an attorney, advisor, or care professional looking for a trusted resource — I'd welcome a conversation.
Josh Papir
Founder, Compass Elder Services
Phone: (646) 470-3739
Email: joshua@compasselderservices.com
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