About Alicia C. Ratajczak

Ali primarily practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement, and elder law matters. She also assists clients with residential real estate transactions. Ali has a desire to help clients through difficult times, which fueled her interest in becoming an estate planning attorney.

Wisconsin’s New Patient Representation Legislation

Posted on Oct 15, 2026 by

On March 20, 2026, Governor Tony Evers signed Wisconsin’s new “patient representative” legislation (commonly known as the “Next-of-Kin” law), which took effect on June 1. His signature immediately eliminated statutory protections that have been in place in Wisconsin for decades. Prior to the enactment of 2025 Wis. Act 115 (Act 115), anyone proposing to admit […]

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McCarty Law names attorney Sara Micheletti as partner

Posted on Feb 3, 2026 by

McCarty Law LLP, a top law firm in Northeast Wisconsin, is proud to announce that attorney Sara Micheletti has been named partner.  Micheletti’s practice includes estate planning, guardianship, probate, estate settlement and elder law. Her legal services aim to help people with their personal legal needs throughout their lives. She frequently acts as a personal representative or trustee in probates and trusts and serves as a guardian ad litem. Micheletti advocates for the […]

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Possible Major Changes to Medicaid: What You Need to Know

Posted on Jul 3, 2025 by

The Proposed Bill and Its Goals The “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by the House of Representatives in May and currently being discussed by Congress, may spell major changes for Medicaid. If adopted as it is now, eligibility for Medicaid will be drastically altered, potentially leaving millions without health insurance. The Bill’s primary purported goal, helping […]

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McCarty Law’s Sara Micheletti appointed to Legislative Committee of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin

Posted on Oct 29, 2024 by

McCarty Law is proud to announce that attorney Sara Micheletti has been appointed to the legislative committee of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin.     The Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the State Bar is made up of lawyers that protect the rights of the elderly and […]

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McCarty Law’s Reg Wydeven Appointed as President of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. Wisconsin Chapter

Posted on Aug 20, 2024 by

McCarty Law LLP, a top law firm in Northeast Wisconsin, is proud to announce that partner Reg Wydeven has been appointed as the President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA) Wisconsin Chapter. NAELA is a professional organization of lawyers dedicated to enhancing legal services for seniors along with individuals with special […]

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Using an ABLE Account with a WisPACT Trust?

Posted on Mar 11, 2021 by

Wispact trusts are a popular topic on our blog (click here for our first four articles WisPACT 1, WisPACT 2, WisPACT 3, WisPACT 4).  A quick refresher – WisPACT trusts allow loved ones to set funds aside for a disabled individual’s needs without jeopardizing eligibility for government benefits such as Supplement Security Income (SSI) or […]

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Medicaid Issues with COVID-19

Posted on Aug 27, 2020 by

COVID-19 has been hard on all of us, but especially on residents of nursing homes.  Because nursing homes house our most vulnerable population, extra precautions needed to be implemented to protect them. This resulted in nursing homes being “locked down,” meaning residents were not allowed to leave, nor were they allowed visitors.  Early on during […]

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April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day

Posted on Apr 16, 2020 by

Benjamin Franklin has famously said, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  The two depressing topics always seem to go together. Every year, the deadline for filing our income taxes is April 15.  But did you know April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD)?  Because death and taxes […]

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WisPACT Trust or ABLE Account?

Posted on Apr 9, 2020 by

We have already discussed a bit of background on WisPACT trusts and the process to set up a WisPACT trust. While I strongly encourage clients to look at WisPACT options for beneficiaries with disabilities, there are some circumstances where WisPACT might not be the perfect fit. In those cases, clients can choose to set aside […]

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Changes to Wisconsin Law Allow Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners to Make Findings of Incapacity

Posted on Feb 21, 2020 by

What’s New? If an individual is incapacitated and has a Living Will or Power of Attorney for Health Care (“POA”), a certification of incapacity needs to be signed before those documents can be activated. Previously, this certification was only effective if signed by either two physicians or one physician and one psychologist, both of whom […]

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