Families navigating a parent's move, a downsizing decision, or a loved one's care often end up needing several kinds of help at once — legal, logistical, financial — and most of them have never had to find any of it before. This page is a starting point: how to find and vet the right kind of professional for each piece, and the Louisville-area and Kentucky agencies worth knowing about regardless of which path your family is on.
We've deliberately organized this around how to find and evaluate the right professional rather than naming specific businesses — local companies change, close, and turn over, but the associations and agencies below are the stable starting point for a real, vetted referral in Louisville right now.
Start here: the Kentuckiana Regional Area Agency on Aging
The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA) operates the Area Agency on Aging and Independent Living and the Aging and Disability Resource Center serving Louisville and the surrounding Kentuckiana counties. This is genuinely the single best first call for a family that isn't sure where to start — they can connect you to in-home care options, caregiver support, transportation resources, meal programs, and general guidance on navigating the senior-services landscape locally, usually at no cost for the initial consultation. For families just across the river, the Kentucky side and the Indiana side are served by separate area agencies on aging, so it's worth confirming which one covers your specific county before you call.
Kentucky's statewide Department for Aging and Independent Living, under the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, is the state-level agency that oversees these regional offices and is a good resource for anything that doesn't resolve at the local level, including questions about the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program — the office that investigates and helps resolve complaints about nursing homes and assisted living facilities on behalf of residents and their families.
Finding an elder law attorney
An elder law attorney handles the legal side of aging — powers of attorney, guardianship and conservatorship questions, Medicaid planning and asset protection, and estate planning specific to long-term care scenarios. This is not the same specialty as a general estate-planning attorney, and the Medicaid planning piece in particular benefits from someone who works in it regularly, since the rules around asset limits and the home's exempt status are detailed and change.
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) maintains a membership directory searchable by location, and it's a solid starting point for finding attorneys who specifically practice in this area rather than general practitioners who occasionally touch it. The Kentucky Bar Association's lawyer referral service is another reliable path, and it's worth asking directly in an initial call whether elder law and Medicaid planning make up a meaningful part of the attorney's practice, not just something they handle occasionally.
Finding a senior move manager
A senior move manager coordinates the entire physical transition — sorting, downsizing, estate sale or donation logistics, packing, and sometimes staging the family home for sale — and a good one can take an enormous amount of the hardest physical and emotional work off a family's hands. The National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) maintains a "Find a Move Manager" directory searchable by city and state, and membership requires agreeing to the organization's code of ethics, which is a meaningful baseline when you're vetting someone who'll be handling a lifetime of belongings.
When interviewing a move manager, ask directly about insurance and bonding, how they handle items of real value (jewelry, art, collectibles) that turn up during a sort, and whether they coordinate directly with estate sale companies, junk removal, and donation pickup or expect the family to manage those separately. Our downsizing guide covers the fuller sorting and timeline process a move manager typically works within.
Finding a CAPS-certified contractor for aging-in-place modifications
If the plan is to modify the home rather than move — grab bars, a walk-in shower, a stair lift, widened doorways — look specifically for a contractor with the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation through the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). That certification means the contractor has specific training in universal design and the particular building-code and accessibility considerations that come with modifying a home for mobility, not just general remodeling experience. NAHB's site maintains a searchable directory of CAPS-certified professionals by location. Our aging-in-place modifications guide covers what these projects typically cost and how to pay for them, including loan and grant options.
Finding an estate sale or appraisal professional
When a family is clearing out decades of belongings and some of it may have real value, an appraisal before an estate sale or donation can be worth the cost many times over. The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the International Society of Appraisers both maintain directories of credentialed personal property appraisers searchable by specialty and location — useful when there's furniture, art, jewelry, or collectibles that might be worth more than a quick estate-sale price tag would suggest. For the sale itself, ask any estate sale company for references from recent local sales, how they handle unsold items at the end, and what their commission structure looks like before signing anything.
In-home care and care management
For families trying to figure out whether in-home care, a care manager, or a move to assisted or independent living makes the most sense, the Aging Life Care Association (formerly the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers) maintains a directory of certified care managers — professionals who assess a person's needs and help coordinate the right level of support, often acting as a single point of contact across medical, legal, and family decisions. KIPDA's Aging and Disability Resource Center, mentioned above, is also a direct path to vetted in-home care referrals locally and can help sort through what Medicaid or Medicare will and won't cover — a distinction our senior real estate services guide covers in more detail, since it's one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of this whole process.
How this connects to the real estate side
Almost every path above eventually intersects with a decision about the house — sell it, modify it, or use it to help fund the next stage. That's where we come in. Rob Bergeron spent years working with families on exactly this kind of transition before real estate, and Winner Realty approaches these situations the same way: no pressure, a straight answer about what the home is actually worth and what the timeline realistically looks like, and coordination with whichever of the professionals above your family ends up working with. See our senior real estate services guide for how we help, or our downsizing guide and aging-in-place guide for the specific path your family is considering.
Frequently asked questions
What's the single best first call for a family that doesn't know where to start?
KIPDA's Area Agency on Aging and Independent Living, serving Louisville and the Kentuckiana region. They can point a family toward in-home care, a care manager, transportation, and most of the other resources on this page, usually starting with a free initial consultation.
How do I find a senior move manager I can trust?
Start with the National Association of Senior Move Managers' online directory, which lists members who've agreed to the organization's code of ethics. Ask directly about insurance, bonding, and how they handle valuable items during a sort before hiring anyone.
What does CAPS stand for and why does it matter for a contractor?
Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist, a designation through the National Association of Home Builders. It means the contractor has specific training in universal design and the accessibility considerations involved in modifying a home for mobility, beyond general remodeling experience.
Who helps if we're worried about how a nursing home or assisted living facility is treating a family member?
Kentucky's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, run through the Department for Aging and Independent Living, investigates and helps resolve complaints on behalf of residents and their families. It's a free, state-run resource and a good first call for any concern about a facility.
Do you recommend specific local companies for estate sales or in-home care?
We don't maintain a specific-business directory on this page since local companies change over time, but we're glad to talk through options directly if you're working with us on a home sale or transition — just ask, and we'll share who we've had good experiences with.
This page is a general starting point for finding vetted professionals and agencies, not a recommendation or endorsement of any specific business. Confirm current licensing, credentials, and availability directly with any professional or agency before engaging them.