Law | Elder Law

Where to Find an Elder Attorney

There are many issues that face senior citizens and the elderly that can bring up a lot of legal issues and trouble. Without the right documents you and your loved ones can run into more obstacles then it is worth and in a time of crisis the last thing anyone wants is to face legally blocking issues that can’t be taken care of because of not having the right papers.

That is why many elderly people turn to elder attorneys to help them with their needs. These attorneys can help draw up documents, protect your rights and help you deal with the legal issues that might arise from growing older.

But how do you find an elder attorney? Here are some places that you can find an elder attorney at.

State Bar Association. The bar association oversees all attorneys and lawyers. They also run a hotline that allows you to call and inquire about recommendations and people that they think would be able to help you with what you are looking for. This is the best place to look for attorneys as the bar also takes complaints from the public so they will not recommend someone who has been on probation with the bar or has pending complaints.

Word of Mouth. Chances are you or someone you know has run into an elder law attorney or a need for one. Asking friends and family members if they know of someone who might be able to help can get you an attorney that will be able to represent you. You will also know from previous experience how they work and what their needs are.

Internet Reviews. This is the modern equivalent of looking into the phone book. Many internet sites allow reviews of attorneys and personal experience. Look up online and you can find one near you.

Filed Under: Law

Importance of Having an Elder Attorney on Hand

When it comes to knowing the law and what is right and wrong there is no one more knowledgeable then an attorney. For one reason or another people are very reluctant to seek an attorney when they really need one. They will look for advice online, through forums and ask others for help before they go and visit that elderly attorney.

However, having that type of an attorney on hand wouldn’t hurt at all. There are many attorneys that are out there to help people understand the law and their rights as they age. These attorneys are not out to get your money or not help, they are there to help you understand what your rights are as long as you are needing it.

While you might not need to visit an elderly attorney monthly or yearly it does not hurt to have a regular one. There are many advantages to having an elderly attorney on hand.

First this person can maintain a professional working relationship with you. That means that he or she can make suggestions, call you when updates are needed and maintain your file that they have on hand. This is very helpful especially for those that do not keep an eye on what is going on. You could be missing out on an important document and an attorney will catch it.

Another reason is that you can always call a regular attorney to seek advice on situations. This is someone that you trust and know will give you the best advice and legal advice possible. There are many situations that will arise when you are handling the care of an elderly person that an elder attorney can help out with. This will prevent you from having to find an attorney and then worrying about if you trust them or not.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law

What is a Living Will and Why is it Important?

What would happen if something were to happen to you? What if you were an accident or in a condition where you could voice what you want done to you and what should happen? These are some tough situations to think about but they might come up at some point in your lifetime.

That is where a legally binding living will comes into effect. A living will is essentially a document that will give your loved ones, health care professionals and others a direction as what what exactly your wish is for health care. A living will is also sometimes referred to as an advanced directive, physician’s directive or even health care directive.

What goes into a living will is that the person involved with the will will sit down with a health care professional or an attorney and draw up what they want to see happen to them should they be in a state that does not allow their wishes to be heard. These decisions can range from what type of medications are administered, if a person stays on life support, how long a person stays on life support and other very important issues that may come up at the time.

While this is not the most pleasant subject to bring up with health care professional or even your loved ones. This is a very important document to draw up. This will help those loved ones make a decision that is very hard on them knowing that you have expressed your wishes at the time.

Many times living wills come up in legal battles. Loved ones who disagree with what is written believe that their loved ones are misguided and do not always follow it. Make sure that you discuss what you put in writing with your loved ones, no matter how distressing it is as it will help them understand your situation and what you want done.

Filed Under: Law, Lifestyle

The Importance of Drawing up a Will

No one enjoys thinking about what will happen should you pass on. It’s not a subject that most people enjoy talking about or even dealing with. However, the subject of a will should and will come up, especially as you age.

The idea of a will is not to plot your ultimate demise but instead to protect your interests, wishes and property should something happen to you. Many times when a loved one passes, the estate can often come up as an issue between family and friends. By having a will drawn up ahead of time it can take all the guessing work out of those family members and in fact save a bit of fighting from happening.

Here are some tips to drawing up a will that many people find helpful.

You don’t need to have an attorney draw up a will. There are many free basic wills that are available online for you to use. This can come in handy especially if you have very few items to distribute. All that needs to be done is fill out the will and have it notarized with a few witnesses. The will is done.

Many people believe that you have to have a complex will. Having a basic will is better then having no will at all. At least it will give your loved ones a guideline as to what you wish to have done with your stuff and it will make sure that many of your loved ones are protected financially and the money is not tied up in court.

You may wish to seek an attorney’s advice if you want to draw up a will with multiple parties involved. Seeking an attorney’s advice is fairly cost effective. If you are unsure where to find one contact the local bar association where they can recommend an attorney to help you out with this task.

Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Power of attorney

Legal Issues with Gifts for Grandchildren.

As a grandparent you want to make sure that not only are your children provided for but your grandchildren also. One of the ways to ensure that they are cared for in the way that you want is to make sure that you gift them money to be able to help them with their expenses.

Many elderly people are afraid of gifting money because of the tax implications that might arise from these types of situations. However, there are laws to protect you and your grandchildren from these types of taxes.

Here are some of the ways that you can gift money to your grandchildren under the law.

Outright gifts. You and your spouse can gift up to $13,000 dollars for each grandchild. That means that a grandparent can safely give an individual that amount of physical amount of money without any taxes being assessed on it. This is an advantage for everyone as the grandchild will not have taxes and the taxes on your estate upon death will be less.

Medical and Educational Expenses. On top of the given amount you can also pay for any medical and educational expenses without having it taxed. Granted you cannot write out an individual check to the grandchild for this but you can pay the school or hospital or doctor directly and have it covered.

Trust Funds. Trust funds can also be set up for grandchildren with your wishes attached to them. These however are taxable and will result in a maintenance fee, tax amount and other fees that come with it.

Giving a gift of money in many ways can help grandchildren, however just remember that if you have specific wishes with what you want the money to be used for it is better to go with a trust fund as giving an outright gift carries no legal obligations to use it a certain way.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law Tagged With: Gift tax

Keep an Elder Law Attorney on Hand

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The baby boomer generation is starting to age. With the increase of so many senior citizens it would be a good idea to be able to raise awareness to many of the existing elder laws.

Many people believe that just because they are growing older, they start to lose certain rights and responsibilities. That isn’t the case at all. Elderly people, no matter how independent or dependent they are upon others, all have the same rights as other Americans. Sometimes people who deal with elderly people can often forget about those rights and seem to overstep their boundaries. That is where elderly laws can help protect a loved one who is older.

There are many laws on the books that deal with elders. There are laws regarding how they are to be treated in a nursing home or assisted living facility. There are laws that deal with the handling of estates and wills, as well as dealing with health issues that might arise.

While you may not know of a specific attorney that practices elder law, it is a good idea if you are handling the care of an elderly loved one that you have a practicing elder law attorney’s information on hand. To find a local practicing elder law attorney you can check the Internet, look at flyers tacked to the wall of the senior center or ask for a personal recommendation from a physician or doctor.

You might never need to use an attorney when it comes to handling your loved one, however, it is still a good idea to have one on hand. If a question or concern about the treatment of your loved one arises you can also consult with an attorney that will not only understand your concerns but know what laws are on your side.

Filed Under: Abuse, Elder Law, Guardianship, Law Tagged With: Elder Law, Law, Lawyers and Law Firms, Medicaid, Nursing home, Old age, Services, United States

CARIE – Elderly Rights Advocates

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The Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, known as CARIE for short, devotes itself to improving the quality of life for older people. It is a non-profit group that does not provide services to elderly people but instead uses education, action, and advocacy to improve the rights, well being, and autonomy of elderly people. The center is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but can provide assistance to older people all over the country, helping them receive the care, services, and the dignity they deserve.

CARIE provides community education programs, professional training services, individual counseling and problem solving services, and other various activities and resources for the elderly and caretakers of the elderly. CARIE works with policy-makers, health care workers, and the general public, to create improvement in the way elderly people are treated and cared for. The center is there not only to improve the quality of life and the treatment of older people, but wants to help elderly caretakers provide quality care and services to older people.

The center was founded in 1977 as a project of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. The U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services funded the group’s activities until CARIE was incorporated in 1979 as a 501(c)(3) organization. At that time it was financially supported as a VISTA volunteer project. CARIE is responsible for the service mediation approach. This process involves having an agency staff member intervene at crisis points to help elderly caregivers understand and pursue the best options that are available for elderly care, and can also help boost the family’s ability to handle and deal with the issues they are encountering.

CARIE’s success is shown in the multiple awards and acknowledgments received, including two Community Health Impact Awards, an IMPACT award, and the Governor’s Silver and Gold Award for Enhancing the Image of Older Persons. In 2004, CARIE was labeled as “Community Champion” for the elderly with a unanimous vote. The American Society on Aging and the Brookdale Center on Aging honored CARIE with a Best Practices Award for their professional training curriculum.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law Tagged With: Education, Health, Health care, Old age, People, Senior Health, Seniors, United States

Elder Law History

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Caring and protecting the elderly, especially those that are vulnerable, is the responsibility of all citizens. To help ensure that elderly people do not get taken advantage of, there are several laws and services to protect them and to enforce quality of life. Laws may vary from state to state, but the basic concepts are the same. Elder law is comprised of many different specialties such as income assistance benefits, estate planning, tax laws, planning for long term care and incapacity issues, and trust and estate management. Any issue that affects the aging population falls under the term Elder law.

On July 14, the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) was put into effect. It was the first initiative at the federal level with a goal to provide comprehensive services to senior citizens. Congress created the OAA to address concerns about a lack of community based social services for older adults. The mission of the OAA includes promoting the best possible mental and physical health services, endorse equal opportunity for adequate retirement income, fair long term care, independence, freedom, protection against neglect, abuse, and exploitation, and retirement in honor, dignity, and health. The OAA was able to survive through lack of funding due to the Vietnam War and the dismantling of agencies by future presidents, and it continues to survive today.

The OAA claims to have created the Administration on Aging (AOA), which is a section of the Department of Health and Human Services. The OAA was amended in 1972 to add the elderly national nutrition program. It was amended again in 2000 to include the National Family Caregiver Support Program to help thousands of families who are trying to care for aging loved ones that have disabilities or are ill. Grant funding is provided by the OAA to state and local agencies to help with support groups, counseling, and other community services. In addition to providing help for older family members, elderly people can now receive help from OAA in taking care of relatives that are children aged 18 and under.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law Tagged With: Elder Law, Health care, Law, Long-term care, Nursing home, Old age, United States, Vietnam War

Not all Attorneys are Elder law Attorneys

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There is an old saying that if you have seen one of something, you have seen them all. The person who first said that probably had some eye sight problems, because there are often a great deal of differences between the various representatives of any given group. And believe it or not, lawyers are the same way. There are all sorts of different specialties that a lawyer can have, and each one is its own entire field. A divorce attorney would be a bad person to take into a trial, whether you are the one accused or the accuser. This is why selecting an elder law attorney to tend to your needs can be critical as you get older. While you may not trust lawyers, thinking that they are all shysters, they will actually serve your interests if you pay them to do so.

But how can you tell an elder law attorney from any other specialty? There is actually a group known as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, or NAELF for short. If your attorney has never heard of this group before, they are not an elder law attorney, and you should probably leave them. After all, even the kind of person who would run a scam on you and pretend to be something that they are not should at least do their home work on the topic they are pretending to be expert in. A real elder law lawyer would not only know about the NAELF, but they would almost certainly be a member of it, or at the very least one of its subsidiary groups.

Many states have their own certification programs (under the guidelines of the NAELF) through which an attorney may demonstrate their advanced knowledge of elder law. You want to find the best you can get, and a certification is one of the best ways to tell that a person is willing to go the distance to do right by other people. While it may seem like just a piece of paper, it is a potentially life saving piece of paper, too.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law Tagged With: Elder Law, Law, Lawyer, Lawyers and Law Firms, Legal Information, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Services, United States

Nursing Homes: a Dragon you can Slay

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Have you ever been to a nursing home before? If not, it is an experience that you should have at some point in your life. While it is not necessarily the kind of experience you should take in on a full stomach, it will show you a lot about where you may end up going at some point of (perhaps the tail end to) your life. Nursing homes are notorious for being houses of torture, and are often known by their euphemism of “God’s waiting rooms.” While this is some vulgar humor, the nursing home experience does tend to be one of suffering and awaiting a death that seems inevitable to the point of “any time now.” There is a sort of impatience about nursing homes, despite their generally low energy level. But there is actually some good news in all of this, believe it or not.

Nursing homes are not all bad. You need to check the ones you are considering going to very thoroughly before you ever sign anything. And the best time to do that is when you are in reasonably good health, and can still generally take care of yourself. Keep in mind that all decisions made out of desperation will result in pain, and it will provide you motivation to make decisions from a perspective of strength. After all, you are the consumer of the service the nursing home is peddling; you have rights, both under elder law and under consumer law.

Nursing homes are not supposed to smell like human excrement. If the one you visit does (and you should visit during a time when they are not expecting visitors), get out. It means they are under staffed. And no matter how caring and kind the staff may be, not having enough of them is more than just disgusting; it is actually very dangerous to your health. And the situation will not get better if you go there. You aren’t Nelly Bly, so do not try to change a bad situation. Just find a way to make your situation the best it can be.

Filed Under: Elder Law, Law Tagged With: Death, Elder Law, Health, Home care, Law, Nursing home, United States, Violence and Abuse