United States | Elder Law

Bankruptcy Information for the Elderly

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Bankruptcy reform has particularly affected the elderly. The vast majority of elderly Americans are living on a fixed income and have higher health care bills than most younger people. When it comes to the point of deciding between heating their homes or paying their medical bills, many older people begin to think that they should choose bankruptcy. In many cases, it’s the only way that they can end the endless collection calls from medical providers. In desperation, many elderly people begin looking for bankruptcy information as their way out of a difficult situation.

However, the new laws have made bankruptcy more difficult for the elderly. Bankruptcy attorneys, even an Illinois bankruptcy attorney, now have a responsibility to investigate the claims of their clients, and debtors have to attend credit counseling before they’re allowed to file. This drives up the cost of bankruptcy for all filers, but it’s particularly hard on anyone who’s elderly or very poor. A process that used to cost a few hundred dollars can now easily add up to several thousand. When you consider that the people who need to file the most are the least able to pay, this makes very little sense. While there are waivers for hardship reasons for the court fees, there aren’t too many bankruptcy lawyers who will waive their fees.

The need to attend meetings and classes can also be hard for the elderly. Many have difficulty driving and other health problems. It could be hard for them to pay attention for long periods of time and actually absorb the information. If written testing or information is required, their failing eyesight can make this a challenge, too. Between the many predators that try to take financial advantage of the elderly population and the difficult new bankruptcy laws, many elderly people aren’t sure where to turn for help.

Filed Under: Abuse, Guardianship Tagged With: Bankruptcy, Illinois, United States

Signs of Elder Financial Abuse

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Elder financial abuse has been on the rise for years. Many financial con artists seek out elderly people in order to gain their trust and take advantage them. They are often scammed out of their homes and life saving. In some cases, this con artist may be a family member, long time friend or a caregiver. If the thief is successful, the elderly person may end up seeking debt consolidation services to help with outstanding bills. Here are some signs of elder financial abuse you should look for in order to protect your love ones.

Missing Belongings

Sometimes, a person befriends an elder person in order to steal belongings from their
home. When visiting your love one, you should make sure no belongings are missing such as antiques, jewelry or important documents such as wills.

Unusual Bank Transactions

A person may take advantage of an elderly person financially by making personal,
unauthorized withdrawals from their checking or saving account. You should check their bank account statements on regular basis and look for any large or unusual withdrawals and transactions.

Changes in Wills

If your loved one contacts someone about changing their will, you should make sure all affected parties are aware of this change. If the request seems strange, you should investigate further before the change is made. If possible, a power of attorney should be drawn up if your loved one is not mentally stable to handle their own financial affairs and make decisions.

Changes in Behavior

At times, the personality of an elder person may change if they are being bullied or abused mentally or physically. If your love one’s personality changes from being friendly and outgoing to withdrawn and angry, you should definitely try to figure out what has happen. You may to contact their physician as well.

Filed Under: Abuse, General, Guardianship, Lifestyle Tagged With: Abuse, Elder abuse, Elderly care, Law, Nursing home, Old age, Power of attorney, United States

How Fast can we Expect Medicare to Be?

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Working with any kind of government entity is bound to be a slow and methodical process. On its best day, the government is staffed with people who are motivated primarily by avoiding getting yelled at or fired. There ae no performance based incentives in the public sector, so speed and efficiency take a back seat to following every rule without any kind of regard to common sense or the underlying purpose the rule is supposed to serve. With that kind of a back drop, it is no surprise that Medicare makes a lot of people scared and frustrated on a regular basis. Of course, there is something inherently off about the fact that many people consider public health care to be something of an entitled guarantee in life. Since it really isn’t, it may be necessary to take a step back and look at how fortunate the elderly really are.

While the elderly should always have protection under the law equal to anyone else, there is a limit to how much additional protection they should expect. While they are guaranteed Medicare’s financial assistance if they find themselves in need of it, expecting any government entity to work with any sort of expediency is a little bit like expecting a three legged elephant to out sprint a cheetah. The term “snow ball’s chance in Death Valley” does not do justice to the silliness of such an expectation. In a situation which involves Medicare, allowing a month or more for any sort of response is not just being conservative; in many cases, it is being reasonable.

And when you expect Medicare to pay for anything, you need to give them even more time. In most cases, Medicare’s process is anything but smooth. They require all sorts of documentation, and a great deal of attention to detail on the forms they want filled out. While they will ultimately do right by you, the waiting time may end up being quite expansive. There is no sense trying to rush the process. Just as with medical treatments themselves, bureaucrats will take as long as they take.

Filed Under: Elder Law Tagged With: Death Valley, Government, Health, Health care, Health Care Reform, Medicare, Politics, United States

The Same Rights as the Rest of Us

Elderly people are too often treated as though they are inferior to younger adults, in this society. This is tragic, as the wisdom

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and experience an elderly person has gained more than makes up for the loss of physical vigor that they typically experience with the passage of time. Laws being what they are, this disrespect of the elderly has never been directly transcribed into law. Nonetheless, whether it be on the books or not, the law must be the same for the geriatric community as they are for the rest of us. Granted, an elderly person should not have carte blanche to commit crimes. But just as they are equally bound by the laws of our land, the elderly must also be protected by them.

Just as a younger person has the right not to be intimidated or harassed, so too does an elderly individual. Just as a younger person may not be abused, neither may an older one. While this may seem basic to a fairly enlightened individual, these basic human rights and dignities are so often abused that it is absurd. Far too often, those who have been charged with (or who have proactively taken on) the responsibility of taking care of an elderly person will either abuse the person, or essentially neglect any special care needs that they may have. Simply because someone has become inconvenient to care for, and would seem to be contributing nothing to their area is no reason to neglect them. And it is certainly no reason to treat them with any less respect than what one would show a younger person.

This is why we have so many resources dedicated to elder law. Elder law is the name given to the branch of legal counsel that deals with how the law is intended to protect the rights of the aged. At its heart, though, elder law is nothing more than showing respect to the people in our world who are the most deserving of it. After all, they are the ones who created and raised all of us. They need respect, too.

Filed Under: Elder Law Tagged With: Elder Law, Law, Lawyers and Law Firms, Legal Information, Old age, Services, United States, Violence and Abuse

Elder law in Action

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Have you ever wondered what the ultimate goal of elder law is? Take out an AARP magazine and thumb through it for awhile, and you will start to get a clue of the ultimate goals of elder law. The geriatric community is just like everybody else, after all. They want to be respected, and to have as much power as they can possibly lay their hands on. And in doing this, they want to make sure that they can keep all that they have worked for so long to grow and build. In a sense, elder law is a little bit like the law of minors, only for people who are at the other end of the bell curve. While children can not fight for their own rights because they have never learned how, the geriatric community often can not fight for their rights because they may have forgotten how.

In some cases, elder law runs into the barrier that elderly people tend to be overly trusting of others. In most cases, people are reasonably trustworthy. But in that one case where they are not, you have the issue of people who may be afraid to fight for their own rights. Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and told the truth. Slick talking scam artists are precisely the kinds of people who violate the rights of others whenever it suits their purposes, with the self justification that they can do whatever they want. Not rational, but crime is stupid in general.

Elder law is in full effect when it genuinely serves the interests of the people. It is not some kind of billionaire service tool like contract law. Nor is it designed to serve crackpot inventors, the way patent and trademark laws try to. Elder law is a whole different kind of discipline, in that it is about protecting what people have earned across a life time, and have little time to rebuild if it is taken from them. There are abusers, there are scam artists, and there are their victims. Elder law is the victim’s best defense.

Filed Under: Elder Law Tagged With: Elder Law, Law, Lawyers and Law Firms, Legal Information, Nursing home, Old age, Services, United States

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