Law Commons^™

Living Trusts In The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Good Thing Gone Bad, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

An elderly man recently lost his wife and visits the lawyer's office for assistance in the administration of her estate. After the attorney expresses her condolences, she asks if his wife had a will. The client reaches into a brown shopping bag and retrieves a two-and-a-half inch black binder containing several trusts. The elderly gentleman and his deceased wife were told this would eliminate the expensive legal nightmare of probate. Unfortunately, like many others, this couple was victimized by a trust mill.

Constructions Of Client Competence And Theories Of Practice, Robert Rubinson

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An entrenched stereotype about the elderly is that they inevitably experience a progressive decline in cognitive function - what the Article calls the "idea of decrement." The vast majority of elderly, however, do not experience declining competence for most or all of their lives. Nevertheless, attorneys interpret much of what elderly clients say and do as the product of cognitive impairment, and sometimes even the elderly themselves construct stories about the world and their circumstances in line with the idea of decrement. These attitudes and social constructions, interacting in complex ways, can distort the ability of attorneys to represent elderly …

A Feminist View Of American Elder Law, Rebecca Korzec

All Faculty Scholarship

ANY discussion of contemporary American elder law must consider gender issues. A number of gender concerns are readily discernible, including workplace and family issues. Significantly, sex-based disparities are increasing within the elderly population. In turn, these disparities exacerbate problems of fairness and equity in meeting intergenerational family needs and expectations.

As with childrearing, in contemporary American society, the major caregiving responsibility for the growing number of frail elderly falls largely on women rather than men. With an increasing number of women working outside the family home, the intersection of work and family issues is receiving considerable attention both in academic …