Elder Law Commons^™

Advice On Organizing And Automating Your Elder Law Office, Andrea Giltner

Marquette Elder's Advisor

With the proper organizational tools, you can increase efficiency and productivity in your elder law office, save money, and decrease the stress level. Here's a look at some effective strategies and software options for law office automation.

Elder-Caregiver: An Alarming Past, An Uncertain Future, Judith B. Rappaport

Marquette Elder's Advisor

Increased life expectancy is exacerbating the financial, physical, and emotional pressures on family members struggling to care for elderly parents. Elder law professional have a unique opportunity to positively impact this situation by educating themselves and their staffs to the family caregiver's needs. This article identifies those needs and recommends expanded services to help meet them.

Municipal Elder Law: A Minnesota Perspective, A. Kimberley Dayton, Israel (Issi) Doron

Faculty Scholarship

The field of elder law has developed dramatically over the past several decades and is primarily regarded as a creature of state and federal law. This area of law will be of paramount importance in the coming years as the elderly population continues to increase dramatically. Indeed, nearly every community in the United States will undoubtedly be impacted in some way by the influx of older residents. Notably, however, the effect of an aging society will impact each local community differently. For these reasons, Professors Kimberly Dayton and Israel (Issi) Doron sought to examine the role that municipal elder law …

Thinking Locally: Law, Aging And Municipal Government: Findings From A National Survey, A. Kimberley Dayton, Israel (Issi) Doron

Faculty Scholarship

Municipal law, which has been largely ignored in the body of elder-rights scholarship, often plays a far more important role in the everyday lives of older persons than the principally aspirational concepts of international law. Accordingly, this article examines how well modern cities have fulfilled their potential role in assuring the civil and human rights of older persons. The author concludes, based on the results of a national study, that local law is not currently fulfilling its potential as a means to expand the rights of older citizens. Few cities across the country appear to have taken more than minor …

Creating And Sustaining Interdisciplinary Guardianship Committees, Carolyn L. Dessin, Julia R. Nack, Judge Thomas Swift

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, guardians, advocates, and the judiciary have been working at the national level to improve guardianship law and practice. This work was set in motion by a series of more than 200 Associated Press Wire Stories about guardianship abuses that were published in the mid-1980s. Over the next decade, guardians and other interested parties built relationships and established an association dedicated to improving guardianship. In the year 2000, members of the National Guardianship Association (“NGA”) wrote and formally adopted “Standards of Practice” for guardians. In 2001, at the Wingspan Conference held at Stetson University, other national …

Voluntarily Stopping Eating And Drinking: A Legal Treatment Option At The End Of Life, Thaddeus Mason Pope

Faculty Scholarship

Despite the growing sophistication of palliative medicine, many individuals continue to suffer at the end of life. It is well settled that patients, suffering or not, have the right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment (such as dialysis or a ventilator) through contemporaneous instructions, through an advance directive, or through a substitute decision maker. But many ill patients, including a large and growing population with advanced dementia who are not dependent upon life-sustaining medical treatment, do not have this option. They have the same rights, but there is simply no life-sustaining medical treatment to refuse.

Nevertheless, these patients have another right, …

Granny Snatching And Personal Jurisdiction--An Argument For A New Federal Interpleader, Brittany Griffin Smith

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Preventing Identity Theft And Other Financial Abuses Perpetrated Against Vulnerable Members Of Society: Keeping The Horse In The Barn Rather Than Litigating Over The Cause And/Or Consequences Of His Leaving, Irene D. Johnson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article examines a troubling issue: the execution of important documents by individuals who are vulnerable, because of age, hospitalization, or other impairment, to financial abuse. Oftentimes, such individuals execute wills that are subsequently challenged on the grounds of lack of capacity or undue influence or execute writings which enable financial predators to prey on the individuals. Such predatory schemes often result in injury to the vulnerable individuals which might then be remediated by criminal or civil statute.

The purpose of this article is to propose a procedure by which much suffering and litigation could be prevented. If such a …

Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Good Lawyering, You Can Learn From Elder Law, Linda S. Whitton

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Accidental Elder Law Professor, A. Kimberley Dayton

Faculty Scholarship

This Article discusses my somewhat unusual and erratic path to becoming an Elder Law professor. My story, told more or less in chronological order, is a first-person narrative of one woman’s journey to achieve, if not academic renown, then at least personal satisfaction in the realm of the legal academy. It does not aspire to convey ponderous wisdom about the best way to teach Elder Law or the importance of scholarly productivity as a measure of one’s legitimacy. On the contrary, I hope the Article will illustrate that, in the same way the field of Elder Law has grown and …

The Lesson Of The Irish Family Pub: The Elder Clinic Path To A More Thoughtful Practice, Katherine C. Pearson

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, the Director of the Elder Law Clinic at Pennsylvania State University provides insight into the development of Elder Law as a unique discipline by tracking the history and challenges faced by her program as it approaches ten years of operation. A core focus of the Elder Law clinic, beyond practical experience, is to expose its students to the ethical issues confronted in Elder Law practice. Students in the clinic combine classroom discussions with practical experience representing clients, thereby becoming better prepared for their professional futures, while also gaining appreciation for the special concerns of the elderly client. …

Help Is On The Way: Senior Legal Hotlines Respond To Elder Abuse, Eleanor Crosby Lanier

Scholarly Works

Helplines are an important component of efforts to protect elders from abuse. This article describes the development of the senior legal hotline. After 20 years, these hotlines exist in at least half of the states and provide legal advice and other legal services at no cost to callers. Senior legal hotlines can provide information on financial scams, adult guardianship, advance directives, housing, medical care, and public benefits.

The Evolution Of “Fred”: Family Responsibilities Discrimination And Developments In The Law Of Stereotyping And Implicit Bias, Joan C. Williams, Stephanie Bornstein

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article integrates a discussion of current family responsibilities discrimination ("FRD") case law with a discussion of the single most important recent development in the field: the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ("EEOC") 2007 issuance of Enforcement Guidance on caregiver discrimination. The Guidance concretely informs the public about what constitutes unlawful discrimination against caregivers under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, the Guidance crystallizes two key holdings from case law in regard to Title VII disparate treatment claims brought by caregivers: (1) where plaintiffs have evidence of gender stereotyping, they can make out a prima facie case …

Planning For End-Of-Life Health Care Decisions--What National Survey Results Reveal, Linda S. Whitton

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Still Part Of The Clan: Representing Elders In The Family Law Practice, Sy Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Advising The Elderly Or Disabled Client, Melissa Brown, Lawrence Frolik

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Books

Advising the Elderly or Disabled Client provides specific answers and solutions to legal and practical questions and problems that arise in daily practice when representing elderly or disabled clients. This resource offers coverage across the full range of elderly or disabled client concerns, including: planning for Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance; medical decision-making and right-to-die issues; retirement and disability income planning; acute, chronic or changing medical conditions such as AIDS, Alzheimer's, strokes and mental illness. Includes practice aids such as official forms, model documents, detailed real-world examples, checklists for interviewing and planning, and a quick-reference glossary of technical terms, concepts, …

Remembering The Forgotten Ones: Protecting The Elderly From Financial Abuse

San Diego Law Review

There is nothing new about fraudulently taking money from people, particularly the elderly. The elderly population is rapidly increasing, however, and is readily accessible by telephone and mail. As a result, the elderly are easy targets for financial abuse. Such abuse can emanate from several sources, including people the victims know and trust, particularly family and friends.

Perpetrators can be people upon whom the elderly depend for care. Abuse can also come from strangers with whom elderly victims have no direct contact. This Article focuses primarily on the financial abuse of the elderly by strangers.

The Law And The Elderly In Singapore: The Law On Income And Maintenance For The Elderly, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

By 2030, Singapore's elderly will make up a staggering 19% of the population. With such a large proportion of people becoming old, it is timely to pay some attention to the broad spectrum of legal issues surrounding elder. Several sociological and statistical studies have been done on the elderly Singapore, yet relatively little has been written on the law relating to them. Much of the present legislation which directly or indirectly addresses problems of the elderly in Singapore relate to their financial arrangements. Examples of these are provisions relating to withdrawal of Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies and the age …

Adult Children And Indigent Parents: Intergenerational Responsibilities In International Perspective, Seymour Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflecting Reality: Adding Elder Abuse And Neglect To Legal Education, Seymour H. Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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.

Saving Granny From The Wolf: Elder Abuse And Neglect--The Legal Framework, Seymour Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Re-Examining Elder Law Practices: Reflections On Ageism, Linda S. Whitton

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

New Remedies For Elder Abuse And Neglect, Seymour Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …