September 26, 2009
“Part of our mission is to protect, support, and advocate for an aging population, particularly those with disabilities. This is done through various programs: Adult Protection, In Home Support, Veterans Services, Area Agency on Aging, and Long Term Medical Care.”
Phone: (510) 577-1900
Link: Alameda County California Social Services
Updated: 1 Sep 2009
September 19, 2009
“The JFKU Elder Law Clinic, opened in 2005, provides free legal assistance to elders (age 60 and above) who have been financially abused or exploited and who are of low- to moderate-income and live in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano counties. The Clinic also offers public presentations that can help you or your loved ones recognize and prevent potential elder financial abuses.”
Phone: (925) 969-3341
Link: John F. Kennedy University Elder Law Clinic
Updated: 1 Sep 2009
September 16, 2009
Congratulations to Srinoi G. Rousseau, who was choosen as an update author for the Continuing Education of the Bar’s (CEB) Conservatorship Practice. The book is an authoritative publication that guides attorneys in their practice of the law. Srinoi revised Chapter 9, Bonds which examines and illuminates the practice of bonding, a sort of insurance policy for people who are handling others’ assets.
Srinoi will also be a panelist in October 2009 at the CEB’s Fundamentals of Elder Law Practice, a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program for attorneys.
The panelists, well-known Elder Law specialists, will discuss:
- Scenarios that give rise to conflicts and ethical pitfalls
- What strategies are available to help your clients plan for long-term care—without undoing all their estate planning goals
- How to develop and economically manage an Elder Law practice
The CEB was founded by the University of California and the State Bar of California, CEB inaugurated CLE in California in 1947 to foster the professional development of California lawyers.
September 14, 2009
riday, October 23 Priscilla Camp will be honored by Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS) at their 2009 Annual Fundraising event. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented by the Honorable Carol A. Corrigan, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, at a luncheon where Belva Davis, Host of KQED’s This Week in Northern California, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
September 10, 2009
Special Needs Trust, sometimes called a supplemental needs trust, is a trust that is created and designed to hold property of beneficiaries who are disabled or mentally ill so they can enjoy the use of the property and still qualify for needs-based public benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid (which in California is called “Medi-Cal”) are the more common needs-based public benefits which Special Needs Trusts are created to protect.
A key to maintaining eligibility for needs-based public benefits is that the beneficiary cannot have control over the assets in the Special Needs Trust (SNT). The beneficiary cannot manage the assets, has no right to demand receipt of income or property from the SNT, and has no power to name the manager of the trust (known as the trustee) or to change the terms. The use of the SNT’s assets for the benefit of the beneficiary is determined at the discretion of the trustee of the SNT. The trustee can be a family member, friend, or private professional trustee.
September 8, 2009
Priscilla Camp will be presenting at an education program designed for professionals presented by the Institute on Aging entitled CAPACITY: WHAT IS IT? HOW DO WE ASSESS IT? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE LOSE IT?
Priscilla will co-lead the workshop Protect Your Clients, Protect Yourself: A Psychologist and Attorney’s Roadmap for Issues of Capacity, Decision-Making and Undue Influence in an afternoon session on September 16.
During this workshop, the presenters will explore the complex issues of diminished capacity, consent for care, evaluation of capacity and challenges of undue influence. Using case law, case studies and ethical regulations, they will introduce a road map to guide your actions from the onset of care, at difficult junctures of care management and when you suspect undue influence.
September 2, 2009
ere’s a nightmare situation, not uncommon in Elder Law practice.
A parent lives in squalor, without proper nutrition, refuses to see a doctor, doesn’t bathe, doesn’t take medications that were prescribed years ago after the last contact with a doctor, refuses help, won’t move to assisted living, the house needs repair, and so on. Or, to make things even worse, there are two parents in this situation. Either way, the adult child is desperate for a solution.
It is commonly believed that establishing a Conservatorship, through a costly and stressful Court-supervised process, will force the parent(s) to cooperate, but this is often not the case. Many people in this condition don’t care what piece of paper someone has from what Court; they will not, or cannot, live a safer or more appropriate life, and will refuse to cooperate with all efforts to improve the situation. Conservatorship is not a magic wand, and comes with no method to enforce a Conservator’s decision that the parent(s) live elsewhere, eat, take pills, see a doctor, or fix the house. It may be that waiting for an acute medical condition to occur, forcing hospitalization and possibly nursing home placement of someone who is too sick to fight back, is the only solution.
This interim is a good time to ask a care manager to take a look, even though the parent adamantly refuses to consider having help in the home. When there appear to be untreated medical problems, a care manager who is an RN, or has one on staff, may be preferable. If the care manager can get into the house, options for obtaining some measure of cooperation may be apparent.
The care manager’s assessment may also help determine whether or not, if the child is considering petitioning for Conservatorship, a Conservatorship of the Person would be workable. It is not advisable to request authority to manage food, clothing, shelter, and physical health if there is no way to perform those duties. Care managers, however, often know very skillful and experienced caregivers who can be effective in the most difficult situation.
The child must be prepared to sign a contract for the assessment, and be financially responsible for it. This usually amounts to a few hundred dollars and is almost always a good investment.
Even if a solution does not immediately result, the child will have a relationship with someone who can be called in if things change, and will feel better for having done whatever is possible under the current circumstances.
A version of this article originally appeared in the Bulletin of the Alameda County Bar Association.
