Thoughts on long-term care insuranceBy Marc R. MillerElder Law, September 2003With an aging population driving up the need for long-term care and increased awareness by elder law lawyers of the potential use of long-term care insurance (LTCI), it is becoming more and more important for attorneys to update their understanding of LTCI.
A short course on advanced directivesBy James B. Moses, Jr.Government Lawyers, August 2003Have you ever been at a social function or family gathering, and approached by a family member or friend with the dreaded words:"You're a lawyer aren't you?"
Scams go to war and to ground zero: Cons adapted to post-9/11 ageElder Law, June 2003In this newsletter's continuing effort to keep lawyers informed of scams that may affect their clients (or themselves), it is interesting to see how the same basic confidence game adapts to new technology and to new times--presumably because it still gets results.
Check out the elder law Web siteBy John W. FoltzElder Law, April 2003Each section of the ISBA has its own Web site with some interesting and useful information relating to that section's area of practice.
Staying currentElder Law, April 2003When meeting with "community spouses," make sure you are using the updated figures for the Community Spouse Asset Allowance and the Community Spouse Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance.
Anatomical gifts: The ultimate recycleBy Daniel M. MooreElder Law, December 2002Disposition of the body is probably one of the most difficult issues with which human beings and their loved ones ought to deal in life and estate planning.
CorrectionsElder Law, December 2002The following errors appeared in the October 2002 issue of Elder Law:
Long-term care insurance: Worthwhile risk for someElder Law, December 2002Long-term care (LTC) insurance has been around since at least the 1980s but it has increased in popularity, fueled by the advent of the baby boomers' realization that they may need nursing care.
Consumer’s tool kit for health care advance planningElder Law, October 2002The ABA Commission on Law and Aging (formerly the Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly) has made available on its Web site a set of 10 "tools" for consumers to be used in making health care decisions concerning advance directives and substitute decisionmakers.
Greetings from the chairBy Naomi H. SchusterElder Law, October 2002I am looking forward to my duties as Chair of the Elder Law Section Council. We have tremendous talent on the council this year.
Illinois cases of noteElder Law, October 2002In a recent case, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that the section of the Probate Act allowing certain family members who cared for the deceased a right to a claim against the estate did not violate the Special Legislation, Equal Protection or Due Process clauses of the state constitution.
Viatical scams and senior settlementsElder Law, October 2002A viatical settlement is (or can be) a way for a terminally ill person to get money from his or her life insurance policy before he or she dies.
Book review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Caring for Aging ParentsElder Law, June 2002While browsing in your local bookstore, you may have noticed two series of books addressed to groups not noted for buying books: Dummies and Complete Idiots. Both of these series ( . . . for Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to . . . ) started (or became popular) as instructional books on computer-related topics.
Recent law review articles on elder law issuesElder Law, June 2002Elder lawyers get much of their information on developments in the law from bar journals, advance sheets, CLE course books, Web sites and (not to be overlooked) newsletters.
State Supreme Court invalidates grandparent visitation statuteElder Law, June 2002The fate of grandparent visitation laws could be seen as an example of the checks and balances of our republic at work: the Legislature giveth and the courts taketh away.
Supreme Court dismisses aging disparate impact suitElder Law, June 2002The U.S. Supreme Court recently dismissed a case holding that disparate impact suits are not permitted under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 621.
The Supreme Court goes to the “Waffle House”By Lee BenezeElder Law, June 2002In the case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, Inc. (No. 99-1823, January 15, 2002), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was not prohibited from filing its own action against the employer on behalf of an employer who had signed an employment contract which included an arbitration clause.
Alzheimer’s: a practitioner’s guideBy Marc R. MillerElder Law, May 2002According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in ten persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimer's.
Book review: Representing the Elderly Client: Law and PracticeBy Constance B. RenziElder Law, May 2002Representing the Elderly Client: Law and Practice, written by Thomas D. Begley, Jr. and Jo-Anne Herina Jeffreys and published by Panel Publishers, will be a welcome addition to the library of the elder law attorney.
Council members named academy laureatesElder Law, May 2002Elder Law Section Council members Stanley Balbach and Dan Moore were named to the 2002 Class of Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.
The estate planning gapBy John J. HoreledElder Law, May 2002My practice has always had an estate planning component. At first I was a general practitioner who did estate planning.
The purchase of or exchange for a life estate interest as a Medicaid eligibility planning techniqueBy Wesley J. CoulsonElder Law, May 2002The Illinois Medicaid Eligibility Policy Manual specifically contemplates and discusses the transfer of ownership of real estate by a prospective applicant for Medicaid long term care benefits, reserving a life estate interest in that real estate, as a potential planning technique.
Recent casesElder Law, May 2002A recent Fifth District Appellate Court case upheld an Administrative Law Judge's finding that an employee of a nursing home abused a resident by teasing her.