OCTOBER 21, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 16 Two weeks ago, Elder Law Issues reintroduced to its readers a discussion on driving skills for the aging driver. We suggested continuing our discussion by introducing strategies to deal with the impaired driver. We often hear stories like these: A client whose father gets lost driving in his neighborhood…
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OCTOBER 14, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 15 Walter and Geraldine Brown had filed for divorce before first Mr. Brown and then Mrs. Brown became incapacitated. When guardianship proceedings were initiated for both of them, the divorce proceeding was simply dismissed. Mr. and Mrs. Brown lived in Indiana, where the language of guardianship is a little…
OCTOBER 7, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 14 Driving is an enormously important issue to our elderly (and disabled) clients, their family and friends. In the western U.S. and particularly in Tucson, transportation without a car is difficult and inconvenient. Safety of both the driver and the public is paramount, but the loss of independence and…
SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 13 Abuse of the elderly may be physical or financial. In some cases caretakers or family members may simply have failed to provide adequate care and that neglect may have lead to injury (or even death). Most elder care professionals recognize that all three kinds of misconduct are seriously…
SEPTEMBER 23, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 12 Like other states, Florida is experiencing runaway cost increases in Medicaid, the federal/state program which provides medical care for the poor. One particular area of concern has been the cost of prescription drugs (unlike the Medicare program, Medicaid covers medication costs). Last year the Florida legislature took steps…
SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 11 Adelaide Briskman was 82 when she died in Florida. She left property in that state and in Pennsylvania, and a will that she had signed just five months before her death. She also left a controversy between her family and the beneficiary she had named in her will.…
SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 10 Christel McPeak thought she had done her estate planning properly. She had hired an attorney, reviewed drafts of a will, durable power of attorney for financial purposes and health care directive, and she had approved the drafts. Then she went to her lawyer’s office and signed the final…
SEPTEMBER 2, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 9 Medicaid, the federal-state program which pays for about half of all nursing home care in the United States, is governed by eligibility rules intended to discourage applicants from making gifts as a way of qualifying. For example, Medicaid penalizes most gifts for a period up to three years—though…
AUGUST 26, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 8 One of the most important rules governing fiduciaries is that they must never commingle the money they manage for others with their own funds. This overriding principle applies to personal representatives of estates (sometimes called executors), conservators of the estates of minors and incapacitated adults, trustees, and agents…
AUGUST 19, 2002 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 7 When a nursing home demonstrates that it is unable to provide consistent quality care there are several ways to correct its problems. The marketplace offers one corrective opportunity, of course. Personal injury lawsuits may effect some improvement in future care, if only because the nursing home’s insurance provider…