What Is Elder Law?

Article submitted by Howard Kaplan, Esq.
For more information, he can be reached at 201-833-4300 or by e-mail: howardkapl@aol.com.

"Elder Law" is an umbrella term that encompasses virtually any and all legal issues that affect a person as he or she ages. These issues range, for example, from the most basic estate planning through long-term care issues and contested medical care decision planning to elder abuse and fraud recovery, and estate administration.

The number and types of issues affecting the elderly are vast and constantly growing. Increasingly, apparently appropriate decisions made today have unexpected, and potentially adverse, significance for you or your loved one. Asset protection, independence and autonomy, the kinds and level of care you or your loved one receives, and peace of mind in later years depend on these decisions.

An experienced elder law attorney will provide you with counsel in advance, helping you avoid dealing with the legal, financial, and emotional ramifications of unguided decisions in a crisis. And in a crisis, you have someone who both understands your particular situation and appreciates your emotional needs and financial requirements. Your elder law attorney is not only experienced in the laws that affect the elderly, but also someone experienced in looking behind and beyond the myths about aging.

ESTATE PLANNING

• Protecting and/or transferring your assets to minimize Federal and State taxes.
• Avoiding the diminishment of the estate due to disputes between heirs or by those who have been disinherited or others.
• Protecting and transferring your assets to minimize taxation.

MEDICAID

• Protecting your assets while providing for home and nursing care.

PLANNING FOR DISABILITY

• Assuring that you have financial assets in the event of disability

CONTESTED MEDICAL CARE DECISION PLANNING

• Assuring that decisions you make now about the medical care and treatment you want are binding when you are no longer able to have a voice in making those decisions.

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

• Who should be in charge of your assets and when should they gain that power.

HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE

• Planning for who will have the power to make medical care decisions and what type of decisions are to be made when you can no longer make them.

LAST LETTER OF INSTRUCTION

• Explaining to your family what assets you have, where they and your Last Will and Testament are together with funeral plans, if any, that you have made.

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

• Determining who should handle your estate as well as who should and should not receive your assets and under what conditions.

DECENDENT'S ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

• Ensuring that your estate and assets are handled and distributed according to your wishes.

ELDER ABUSE/FRAUD AND PERSONAL INJURY ON BEHALF OF ELDER PERSONS

• Protecting elderly persons, both physically and financially, who are not eligible to protect themselves.
• Advocacy for elderly persons who have been injured through negligence.

FIDUCIARY ADMINISTRATION (inter vivos, guardianship/conservatorship)

• Transferring assets during your lifetime and controlling those assets after the transfer.
• Protecting the elderly person who is physically healthy but no longer able to handle his or her financial affairs.

LONG-TERM CARE

• Planning for long-term care, both with and without insurance.

PATIENTS' RIGHTS AND NURSING HOME QUALITY

• Assuring appropriate care and respect for the elderly person's rights when he or she is in a nursing home.

COMPETENCY DETERMINATIONS

• Assuring appropriate evaluation of the ability of the elderly to make health and/or financial decisions.