Elder law concerns the legal issues that confront seniors because they are elders. We might say there are three broad categories of life issues that Elder Law addresses. Our first category is government and private benefits. A good example is Social Security for those age 65 and over. The second category is Elder Law focused estate and personal planning. It includes not only the “death and inheritance” issues but also the personal life-care matters of who will help you when you need help and what will they do. A third category, broader and less well defined, deals with the disabilities that accompany aging
First category, Government and private benefits: Questions relating to Medicare and Medicaid benefits are predominant here. Private benefits can include insurance issues such as long term care policies or pension plan benefits. We can say that IRAs and 401k plans fall in this category and because they involve issues of the federal tax code and IRS rules many Elder Law attorneys team with tax attorneys to get you the best result.
The second category includes what is commonly called “estate planning.” Here we have the usual wills and trusts effective on death to deal with “who gets what?” It also includes personal life-care planning to address aging disabilities, answering questions of who will help the elder, how will they follow the elder’s wishes and how will the elder’s financial resources be used to guarantee the best quality of life. It is a surprise to many estate planners that life-care planning may use a trust, not for after death inheritances, but for life-care planning to make sure the elder has the best quality of life.
The third category includes broad array of matters including such aging related maters as: probate court guardianship-conservatorship; working with professionals such as nurse and social work consults in setting up an in-home assistance program and paying in-home “employees” in accordance with law; dealing with senior apartment and assisted living residence issues that revolve around the resident’s lease-contract; nursing home issues including quality of care and enforcement of resident’s rights guaranteed by law. This list is not all inclusive but a sample of the matters your Elder Law attorney can help you with.
Note that elders who live in assisted living facilities or nursing homes are there because of the disabilities of aging. When they are injured, such as having a fall while being assisted, or ignored, by facility employees they have a “personal injury claim.” Elder Law attorneys know and work with the best personal injury attorneys, who often specialize in helping elders.
When an elder is the victim of a scam it is a matter of criminal law and the county prosecutor’s office often has an office that specializes in this area. If the elder is subject to physical abuse or neglect the state of Michigan adult protective services should be your first call, 855-444-3911. For more Elder Abuse Resources call 800-24-ABUSE (22873). Note that this area of law may require the hiring of an Elder Law attorney to file in probate court for a guardian or conservator of the elder. That is not the purpose of the state of Michigan elder abuse offices.
If an elder has traffic tickets, disputes with neighbors or city hall or other common complaints and you need an attorney, a call to the bar association referral service may be your best bet.
All the best,
Jim