Articles Posted in Elder Law

According to Kiplinger’s, elder financial abuse has been named the “crime of the 21st century,” and according to a new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, as many as twenty percent of America’s elderly population may be victims. However, new efforts by attorneys are being made to train people in this profession to spot and report potential elder financial abuse and fraud.

EIFFE Initiative

The Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation prevention program (EIFFE) was launched by a joint effort between the American Bar Association (ABA), nonprofit Investor Protection Trust, and its sister organization the Investor Protection Institute. The goal of EIFFE is to curb the increasing levels of elder financial abuse and exploitation by teaching attorneys how to spot the warning signs.

The increase in the number of elderly Baby Boomers has also meant an increase in the number of seniors abusing medication, other drugs, and alcohol. There are many delicate issues that arise in treating the elderly for addiction. However, efforts are now being made to screen and treat instances of elderly addiction in hospitals, nursing homes, and other treatment programs.

Elderly Addiction Statistics

Experts agree that as the population of seniors grows so does the number of those addicted to harmful substances. In 2009, a study was published that found that because of the large size “and high substance abuse rate” of the Baby Boomer generation, the number of Americans over the age of fifty with addiction abuse problems was expected to reach 5.7 million by 2020, double the number from 2006.

Very few caregivers are ever asked by their loved one’s doctors or other professionals how they are coping with the care of another. Questions like whether the caregiver is eating properly, exercising, sleeping enough, become depressed, or getting any free time is often overlooked. Thankfully, some physicians and other healthcare professionals have noticed the lack of care given to the actual caregivers, and they are doing something about it.

The Invisible Patient

Dr. Ronald D. Adelman, co-chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College recently gave a talk in addition to publishing an article about “the invisible patient,” the caregivers of the elderly. He contends that doctors should be assessing caregivers when they check on their elderly patients.

New research released last week reported that conflict and violence among nursing home residents is widespread and that extremely high rates of violence are common in some facilities. The author of the study, Karl Pillemer, is a professor of gerontology at Weill Cornell College of Medicine, and he presented his findings at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. According to Professor Pillemer, over twenty percent of people living in the nursing homes studied were involved in at least one negative or aggressive encounter with another resident during a four week period.

Nursing Home Study

For the study, researchers looked at patient records at ten nursing homes in New York. They interviewed staff and residents and recorded incidents through direct observation. In a sample of over 2,000 residents, sixteen percent were involved in incidents that included swearing, screaming, or yelling.

Grieving LGBT spouses who recently lost a loved one are being dealt another harsh blow by the Social Security Administration, which is refusing to pay survivors’ benefits to same-sex spouses living in states where their marriage is not recognized. One couple married in Boston but living in Texas was together for over thirty years when one passed away from cancer. The SSA refused to pay benefits to the surviving spouse because although they were married in a state that recognized the union, their state of residence does not.

Survivors’ Benefits Lawsuit

As of now, Social Security will not approve applications for spousal or survivors’ benefits for LGBT couples in Texas and sixteen other states that still do not recognize same-sex marriage. In order to get justice for herself as well as other same-sex widows and widowers, Kathy Murphy, 62, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare are suing the Social Security Administration claiming that denying benefits to married same-sex couples is unconstitutional discrimination.

As the population ages and people live longer, the number of elderly Americans who fall and suffer serious injuries, or death, is soaring. As a result, retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes where millions of senior citizens reside across the nation are trying to balance the safety of their residents and their desires to live as they choose.

The Dangers of Falls

The danger surrounding elderly falls is very real. In 2012, the number of seniors ages 65 and older who died as a result of a fall reached over 24,000 people. That is almost double the number from ten years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

As many seniors reach retirement age their health can begin to decline. Yet, very few seniors have any kind of plan or coverage for chronic or long-term illness. This happens for a variety of reasons – some believe that they will pass away before this type of coverage is needed and others do not wish to think of the possibility of needing this level of care. Long-term care insurance policies as well as hybrid long-term care policies can help protect seniors, and their financial well-being, if they suffer from a long-term illness.

Necessity of Long-Term Care Coverage

As people live longer and the average age of the elderly increases, many illnesses that were once considered fatal are now manageable. Over half of all seniors will deal with some kind of chronic illness, but fewer than twenty percent have long-term care coverage. In addition, with the cost of long-term care services reaching as high as $100,000 per year, an extended or chronic illness could be financially devastating.

With millions of Americans reaching retirement age within the Baby Boomer generation, some groups like women and minorities are especially vulnerable in their elder years. However, one of the most alienated and vulnerable groups within the elder population are that of LGBT seniors. Multiple studies have revealed that LGBT seniors are among the most isolated individuals as well as more prone to abuse and neglect.

Care Groups Paying Attention

Fortunately, a number of organizations and nonprofit groups have become aware of this issue and are dedicating their efforts to providing greater resources for LGBT seniors in addition to their caregivers. The New York Community Trust, The PFund, and Haas have all been actively working to increase the amount of resources available to LGBT seniors.

Many children of the Baby Boomer generation are noticing the warning signs of cognitive decline in their aging parents, and as such these parents are becoming more unable to handle their own financial decisions. Typically, a parent has an estate plan in place that appoints a person, usually a child, as the person financially responsible for their wellbeing when this occurs.

However, sometimes the estate plan appoints the other, also aging and ailing parent, to make the financial decisions, or your parent never made an estate plan. If your senior parent has not created an estate plan or has named the other parent, there are steps that you can take to protect them and their financial security. Updating the Durable Power of Attorney form is a great way to ensure that your parent will be well cared for regarding their finances.

The more difficult part of dealing with your parent’s finances is not drafting the necessary documents but having the conversation of transitioning financial control with your loved one. Here are some tips to help make that conversation as respectful and smooth as possible.

The last thing that you want to do when deciding whether to hire an in-home caregiver for one or both of your parents is rush the decision. Picking this person takes time because they will be intimately involved in every part of your parent’s life. However, the right caregiver can ease the pressure that you feel to ensure that your parent is being properly taken care of.

If you are unsure of where to start in the caregiver process, here are a few questions to ask yourself, your loved ones, and the caregivers that you interview.

Is in-home care the best choice?