N A E L A - National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

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Are You Ready for Your 2:30 Appointment? (continued from page 5) his children if they need help as well. His entry point may have been estate planning but his real focus is on the later part of his life and you serve as a central resource for all of the issues he may face. Can you do it all? Not necessarily. But you can be there for him for all of his legal issues for the rest of his life. You are there to be General Counsel to aging persons and, as General Counsel, you may not necessarily handle all matters but you are there to make the appropriate, tested and proven referrals that will serve your client best. And you are there to coordinate all of the services that he may need as he lives this part of his life. The mission statement of NAELA anticipated this type of broad practice. It states: Who We Are The NAELA membership is comprised of attorneys in the private and public sectors who deal with legal issues affecting individuals who are elderly and/or disabled. Members also include judges, professors of law, and students. Some of the issues NAELA members assist their clients with include, but are not limited to: public benefits, probate and estate planning, guardianship/conservatorship, and health and long-term care planning. NAELA’s vision is to be the recognized leader inspiring and empowering attorneys to enhance the quality of life for individuals who are elderly or disabled. NAELA has not really given a specific definition to the word “Elder.” And, indeed, it should not. Rather than a chronological definition, perhaps we are really discussing a stage of life following the traditional working years. This particular client has many questions concerning his pension and his other qualified plans. One of the benefits he gets from your advice is that you are not selling any particular product, be it annuity or mutual fund or some other product. You are simply advising him on what his options might be. You are able to advise him objectively about possible gifts to his children or possible 529 Plans for his current and future grandchildren. He will have many other questions as time goes by – these might include possible continuing care retirement communities, changes in tax law, and changes in Medicare benefits. And whatever the issues may be that arise for him, he is comfortable, from this first visit, that you are up-to-date on issues concerning Elder Law and aging. You are building a long-term relationship with your 2:30 appointment. NAELA has not really given a specific definition to the word “Elder.” And, indeed, it should not. Rather than a chronological definition, perhaps we are really discussing a stage of life following the traditional working years. In any event, your 2:30 appointment at sixty years of age is clearly one of the new elders and part of your practice. The demographics are clearly in favor of great growth in the practice of Elder Law. Board of Directors 2005-2006 PRESIDENT Lawrence E. Davidow, CELA Islandia, NY PRESIDENT-ELECT Donna R. Bashaw, CELA Laguna Hills, CA VICE PRESIDENT G. Mark Shalloway, CELA West Palm Beach, FL TREASURER Craig C. Reaves, CELA Kansas City, MO SECRETARY Ruth A. Phelps, CELA Pasadena, CA PAST PRESIDENT Stuart D. Zimring, Esq. North Hollywood, CA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Susan B. McMahon, Esq. Tucson, AZ MANAGING DIRECTOR Deborah J. Barnett Tucson, AZ DIRECTORS Edwin M. Boyer, Esq. Sarasota, FL William J. Brisk, CELA Newton Center, MA Martha C. Brown, CELA Saint Louis, MO Gregory S. French, CELA Cincinnati, OH Bradley J. Frigon, Esq. Englewood, CO Doris E. Hawks, Esq. Los Altos, CA Barbara S. Hughes, Esq. Madison, WI Michael F. Loring, Esq. Scituate, MA Kerry R. Peck, Esq. Chicago, IL Stephen J. Silverberg, CELA East Meadow, NY Timothy L. Takacs, CELA Hendersonville, TN Lauchlin T. Waldoch, CELA Tallahassee, FL Wesley E. Wright, CELA Bellaire, TX Edward E. Zetlin, Esq. Falls Church, VA CONSULTANTS Brian W. Lindberg, Public Policy Washington, D.C. Hugh K. Webster, Legal Counsel Washington, D.C. 6
President’s Message By Lawrence Davidow, Esq. This has been a very interesting year for NAELA and its members. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA 2005) and all its negative implications certainly grabbed our attention, and a full-scale effort was mobilized to stop the legislation. While the vote did not go the way we wanted, we can still be very proud of what our organization was able to accomplish. We now have a “seat at the table” when discussing legal issues of the elderly and people with disabilities. We testified at congressional hearings and we are now a highly regarded player among the national aging network. NAELA members became the “go-to people” to analyze the law. We must now continue to build on these successes. DRA and Medicaid Win or lose, this was a cause worth fighting for. DRA 2005 is bad for America and bad for its middle-class citizenry. The truth is that the middle class are once again the losers here, not Elder Law attorneys. We will be busy explaining this confusing law to our concerned clients for many years to come. Over the past twentyfive years, the middle class claimed a larger part of the Medicaid budget to pay for their long term care, which they could not otherwise hope to afford without losing everything they worked a lifetime to acquire. During this time, our government allowed Lawrence Davidow this approach to become a mainstream practice; a defacto Medicaid policy in the place of comprehensive long term care reform. Today, without giving a thought to such comprehensive long term care reform, the government has chosen instead to pull the rug out from under the middle class. This new law, which makes it harder to access the Medicaid program, is nothing more than a harsh TAX on the middle class, especially the lower income middle class. Eliminating a benefit, while asking middle class Americans to spend their entire life savings for their care, is a TAX on them. It’s an unconscionable tax. Please spread the word and let people know what is really happening to Americans. The middle class are being taxed once again—and the tax could cost them their entire life savings! Our Mission Our mission now is to educate Congress, the aging network, and the press on the direction of long term care reform in this country. First we must focus on DRA 2005 and why it needs to be changed. We must also be vigilant in our state and local efforts as this new law is implemented throughout the country. NAELA Chapters will be critical for this local advocacy, and thus, I urge you to get involved with your local chapter or start one immediately if your state does not have a chapter. Secondly, we must make it clear that while we wholeheartedly support the purchase of private long term care insurance, it is naive public policy to believe that such insurance is affordable for more than a small minority of current upper middle class seniors. Furthermore, many seniors today have preexisting conditions disqualifying them from the purchase of such insurance. Insurance will play an important role, but only the insurance companies and their lobbyists believe that long term care insurance alone will solve the long term care crisis in this country. 2006 Charitable Recipient While DRA 2005 has demanded much of our focus, I would like to call your attention to something very positive that each NAELA President gets the privilege to do each year. Many years ago, the NAELA Board authorized $1000 for each President to give to a charity of his or her choosing in recognition and appreciation of the efforts of our committee chairs. There is no question that our committee chairs all worked very hard for NAELA this year; for that reason, I am particularly proud to report that, in their honor, I have chosen THE LONG ISLAND COMMU- NITY FOUNDATION (LICF) to be the 2006 charitable recipient. I am choosing my local community foundation to highlight community foundations throughout the country who are, in my opinion, unsung heroes—who everyday help identify and meet the critical needs of people in our local communities, including the important needs of seniors and people with disabilities. Community foundations are (continued on page 8) President’s message 7
Page 1 and 2: N A E L A NEWS National Academy of
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Page 5: Are You Ready for Your 2:30 Appoint
Page 9 and 10: Executive Director’s Message By S
Page 11 and 12: Tales of NAELA Saved by the NAELA A
Page 13 and 14: Address Medicaid’s Institutional
Page 15 and 16: Address Medicaid’s Institutional
Page 17 and 18: Vermont’s Long-Term Care Waiver G
Page 19 and 20: a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Page 21 and 22: Vermont’s Long- Term Care Waiver
Page 23 and 24: The Case Against Court Certificatio
Page 25 and 26: The Case Against Court Certificatio
Page 27 and 28: Chapter President’s Listing Arizo
Page 29 and 30: Introducing NAELA’s Newest Member
Page 31 and 32: NAELA Members in the News NAELA was
Page 33 and 34: Divorce Elder Law Style (continued
Page 35 and 36: MAY 2006 NATIONAL ELDER LAW MONTH S

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