Greetings from the chairBy Naomi H. SchusterElder Law, October 2002I am looking forward to my duties as Chair of the Elder Law Section Council. We have tremendous talent on the council this year.
Illinois cases of noteElder Law, October 2002In a recent case, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that the section of the Probate Act allowing certain family members who cared for the deceased a right to a claim against the estate did not violate the Special Legislation, Equal Protection or Due Process clauses of the state constitution.
Viatical scams and senior settlementsElder Law, October 2002A viatical settlement is (or can be) a way for a terminally ill person to get money from his or her life insurance policy before he or she dies.
Book review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Caring for Aging ParentsElder Law, June 2002While browsing in your local bookstore, you may have noticed two series of books addressed to groups not noted for buying books: Dummies and Complete Idiots. Both of these series ( . . . for Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to . . . ) started (or became popular) as instructional books on computer-related topics.
Recent law review articles on elder law issuesElder Law, June 2002Elder lawyers get much of their information on developments in the law from bar journals, advance sheets, CLE course books, Web sites and (not to be overlooked) newsletters.
State Supreme Court invalidates grandparent visitation statuteElder Law, June 2002The fate of grandparent visitation laws could be seen as an example of the checks and balances of our republic at work: the Legislature giveth and the courts taketh away.
Supreme Court dismisses aging disparate impact suitElder Law, June 2002The U.S. Supreme Court recently dismissed a case holding that disparate impact suits are not permitted under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 621.
The Supreme Court goes to the “Waffle House”By Lee BenezeElder Law, June 2002In the case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, Inc. (No. 99-1823, January 15, 2002), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was not prohibited from filing its own action against the employer on behalf of an employer who had signed an employment contract which included an arbitration clause.
Alzheimer’s: a practitioner’s guideBy Marc R. MillerElder Law, May 2002According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in ten persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimer's.
Book review: Representing the Elderly Client: Law and PracticeBy Constance B. RenziElder Law, May 2002Representing the Elderly Client: Law and Practice, written by Thomas D. Begley, Jr. and Jo-Anne Herina Jeffreys and published by Panel Publishers, will be a welcome addition to the library of the elder law attorney.
Council members named academy laureatesElder Law, May 2002Elder Law Section Council members Stanley Balbach and Dan Moore were named to the 2002 Class of Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.
The estate planning gapBy John J. HoreledElder Law, May 2002My practice has always had an estate planning component. At first I was a general practitioner who did estate planning.
The purchase of or exchange for a life estate interest as a Medicaid eligibility planning techniqueBy Wesley J. CoulsonElder Law, May 2002The Illinois Medicaid Eligibility Policy Manual specifically contemplates and discusses the transfer of ownership of real estate by a prospective applicant for Medicaid long term care benefits, reserving a life estate interest in that real estate, as a potential planning technique.
Recent casesElder Law, May 2002A recent Fifth District Appellate Court case upheld an Administrative Law Judge's finding that an employee of a nursing home abused a resident by teasing her.
Scam alert! Nigerian global scam in full flowerBy Lee BenezeElder Law, May 2002Over the past months, what certainly must be tens, if not hundreds of thousands of letters purporting to be from Nigeria, or elsewhere in West Africa, have been e-mailed to Americans.
The Senior Health Insurance Program—SHIPBy Bryan PadgetElder Law, May 2002The Senior Health Insurance Program, or SHIP, is a free insurance counseling service for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers.
Do not resuscitate and the Orange FormBy Frank NagorkaElder Law, January 2002Emergency medical services respond to calls for assistance and respond immediately.
Identity theft and the elderlyBy John W. FoltzElder Law, January 2002Identity theft has been with us for some time. Those of us who practice in the family law arena have encountered it when an ex-spouse uses the information they have acquired during the marriage to obtain credit in the name of their former spouses.
Recent casesBy Susan M. ChristiansenElder Law, January 2002The question of whether an individual filing an action for injuries suffered in a nursing home under the Nursing Home Care Act, 210 ILCS 45/1-101 et seq., must file an affidavit as required by the Healing Art Malpractice Act, 735 ILCS 5/2-0622(a), has been answered in the negative by the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, in Eads v. Heritage Enters., Inc., 2001 WL 1145161 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) in an opinion authored by Justice Myerscough.
Reducing unwanted junk mail, e-mail, and telemarketing callsBy Mardyth E. PollardElder Law, January 2002As an attorney, you are well aware of the many needs of your client. Some of those needs, such as dealing with telemarketers and junk mail, are of a non-legal nature.
Stops along the Information Superhighway—where to complain on (or about) the InternetElder Law, January 2002If you have e-mail and access to the Internet, you may have found some things that irritate or disturb you--unsolicited e-mail that promises (among other things) to get you out of debt, make huge amounts of money or enlarge certain body parts (these messages are known as spam), websites that take money but don't deliver the promised goods or services, and the darker side of the Net: pornography and child exploitation.
Background on Patients’ Bill of RightsElder Law, October 2001This past summer one of the biggest issues in the U.S. Congress was the passage of a Patients' Bill of Rights.
Community Medicaid cases and spousal impoverishment updateBy Steven C. PerlisElder Law, October 2001Frequently, a married couple struggles with the question of when to apply for Medicaid. Is it too soon if the disabled person is still at home, but suffering from a decline in the ability to handle activities of daily living?
