Physician assisted suicide has been a controversial topic across the world, however as the reasoning behind it becomes better understood, many countries have chosen to legalize the practice for reasons outside of terminal illness. In the United States, in the past few decades, the public began to take notice with…
In continued efforts to protect the rights of elders, The Department of Health and Human Services has passed a rule to further ensure that elders are not taken advantage of and have the right to decide whether they seek a trial or alternative dispute resolution measures when bringing a legal…
MOLST Forms, What Are They? Easily identifiable by its bright pink color, another advance directive has been approved for use in New York medical treatment and healthcare administration. Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment are medical forms similar to a DNR Order, being that they both provide for life of…
CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS Last year a case out of the Western District of Massachusetts Federal District Court dealt with the interplay of a special needs trust and eligibility for certain governmental benefits that the special needs trust was supposed to address. The case of DeCambre v. Brookline…
FEDERAL DEFINITION OF ELDER ABUSE AND FEDERAL RESPONSE In these United States it is often that many things are left up to the states for criminal and civil enforcement. While the federal government does have a statute for murder, it is generally only applied to events that occur on federal…
CASE OF POTENTIALLY NATIONAL IMPORTANCE REPORTED IN NEW YORK TIMES On August 21, 2009 a tragic event occurred at a nursing home in the quaint coastal town of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Barrow was over 100 years old at the time of the tragedy, but told her son on her…
On February 10, 2016 the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (‘ICE’) announced in a policy document that appears to coincide with ranking ICE officials testimony before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging that it recently launched ‘Operation Cocoon‘ to help curtail the use of “elderly citizens” unknowingly…
WHAT IS BEST FIT Both an ABLE Act account and a special needs trusts try to accomplish essentially the same thing. Both attempt to ensure that a special needs child or person are financially planned for through various legal and financial means so as to enrich the life of the…
News reports reveal that America is increasingly becoming a nation of single people. For adults navigating life solo, careful planning about who will make health care decisions on their behalf in the face of unforeseen, incapacitating illness is a smart decision, especially for singles who are childless, have minor children…
Are you not quite at retirement age, but in need of early access to your qualified retirement plan account? If you are not close to retirement, are you thinking about taking a withdrawal or loan from your qualified retirement plan account to help out with the care of your aging…