|
|
News & Events
2003-2004 Program Archive
- Dinner and Board Meeting
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "Advising Trustees"
Speakers: Suzette Fontaine Collins, CTFA and CRSP; Marjorie
Suisman, Esq.; Theresa M. Varnet, Esq.
Program Summary: If you advise clients about their duties
and responsibilities as Trustees, help clients select Trustees
or if you serve as Trustee yourself, this program is a must. The
panelists will discuss the qualities and qualifications which
should be considered in selecting a Trustee. When is it appropriate
to choose a family member as Trustee? Under what circumstances
should a professional serve? What are the ethical implications
of the lawyer as Trustee? Who is your client?
The program will address issues such as advising your client-Trustee
regarding proper Trust investments, personal liability of the
Trustee, balancing the duty between income and remainder beneficiaries,
trust accounting, and tax filing requirements. It will also review
who must receive notice on accountings and whether a Trustee must
seek court or beneficiary approval for certain Trust activities
such as purchase or sale of real estate.
The presenters will cover issues which arise for Trustees of so-called
special needs trusts, including trusts created pursuant to 42
U.S.C.ß1396p(d)(4)(A). The program will advise attendees
regarding the best ways to apply Trust assets to maintain SSI
and MassHealth benefits for the beneficiary, trust funding issues
to watch out for, Crummey powers and special gifting issues. This
program will also address the reporting requirements for various
agencies, including the additional administration and reporting
provisions for OBRA trusts.
When selecting a corporate fiduciary, what can you expect? How
are fees charged and what is included? Will the trust fund be
individually managed? Will the professional trustee have personal
contact with the beneficiary? Where are the discretionary trust
administrative decisions made? How much authority does the individual
trust officer have? This program will outline the issues to be
considered when contemplating a professional fiduciary, as well
as outline questions a prospective customer should ask as part
of their due diligence in selecting a fiduciary and making sure
the client ’s expectations and the professional is a good
fit.
- Dinner and Board Meeting
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "ESTATE PLANNING AND ELDER LAW RAMIFICATIONS
OF GAY MARRIAGE"
Speakers: Gail Horowitz, Esq., Brookline, MA; Amy Hunt,
Boston, MA; Ellen K. Wade, Esq., Brookline, MA
Program Summary: The prospect of civil marriage for gay
and lesbian couples carries with it significant legal implications
for our clients in the areas of estate planning and elder law.
This program will address the significance and ramifications of
civil marriage for same-sex couples, focusing particularly on
issues affecting gay and lesbian elders. The panelists will discuss
the social and legal implications including how civil marriage
affects estate planning for same sex couples, Medicaid and other
government benefits and rights.
The speakers will address estate planning issues which are specific
to same-sex couples, including but not limited to estate tax issues,
decision making authority, guardianship of minor children, and
drafting to address the possibility of diverse legal status under
state and federal law.
The panelists will also discuss issues arising for elderly same-sex
couples facing long term care and how gay marriage could impact
these couples.
- Scattered Site Breakfast Program
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Time: 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.
| Location: |
Country Club of Halifax, 100 Country Club
Dr., Halifax, MA |
| |
Holiday Inn Peabody, 1 Newbury St. (Rte.1
Northbound), Peabody, MA |
| |
Holiday Inn Marlborough, 265 Lakeside Ave.,
Marlborough, MA |
| |
The Hotel Northampton, 36 King St., Northampton,
MA |
Topic: "PLANNING FOR A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS BEEN
OR IS ABOUT TO BE ADMITTED TO A NURSING HOME"
| Speakers: |
Halifax: Joyce M. Collins, Esquire,
West Harwich, Massachusetts (Moderator); Patricia J. Mello,
Esquire, Mashpee, Massachusetts; Paul D. Silvia, Esquire,
Brockton, Massachusetts; Bonnie Allen, RN, Geriatric Care
Manager, Senior Health Care Services, Kingston, Massachusetts |
| |
Peabody: Marsha Donovan, Esquire, Donovan
& Donovan, Danvers, Massachusetts (Moderator); John
G. King, Esquire, King & Gibney, Salem, Massachusetts;
Natalie A. Simon, Esquire, Gloucester, Massachusetts; Miriam
E. Pett, OTR/L, MS, Geriatric Care Manager, Gloucester,
Massachusetts |
| |
Marlborough: Harriet H.
Onello, Esquire, Lexington, Massachusetts (Moderator); Leslie
Sleeper Madge, Esquire, Acton, Massachusetts; Susan Lewin,
BA, MSW, LICSW, Generations, All About Elders, Brookline,
Massachusetts |
| |
Northampton: Carol Cioe
Klyman, Esquire, Shatz, Schwartz, & Fentin, PC, Springfield,
Massachusetts (Moderator); Ann I. Weber, Esquire, Shatz,
Schwartz, & Fentin, PC, Springfield, Massachusetts;
Deborah Hollingworth, LSW, Geriatric Resource Consultant,
Greater Springfield Senior Services, Springfield, Massachusetts |
Program Summary: This program will begin with a discussion
about the initial meeting with the individual and/or family of
a single person who is about to or has already entered a nursing
home,and address the estate planning,ethical and other issues
that can arise in counseling an individual or family member(s)of
someone entering a nursing home. A Geriatric Care Manager will
provide attendees with information about assistance which may
be available to the elder from local programs allowing the elder
to remain in the community for a longer period of time and how
GCMs can be of assistance when community living is no longer an
option.
The speakers will explore the circumstances where execution of
a durable power of attorney and health care proxy is possible,
as well as the circumstances which require the family to pursue
a formal guardianship proceeding. This program will also discuss
the types of planning which require the filing of an estate planning
petition under M.G.L.c.201,§ 38.
The program will focus heavily on the various options available
to preserve assets against loss to nursing home costs, including
transfers of assets, strategies involving non-countable and inaccessible
assets, spend-down and pre-payment options, specifically the Haley
decision regarding payment of medical expenses, the use and timing
of annuities, timing and payment of legal fees, half-a-loaf planning,
prepaying funerals, establishing burial accounts, prepaying for
headstones, and cemetery plots, making improvements to a home,
purchasing a life estate in a child ’s home, and prepaying
for care manager contracts.
- Dinner and Board Meeting
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "ELDER ABUSE: WHAT IS IT? HOW DO I RECOGNIZE
IT? WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?"
Speakers: Mark I. Zarrow, Esq., Worcester, MA; Katrina
Gomes, Tri Valley Elder Services
Program Summary: As elder law practitioners we are sometimes
faced with the troubling suspicion that our elderly clients are
being ill treated by family members or caretakers. How do we proceed
in such circumstances? What if the elder is too intimidated to
take action or to allow you to intervene? What constitutes "abuse"?
How do we deal with issues of client confidentiality? Can the
lawyer or geriatric care manager who assists an elder with the
transfer of assets to family members or otherwise for Medicaid
planning purposes be charged with elder abuse? What other ethical
issues arise in this context and how should such issues be addressed?
Conversely, how do we address situations where our client is accused
of elder abuse? Is the system susceptible to manipulation?
This program will examine the very real and growing problem of
elder abuse in the Commonwealth. Elder abuse is not limited to
the poor. It can be found across all economic spectra, including
the middle class and the well off. The discussion will include
the types and definitions of elder abuse, including financial
abuse, the Protective Services reporting system and bringing actions
in the courts. The Massachusetts Elder Abuse Law will be examined,
as will the role of the guardian ad litem in elder abuse cases.
An update on the latest Medicaid legislative changes, including
repeal of estate recovery, will be presented.
Speakers include an attorney who represents elder abuse agencies
and who is well versed in bringing petitions in court, along with
a protective services supervisor with experience in the field.
Anyone who deals frequently with elders should not miss this program!
- Dinner and Board Meeting
Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "AVOIDING ETHICAL TRAPS FOR THE UNWARY IN REPRESENTING
ELDERLY CLIENTS"
Speaker: Stuart D. Zimring, President-Elect of NAELA, North
Hollywood, CA
Program Summary: The program will examine many of the ethical
issues that elder law attorneys encounter in representing seniors
and their families. Special emphasis will be placed on capacity
issues, joint representation issues, multigenerational issues,
and dealing with other professionals such as geriatric care managers.
We will also discuss ways in which NAELA can take the lead in
encouraging high ethical standards among elder law attorneys.
A member of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers will present
the new rules, effective January 1, 2004, for dealing with retainers
and client trust funds, and remain available for commentary on
other Massachusetts ethical issues. An update of the status of
the Medicaid changes in Massachusetts will also be included in
this program.
- Dinner and Board Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "LIENS, ESTATE RECOVERY AND MEDICAID UPDATE"
Speakers: David H. Jones, Esq., Newton; Susan Levin, Esq.,
Newton; Ian S. Oppenheim, Esq., Halifax, Abington, Plymouth; Peter
M. Macy, Esq., Boston
Program Summary: The laws governing eligibility for MassHealth
have changed radically since January 1, 2003 and continue to be
in flux. Estate recovery has been expanded to reach beyond the
probate estate for decedents dying after July 1, 2003. This program
will look at the implications of the new estate recovery provisions
on real estate and other assets, as well as the imposition of
liens during an applicant’s lifetime. The Commonwealth has
also applied for a federal waiver so that further changes (such
as changing the transfer penalty imposition date, what items may
be paid for and not count as a disqualifying transfer during the
spenddown, and increasing the lookback period) can be implemented.
This program will examine the implications of the federal waiver
on current and future planning. This program will also provide
an update on the latest developments on the possible repeal of
some of the changes implemented as part of the FY2004 budget and
the new regulations which have been promulgated regarding income-first.
The panelists will discuss the dilemmas now faced by elder law
attorneys, what tools still work and what new techniques may be
available.
- Dinner and Board Meeting (SOLD
OUT)
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, Newton, MA
Topic: "THE 2003 CHANGES IN MASSHEALTH LAW"
Speakers: Leslie Sleeper Madge, Esq., Littleton; Harry
S. Margolis, Esq., Boston; Ann I. Weber, Esq., Springfield
Program Summary: The changes to the laws affecting
eligibility for MassHealth have changed radically this year and
continue to be in flux. Some changes have already gone into effect,
some changes will become effective inthe coming months, and others
require a federal waiver from the United States Department of
Health and Human Services before they can be implemented. In light
of all these changes, what should we be telling our clients? What
remedial steps should be considered for existing plans? Are there
any creative planning opportunities left? The panelists will discuss
the dilemmas now faced by elder law attorneys, and what tools
still work and what new techniques may be used to address them,
analyzed from a Medicaid and tax perspective.
|
Home | Site
Search | General Public
| Attorneys | Knowledge
Base | Discussion
Lists | News & Events | Links
Copyright 2010, Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys,
Inc.
P.O. Box 67137, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA, Privacy
Policy, Legal
Disclaimer
An independent Massachusetts non-profit 501(c)(6) organization affiliated with the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc.
Phone: 617-566-5640, Fax: 617-734-9758, Email: info@manaela.org
|
|
