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Woman Forges Will, Gets Arrested

A Walnut Ridge woman was arrested Thursday for forging a will after someone else had died.

Another scammer made the news recently, this time involving a forged will.

KAIT reported the story in an article titled "Woman arrested for forging new will after someone died."

An Arkansas woman, Kimberly Dement Dotson, has been arrested for allegedly forging the will of an elderly person.

She is believed to have forged the will after the victim passed away.

Naturally, the will stated that she should receive the entire estate.

Dotson told the court that the victim had no living relatives, which was not true. She also stands accused of using the man's debit card and withdrawing money from his bank account for her own personal use.

This is the latest incident of something that happens all too often.

It is very important that family members remain diligent and ensure that someone is not taking advantage of their elderly relatives.

If a relative passes away, it is also important to act quickly when filing wills with the court so that anyone who forges a different will can be caught before too much damage is done.

To learn more about protecting yourself and your elderly relatives, speak with Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate planning and elder law attorney about what you can do.

Reference: KAIT, Region 8 Newsdesk (May 9, 2015) "Woman arrested for forging new will after someone died."

San Diego County Steps Up Resources to Fight Elder Abuse

The Long Term Care Special Prosecutions Unit was created one-year ago and since then, special agents have opened 113-cases, filing five felony charges since last summer. San Diego families in search of quality care are now getting more allies in the fight against elder abuse.

As abuse against seniors is on the rise, the need for elder abuse resources is crucial to fight the mistreatment of our loved ones.

"Elder abuse is one of those areas that is under reported for a lot of reasons and we've shined a spot light on it here in San Diego County," District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis told sandiego6.com in a recent post titled “D.A. launches new resource to combat elder abuse.”

The district attorney's office and the county board of supervisors have helped create the long term care special prosecutions unit. They now have launched two new resources to help protect seniors. Before that office rarely received any information regarding possible abuse in such facilities unless the initial report was taken by a law enforcement agency. Now families can report elder abuse directly from a special section on the DA’s website, as well as via a new reporting phone number.

County leaders report that they have a growing aging population, and the number of people ages 75 and up will nearly double in the future from 170,000 to 325,000. That big increase will demand additional resources and additional oversight to make sure that senior citizens are safe and have adequate care, the article says.

This is the same news almost everywhere as baby boomers are retiring and some are becoming unable to care for themselves.

Speak to Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced and qualified elder law attorney who can guide you on a strategy that ensures care for you or a loved one when they need it.

Reference: sandiego6.com (May 4, 2015) “D.A. launches new resource to combat elder abuse”

Americans Are Living Longer. Planning for Future Medical Care Is Essential!

We understand people are living longer and many live into their 90s. More than 25 per cent of seniors living at home receive help with day-to-day living activities. Ten per cent of seniors older than age of 80 live in a long-term care facility. Have you made prudent plans for longer living?

Medical issues associated with aging are most apt to be the reason life gets expensive during your later years. It’s very useful to look forward and understand the types of medical issues that could happen down the road. That’s the advice from a recent article in the Oakville (ONT) Beaver titled“Living in your later years can be expensive – plan ahead.”Americans, just like our friends to the north, need to better understand how to plan for the future. This article gave some interesting perspectives on the aging process. Here are some facts:

• People are living longer and many live into their 90s.
• More than 25% of seniors living at home receive help with day-to-day living activities.
• More than 10% of seniors older than age of 80 live in a long-term care facility.
• One of the leading causes of injury to seniors is a result of a fall.

Also, the article points out that as we live longer, dementia can become a real medical reality. Research shows that dementia issues are low at age 65 but increase steadily until age 90 where they affect half of seniors. With adult children living far from their parents with both husband and wife working, there is less time available to be devoted to caring for an elderly family member.

Initially, care can be received from the healthier spouse, but that takes a toll. Also, some seniors are single, so this isn’t an option. Thus, aging seniors will be increasingly dependent on others.

An experienced estate planning and elder law attorney can help devise your financial strategy to ensure there are enough financial resources in the event you have increased medical and living expenses in your later years.

Aging is expensive. Talk to Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an estate planning and elder law attorney and plan accordingly.

Reference: Oakville (ONT) Beaver (April 23, 2015) “Living in your later years can be expensive – plan ahead”

Oregon Could Get More Help on Elder Abuse from Proposed Prosecutor

The elder abuse resource prosecutor would be in the Oregon Department of Justice's Criminal Justice Division. The person named to the proposed position would be the third full-time resource prosecutor in the state, alongside those for domestic violence and driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Funding for the new full-time position is being requested as part of the Oregon Department of Justice's appropriations bill, which is moving through committees.

A recent article in The Oregonian, titled “State prosecutor for elder abuse is proposed for Oregon,” says that in recent years the number of suspected and confirmed cases of elder abuse has been steadily increasing in that state. In fact, in 2013, the Oregon Adult Protective Services received 28,449 reports of potential abuse involving older adults and people with physical disabilities.

The director of consumer education and outreach for the Department of Justice said in the article that "[t]here's a gap there and we want to fill that with the prosecutor and the two investigators."

Likewise, a former county elder abuse prosecutor in Georgia told The Oregonian that it makes sense to create a position at the state level if a state has a significant rural population. "Then you've got the resources that could reach out to a small rural area that would never ever be able to afford a specialty prosecutor," the former prosecutor said.

The article explains that victims of elder abuse are two times as likely to die within a year of the abuse being reported than those elders who haven’t been the victim of abuse, citing research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In the more than 28,000 complaints of potential abuse in Oregon in 2013, the state deemed 14,250 worthy of investigation. It confirmed 5,024 victims of abuse, wrongdoing, or self-neglect. The number of abuse complaints has been increasing as Oregon's senior population grows, according to the report. Growing awareness of the issue of elder abuse also is a factor.

The senior population is growing in many other states as well. Talk with Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, a qualified elder law attorney, if you have questions or want to take action to protect a loved one.

Reference: The Oregonian (April 3, 2015) “State prosecutor for elder abuse is proposed for Oregon”

Beatles Lyrics May Not Get Same Answer Today with Rising Long-Term Care Costs

"Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I'm 64?" The Beatles first released these quaint, clarinet-fueled lyrics in 1967 when the loving answer to these questions was a resounding, "Yes!" Traditional marriage vows echo this sentiment in that they presuppose a relationship span that encompasses young and old age, wellness and serious illness, wealth and poverty. However, as modern aging has come to be defined by living longer with chronic care needs, and providing long-term care has shifted to the public sector, with two thirds of long term care services paid for by Medicaid, loving spouses may be forced to answer, "No," to these questions. The future of elder care may depend on divorce.

Aging and care are already expensive and stressful, and even the young Beatles in 1967 wondered if love now would translate into care in old age. It should.

In case you haven’t heard, long-term care needs are expensive. In 2014 the average annual cost of a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility was $83,114! The majority (70%) of people over 65 need some level of long-term care at some point—whether that will be provided in a home, an assisted living center, or a nursing care facility, according to The Huffington Post in a recent article titled “Is Divorce the Best Option for Older Americans?”

To find a way to pay for these services, many Americans look to the Medicaid Long-Term Care benefit. This program can pay for the room and board or home health services of qualifying individuals over age 21. To be eligible, an individual must meet the age and medical necessity criteria, as well as financial criteria concerning income determined by the federal government. Medicaid will look at an individual’s assets—like their banking accounts, real property, investments, household belongings, life insurance, and one car. However, all income and assets are subject to a five-year look back period: you can’t just give away stuff to avoid it being counted as an asset for eligibility. However, if a person has financial excess, Medicaid allows him or her to "spend down" their income and assets in order to be poor enough to qualify. Doesn’t that sound a little tricky?

The original article explains that for married couples Medicaid has what are called "spousal impoverishment" rules. These rules cap the assets for a couple living together, although the rules are totally different if one spouse resides in an institution. The spouse living in the community typically is allowed to retain a larger portion of income for his or her living expenses. Medicaid will not try to recoup the costs for the long-term care from the estate of the deceased recipient until the community spouse passes away.

While all of these rules enable elderly and chronically ill individuals to access needed long-term care services, the original article argues that these rules also tacitly encourage divorce. "Medicaid Divorce" isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s been considered a legal option for avoiding the five-year look-back period for Medicaid eligibility and for avoiding the estate recovery process. Legal experts emphasize that asset protection is super-complicated, and it may be different in another state. All that said, the solution of divorce is still a hot topic, as these rules discourage couples from living together and looking after each other. A couple's combined assets are only protected if the Medicaid recipient doesn’t live with his or her spouse, so by divorcing, a couple can cohabitate and still protect the income and assets of the spouse not receiving Medicaid home health benefits.

According to the original article, a divorce could also protect the primary residence from the Medicaid Estate Recovery program: the surviving spouse is given the right to use and enjoy it even though it’s owned by someone else. The surviving spouse lives there until his or her death, then the state is able to recoup the costs of care from the estate. That means that the next generation pays for the care of their loved ones by losing a potential inheritance. A divorce could keep the real property in the name of the community spouse and protect it from recovery for Medicaid care expenses.

Is this really the answer? Talk to Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced elder law attorney and find out about divorce and other options.

Reference: The Huffington Post (March 16, 2015) “Is Divorce the Best Option for Older Americans?”

James Earl Jones Discusses Elder Law Topics on “In America”

"In America" will discuss elder law and the way that legal standards and details are changing over time.

What exactly is Elder Law? Why is this so important for Americans?

Elder law is a general term that describes the laws and regulations that affect older men and women. This term can relate to the proper care and guardianship of an older person who requires medical attention and can no longer function without assistance. The recent Insurance News Net article, titled “Elder Law is discussed with host James Earl Jones on "In America,” notes that the range of topics elder law addresses includes divorce among adults over 65 years old and law regarding elder abuse.

Elder law attorneys for individuals, or for their loved ones, advocate for their clients’ rights and personal goals. They handle details related to estate planning, retirement, government programs like Social Security and Medicaid, and guardianship when a senior is unable to deal with his or her own personal affairs. This also includes long-term care, nursing home issues, and end-of-life planning.

Because this is such a broad category of laws and the effects of those laws differ based on the circumstances, elder law attorneys provide services that focus on the specific goals and concerns of older men and women. The options that are available to an individual or their family will depend on the situation and the person's health. This is why it’s a good idea to speak to an experienced elder law attorney to discuss your particular situation and your objectives.

You can find information about elder law on "In America" with host James Earl Jones. This is a good introduction and can get the discussion going. However, to get concrete answers for your or your loved one’s situation, seek the help of Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced elder law attorney.

Reference: Insurance News Net (March 16, 2015) “Elder Law is discussed with host James Earl Jones on "In America"”

Medicaid Rules in Connecticut Could Be Changing in Regards to Asset Levels

In all states, federal Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants. But states decide how much the non-institutionalized spouse may keep, within a range. Connecticut's allowance -- $23,844 -- is the lowest. And legislators are calling for an increase.

If this legislation succeeds in reducing the amount of money assigned to the institutionalized spouse, he or she would become eligible for Medicaid assistance more quickly.

The CT Post report, in an article titled “Legislature asked to raise asset level for Medicaid spouses,”says that the bill would affect couples with assets of about $24,000 to $100,000. Right now, when a person tries to qualify for Medicaid, couples will split their assets evenly, and the nursing-home-bound spouse must spend down his or her portion to $1,600. This means if a couple has $60,000, each spouse is attributed $30,000, and the one heading to the care facility must get his or her share down to $1,600. [Note: These numbers can and do vary state by state.] This is typically accomplished by paying for initial nursing home care. Under the state’s new proposal, the community spouse would be able to keep $50,000 in assets.

The original article says that advocates believe that in allowing the community spouse to keep $50,000, it might help him or her stay out of poverty, off government programs, and in the couple's home.

Raising the allowance for spouses could save money in the long run: it could keep the spouses off public assistance longer by giving them some money for health or other emergencies that could impoverish them.

In all states, federal Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants. However, it’s the states that determine the amount of money the non-institutionalized spouse may keep (within a range). Connecticut's allowance of $23,844 is the lowest in the country. States like Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Illinois are much higher. The highest is reported to be $119,200.

Medicaid nursing home costs average an estimated $6,000 a month in the state, so it can be quite an expense. See how your state is handling the Medicaid spend-down, and if there are any changes on the horizon. Make an appointment to see a qualified elder law attorney to discuss Medicaid in your state.

Contact your local estate planning attorney, Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp for further assistance. 

Reference: CT Post (March 10, 2015) “Legislature asked to raise asset level for Medicaid spouses”

Guardianship Lessons for the Elderly

Although many people feel frustrated by elder guardianship systems designed to protect adults no longer able to fend for themselves, what’s even sadder are the many instances where it turns out that the elder guardianship system is doing its job properly –and strangers have no choice except to step in and make decisions that families and friends simply cannot.

Elder guardianship can be complicated. Many question if our elderly loved ones are getting the proper care they deserve in those situations.

The (Sarasota, FL) Herald-Tribune, in a recent article titled “The takeaway lesson on elder guardianship,”says that one woman contacted the newspaper writer from an assisted-living facility, saying she had been incarcerated against her will. She moved to be closer to her son, but her daughter in Arizona had her under guardianship, which permitted limited contact with her son.

After the journalist spoke with both of them and read the court filings, it appeared the woman didn’t need to be locked away. She might be better off moving in with her local son and his family, who were willing to care for her. However, later it was revealed that this son was convicted of securities fraud.

Unique issues in a family can create wrinkles that are unforeseen.

Many efforts around the country are concentrated on legislative efforts to improve elder guardianship, and to ensure the process is implemented only in cases where other attempts to help have not succeeded.

It’s best to start early. Make legal plans now, so there will be no drama should you need help mentally or physically in the future. Who do you trust to take care of such matters for you?

Contact Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced elder law attorney to help you. He understands these issues and can work with you and your family to find the best resolution.

Reference: The (Sarasota, FL) Herald-Tribune (February 27, 2015) “The takeaway lesson on elder guardianship”

Get These Documents in Order before Dementia Strikes

Accounting for the possibility of your own and your loved one’s eventual mental incapacity is a key part of any estate plan. If your loved one appears to be showing signs of diminishing mental acuity, ask if he or she has the proper documents in place. If so, find out who his or her agent(s) are so that you can alert them.

What if you or a loved one develops dementia? If you didn’t have the mental capacity to take care of yourself or your finances at some point, what would happen? You need to be prepared.

A recent articlein Physician’s Monthly Digest, titled “Dealing With a Loved One’s Cognitive Decline Is Simpler with Right Legal Documents in Place,”says that a healthcare proxy and a durable power of attorney are key legal documents to have before there are any signs of mental incapacitation. The documents allow you to designate another person to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf once you are unable to do so. This can be your spouse, an adult child, a friend, or a trusted adviser. Without a power of attorney, your spouse will need a court order to access any non-joint accounts that you have.

You should also draft a living will, or advance directive. That way your agent and your healthcare staff will have your instructions as to whether to administer life-sustaining medical treatment if you are in the late stages of dementia, terminally ill, or near death. The living will can take the burden off of your loved ones when it comes to making tough medical decisions like whether to keep you on life support or not.

You should also entrust someone else with the power to take control of your affairs with a healthcare proxy and power of attorney. These documents will only become effective when your medical staff decide you lack the wherewithal to make medical and financial decisions for yourself. The laws for these type of documents vary from state to state, so talk to an experienced elder law attorney about how it works where you live.

The original article also recommends that you make sure your loved ones not only know about these important documents, but also where you keep them. You should give copies of the executed documents to your appointed agents, and give copies of your healthcare proxy and living will to your healthcare providers. This simple step can help your doctors ensure that your wishes are respected.

Ensuring that you have the appropriate documents in place will give peace of mind to you and your loved ones. Contact Robert A. Gordon or Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced elder law attorney. He can help you define your goals and can draft the documents accordingly.

Reference: Physician’s Monthly Digest (February 27, 2015) “Dealing With a Loved One’s Cognitive Decline Is Simpler with Right Legal Documents in Place”

“The Widow Lincoln” Sheds Light on Financial Lessons for Widows

As Mary Todd Lincoln’s character in “The Widow Lincoln” faces dozens of unpaid bills for home furnishings, clothes and jewelry, she asks, “How will I ever pay these debts? I am nothing. I am no one.” On top of moving out of the White House, mothering her sons and moving forward with her life, Lincoln must deal with all these financial stresses. She no longer has her husband to rely on for emotional support, income or an identity. It’s a crisis many women in the 21st century face, too.

A recent article in U.S. News & World Report, titled “Modern Money Lessons from Mary Todd Lincoln,” reports that experts recommend participating in money management throughout marriage and preparing for the possibility of one day being on your own, like many women eventually are, due to divorce or death.

Becoming a widow often means a drastic change and a new way of life, whether in 1865 or 2015. For many, it means understanding how to manage finances by yourself and experiencing less income, along with debilitating grief. 

The original article urges women to know their money thoroughly, regardless of life stage. Keep all financial paperwork, experts says, including estate planning documents, well-organized and easily accessible.

For example, couples should be able to answer these questions long before retirement:

• If my spouse were to die, how would that affect the household’s income?
• What would an expensive illness do to our retirement savings?
• If either spouse were to die, would the survivor be prepared to take over the management of the finances?

Both spouses need to have a basic grasp of monthly costs, saving and investment strategies, and the way to get to their funds quickly in an emergency. In addition, here are some tips for widows from the original article:

Replace Any Lost Income. Losses sustained from a pension, Social Security, and a spouse’s salary losses may be buoyed by the proceeds from a life insurance policy or other sources of money. Term life insurance, especially for young, healthy people, is relatively cheap. Consequently, it may make sense to purchase a 20- or 30-year policy before you reach your 40s.

Select Your "Trusted Person." Single seniors should have an individual who’s able to make financial decisions for them in case they become incapacitated.

Manage Your Financial Risk. Studies show that women tend to invest more conservatively than men. While spouses tend to balance each other out, when women become widows, it can mean that they might be overly cautious in their investments, creating a risk to inflation.

Experts also generally recommend holding off on any big moves during the first year following a spouse’s death, since the grieving process can interfere with good decision-making. Mrs. Lincoln could barely manage day-to-day tasks and wasn’t willing or able to leave the White House for more than a month after Abe died.

This story might be 150 years old, but its lessons still resonate today.

Contact Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate planning attorney and be prepared come what may.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (February 23, 2015) “Modern Money Lessons from Mary Todd Lincoln”