2002 Articles

Alzheimer’s: a practitioner’s guide By Marc R. Miller May 2002 According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in ten persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimer's.

Anatomical gifts: The ultimate recycle By Daniel M. Moore December 2002 Disposition of the body is probably one of the most difficult issues with which human beings and their loved ones ought to deal in life and estate planning.

Another Scam Enters The Electronic Age—Work-at-home offers: the new temptation of computer literacy June 2002 You or your client have probably seen the signs or ads promising thousands of dollars a year for working on a computer at home.

Book review: Representing the Elderly Client: Law and Practice By Constance B. Renzi May 2002 Representing 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.

Book review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Caring for Aging Parents June 2002 While 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.

Child custody disputes between guardians and parents: what law governs? By Patrick J. Hitpas January 2002 Family practitioners frequently represent parties in child custody litigation between guardians and the natural parents of the child.

Circuit City case: arbitration clause in employment contract trumps federal statutory rights By Lee Beneze January 2002 The case of Circuit City Stores, Inc vs. Adams (121 S. Ct.1399) was decided by the United States Supreme Court on March 21, 2001.

Consumer’s tool kit for health care advance planning October 2002 The ABA Commission on Law and Aging (formerly the Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly) has made available on its Web site a set of 10 "tools" for consumers to be used in making health care decisions concerning advance directives and substitute decisionmakers.

Corrections December 2002 The following errors appeared in the October 2002 issue of Elder Law:

Council members named academy laureates May 2002 Elder Law Section Council members Stanley Balbach and Dan Moore were named to the 2002 Class of Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.

Defending disoriented persons from nursing home discharge for non-payment By Larry Smith January 2002 A nursing home issues a notice of discharge for non-payment to a confused and disoriented long time resident whose funds have run out.

Do not resuscitate and the Orange Form By Frank Nagorka January 2002 Emergency medical services respond to calls for assistance and respond immediately.

Elder rights conference addresses wide range of issues June 2002 The Elder Rights Conference, organized annually by the Illinois Department on Aging, will be held again this summer in Chicago.

Electronic monitoring for older persons: balancing privacy and security October 2002 In two recent articles, a Wall Street Journal reporter describes what could be a "brave new world of elder care" involving electronic monitoring

ERISA preemption and beneficiaries of non-probate assets after divorce By Edward J. Mitchell December 2002 Under Illinois law, a divorced spouse is presumed to have predeceased her ex-spouse for purposes of receiving a legacy or other interest under a will. See 755 ILCS 5/4-7.

The estate planning gap By John J. Horeled May 2002 My practice has always had an estate planning component. At first I was a general practitioner who did estate planning.

Greetings from the chair By Naomi H. Schuster October 2002 I am looking forward to my duties as Chair of the Elder Law Section Council. We have tremendous talent on the council this year.

Identity theft and the elderly By John W. Foltz January 2002 Identity 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.

Illinois cases of note October 2002 In 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.

Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission makes plea for attorney volunteers By Tina J. Coffey January 2002 The Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission desperately needs attorneys willing to represent disabled persons.

The lawyer as counselor: Do you have the skills to be a truly effective helper? By Rich Sheehy October 2002 Like doctors, nurses, social workers, and counselors, lawyers are in the business of helping their clients. While this help centers primarily on "legal problems," the desired outcome should be that the client receives the assistance he or she needs--whatever form that assistance might take.

Long-term care insurance: Worthwhile risk for some December 2002 Long-term care (LTC) insurance has been around since at least the 1980s but it has increased in popularity, fueled by the advent of the baby boomers' realization that they may need nursing care.

Notes from the chair By William L. Cleaver May 2002 One of the responsibilities of a section council is to receive, review, and comment on pending legislation.

Notes from the Chair Recap as the baton is passed By William L. Cleaver June 2002 In a recent article in the ABA Journal by Margaret Graham Tebo, Ms. Tebo states that the days of representing older clients by simply addressing estate-planning issues are past.

Older tenants lose in Supreme Court—U.S. Supreme Court upholds no-fault evictions By Rhoda Davis Sweeney June 2002 In 1997 and 1998 The Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) initiated eviction proceedings in state court against the following tenants:

Opening the door gently: Medicaid eligibility planning and the “three-year look-back” rule By Wesley J. Coulson December 2002 Employing a "give-everything-away-and-wait-three- years" approach to planning for Medicaid eligibility is like using a battering ram to open a door.

The purchase of or exchange for a life estate interest as a Medicaid eligibility planning technique By Wesley J. Coulson May 2002 The 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 cases May 2002 A 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.

Recent cases By Susan M. Christiansen January 2002 The 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.

Recent law review articles on elder law issues June 2002 Elder 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.