Elder Law Prof Blog

May is Older Americans Month & National Elder Law Month

May is the time of many things. Spring is in full swing, flowers are blooming, we celebrate mothers, the school year is ending, and more. Not only that, May is also Older Americans month and National Elder Law month.   The Administration for Community Living (ACL)  has a website dedicated to older Americans month.  The theme for 2017 is Age Out Loud.  Need ideas for events? ACL offers that here.  Helpful hints for using social media are offered as well.

Elder Law attorneys... are you considering an event or activity? Need ideas? Take a look at NAELA's toolkit for National Elder Law month. Although it's the end of the academic year, consider involving your students in planning and offering events.

If you have something planned, share it with the rest of us?

Webinar: Elder Financial Abuse & Medicaid Denials

Justice in Aging has announced a free webinar for May 17th, 2017 from 2-3 edt on Elder Financial Abuse & Medicaid Denials.   Here is a description of the webinar

Financial exploitation can devastate low-income older adults, especially those who rely on Medicaid for their health and long-term care. For example, older adults who are victims of financial abuse may be denied eligibility for Medicaid because their abuser won’t turn over their bank records. Without Medicaid eligibility, the older adult may be threatened with eviction or involuntary discharge from a nursing home because of nonpayment. Legal services are critical to helping older victims of financial exploitation receive the medical care and services to which they are entitled. Join us for Elder Financial Abuse and Medicaid Denials to learn how to identify victims of elder financial abuse, what problems this exploitation can cause for Medicaid eligibility, and how legal services attorneys can help their older clients receive the benefits they need and prevent future problems accessing Medicaid.

To register for the webinar,https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5875005469626032643?source=SALSA.  Did I mention, it's free!

Senate Committee on Aging Hearing April 27

The Senate Special Committee on Aging has a hearing scheduled for April 27, 2017 starting at 9:45 a.m. The topic of the hearing: Aging Without Community: The Consequences of Isolation and Loneliness.   Four witnesses are scheduled to testify, including two academics and the head of a Council on Aging from Pima County, Arizona. Video of testimony and resources will be posted to the committee's hearings website subsequently. Stay tuned.

 

Living Life to the Fullest With Alzheimer's?

Last week Kaiser Health News (one of my favorite go-to sites) ran this story, How To Help Alzheimer’s Patients Enjoy Life, Not Just ‘Fade Away’. The article opens explaining that Alzheimer's is #1 on the list of diseases folks in the U.S. most fear.  The loss of self is a big part of that fear. However, "a sizable body of research suggests this Alzheimer’s narrative is mistaken. It finds that people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia retain a sense of self and have a positive quality of life, overall, until the illness’s final stages... They appreciate relationships. They’re energized by meaningful activities and value opportunities to express themselves. And they enjoy feeling at home in their surroundings."

Just how many folks with Alzheimer's have a good quality of life? According to Dr. Peter Rabins,      "[o]verall, about one-quarter of people with dementia report a negative quality of life, although that number is higher in people with severe disease.”  What are the implications of this? To make sure that folks with Alzheimer's have a quality of life, "[promote] well-being [which] is both possible and desirable in people with dementia, even as people struggle with memory loss, slower cognitive processing, distractibility and other symptoms."

Folks with severe or end-stage Alzheimer's present a different challenge. For others, the article suggests the following: emphasis social connections, maximize physical health, improve communications, respond to unmet needs, and give deference to individuality and autonomy.

"None of this is easy. But strategies for understanding what people with dementia experience and addressing their needs can be taught. This should become a priority, Rabins said, adding that 'improved quality of life should be a primary outcome of all dementia treatments.'"

Spouse & Survivor Benefits for Same Sex Spouses

Justice in Aging has released a new fact sheet, New Guidance from SSA on Spousal & Survivors Benefits for Married LGBT Individuals. "On March 1, 2017, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced it would reopen any decision to deny spousal or survivors benefits to a same-sex spouse based on a discriminatory marriage ban, which resulted in a loss of benefits to the individual who filed the claim." The fact sheet notes an SSA ruling and POMS.  "This policy change applies to applications for spousal or survivors benefits that SSA denied prior to the Windsor and Obergefell decisions because it did not recognize their marriages. Even those who began receiving SSA benefits following the Supreme Court decisions may be due retroactive benefits for the period between when they first applied (and were denied) and when SSA finally recognized their marriage." The fact sheet also explains who is not affected as well as who might be. The fact sheet concludes explaining that SSA is in the process of reaching out to 800 beneficiaries whose benefits were denied to tell them their applications are being reopened.

Click here to read the full fact sheet.

94 Year Old Genius

The New York Times ran an article earlier this month about a 94 year old genius. To Be a Genius, Think Like a 94-Year-Old features Dr. John Goodenough. who "at 94, has just set the tech industry abuzz with his blazing creativity. He and his team at the University of Texas at Austin filed a patent application on a new kind of battery that, if it works as promised, would be so cheap, lightweight and safe that it would revolutionize electric cars and kill off petroleum-fueled vehicles." Back when Dr. Goodenough was 23 and starting college, he was told by a professor that he was too old to succeed in his chosen field of physics.  The article mentions how for some creativity increases with age but there are biases and hurdles in their way.

At least in Silicon Valley, the article notes, youth seems to be the common denominator. But, for others "there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that late blooming is no anomaly. A 2016 Information Technology and Innovation Foundation study found that inventors peak in their late 40s and tend to be highly productive in the last half of their careers." Even someone from the Patent Office has noticed that “there’s clear evidence that people with seniority are making important contributions to invention.”

The author asks Dr. Goodenough for his thoughts.

When I asked him about his late-life success, he said: “Some of us are turtles; we crawl and struggle along, and we haven’t maybe figured it out by the time we’re 30. But the turtles have to keep on walking.” This crawl through life can be advantageous, he pointed out, particularly if you meander around through different fields, picking up clues as you go along. Dr. Goodenough started in physics and hopped sideways into chemistry and materials science, while also keeping his eye on the social and political trends that could drive a green economy. “You have to draw on a fair amount of experience in order to be able to put ideas together,” he said.

Plus being a 94 year old scientist is freeing. "Last but not least, he credited old age with bringing him a new kind of intellectual freedom. At 94, he said, 'You no longer worry about keeping your job.'"

Debts Linger After Death

Kiplinger ran an article in their April issue on Dealing With Debts After Death explaining what adult children should do when their parents die with debts.  Oftentimes the adult kids get an unpleasant surprise when they learn that their parents left debts behind.  The article explains how in many instances the parents don't tell their kids about the debts, for various reasons. The article also references some statistics about increasing amounts of debt of elders. The article stresses how important it is for the adult kids to understand the implications of these debts and what, if any, debt for which they are responsible.  The article discusses credit card debt, student loan debt, and mortgages.  The article is useful not only for a quick discussion in classes, but to help students understand debt and liability.  Check it out!

Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss

I had mentioned a new book on Monday at the bottom of my post, congratulating the authors, Naomi Cahn and Amy Ziettlow.  The book, Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss is published by Oxford University Press (April 2017) and runs 240 pages. The book is available to order from a number of book sellers.  Last week the authors wrote  on the Institute for Family Studies blog explaining the background of and catalyst for this book. Homeward Bound: Lessons on Modern Families and Elder Care

In 2010, we began the Homeward Bound project, hoping to study the intersection of modern families and elder care because we saw, all around us, how elder care is changing. Seven years later, it is exciting to see the results of the project in the form of a published book, Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss, and to share some of what we learned in this post.

The catalyst for the project was a conversation with a dear friend of ours, Julie, whose Baby Boomer parents are divorced; each parent then remarried and divorced again. One of Julie’s ex-stepparents—her ex-stepmother Tina—was about to undergo critical surgery, and Julie didn’t know what to do. Tina had been married to Julie’s father for 15 years, starting when Julie was a toddler. While Julie was growing up, she spent holidays with her father and Tina. After the divorce, Julie no longer visited Tina, but they remained in regular contact by phone and email over the years. Julie fondly remembers how Tina mothered her during childhood illnesses and crises, and she felt some responsibility for Tina, especially since Tina had no children of her own. However, Julie felt overwhelmed as she thought of handling all of the medical, financial, and legal caretaking that her parents, stepparents, and ex-stepparents would need from her as they aged. Julie, who also has two young children, explained that she simply was not prepared financially or emotionally to care for all the people who might need her—and she felt alone in her worries, with few resources and little support.

So that explains the reasons and inspiration for the book.  As far as what the authors learned, they explain the 3 lessons:

1. Families shape the quality of the elder care and grieving experience of grown children...
2. Formal planning helps facilitate a positive experience.... and
3. Families rely on medical, legal, and religious professionals to begin and guide the decision-making conversation in a way that is catered to their unique structure....

But, overall they learned there is room for hope but a need for action. "Many family members showed great resilience in finding ways to understand each other, to work together to each contribute something to the care process, and to decide that they would remain a family after the death of one of its members. In other families, the lack of shared norms and an absence of experienced professional support meant that caretaking and grief became a time of division, rather than unity. But, as we also learned, the time to plan is now."

Congratulations Naomi and Amy!

Older Adults & Immigration: Free Webinar

Register now for Justice in Aging's latest webinar, Older Adults & Immigration. The webinar is set for Friday April 21, 2017  from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. edt.  Oh, and did I mention, it is free!  Here's a description of the webinar

Are your immigrant senior clients coming to you with immigration-related questions? Recent events may leave your immigrant senior clients understandably confused. Need clarification on an immigrant older adult’s eligibility for safety net programs like Medicaid or SSI? Join Justice in Aging as we host a special immigration law webinar with our partners from the National Immigration Law Center. Intended for an audience who work with low income seniors but who are not familiar with immigration law, this webinar will cover basic topics, like:
• Different types of immigrants in our communities;
• Rights and protections for immigrant seniors;
• Immigrant senior eligibility for SSI, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; and
• Resources for individual assistance

This free webinar will also highlight some of the recent events affecting immigrant seniors and how they may be affected by changes in government policies. 

To register, click here.

War on Elder Financial Exploitation

The New York Times ran a story a few days ago about preventing financial exploitation. Declaring War on Financial Abuse of Older People starts with the story of a woman who acts when she finds out her grandmother had lost her life savings. (Just fyi, her grandmother's case was featured in a story in the New York Times in 2015). The woman didn't stop with just her grandmother's case, however. First she pushed to get action for her grandmother. Then, the story explains, she "[became] an activist, traveling around her home state of Washington to lecture and testify about the financial exploitation of older Americans. She has also become a lobbyist, exhorting state lawmakers to pass legislation that would toughen penalties for people who take financial advantage of vulnerable older people like her grandmother."

The article notes the variations among state financial exploitation statutes and how some states don't have specific elder financial exploitation statutes

A number of states have laws like this on the books, but they vary widely. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks such laws, this type of financial abuse is an active topic in state capitals. Last year, 33 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, considered measures against the illegal or improper use of seniors’ money, property or assets, in addition to fraud or identity theft targeting the older people.

Some states have shored up their existing laws. Last year, Idaho revised its definition of neglect of vulnerable adults to include exploitation. Illinois extended the statute of limitations to seven years from three for prosecuting a person accused of taking financial advantage of an older person or a person with disabilities.

Also, last year, Alabama passed the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation Act, to add a layer of protection to existing laws by requiring brokers and investment advisers who believe a vulnerable adult is being exploited to notify the Human Resources Department and the Alabama Securities Commission.

In those states without the specific statutes, convictions come with lesser penalties than those with specific elder financial exploitation statutes. "Stiffer penalties are necessary to combat a growing drain on the savings of those 60 and over, according to the National Center for Elder Abuse, a federal clearinghouse. In 2015, in Washington state alone, there were nearly 8,000 complaints to adult protective services about financial exploitation, a more than 70 percent increase over 2010. And such crimes are likely to climb simply because the retiree population is growing."

The article also discusses efforts at the federal level, including the Elder Justice Act and the efforts of the Department of Justice.

Thanks to Professor Naomi Cahn for bringing the article to our attention. Congratulations to Naomi and her co-author Amy Ziettlow on the publication of their book, Homeward Bound: Modern Families, Elder Care, and Loss.

Still Working and Over 55? You Aren't Alone.

The AARP blog, Thinking Policy last week posted about new data: Labor force participation rate for people ages 55+ edges up in March

The monthly Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows the economy added 98,000 jobs in March 2017 — an unexpectedly smaller increase from the first two months of the year. The number of persons ages 55+ who are employed increased slightly from February. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for those ages 55 and older remained unchanged, at 3.4 percent and approximately 1.2 million unemployed. The percentage of the 55+ population that is either working or actively seeking work, i.e. the labor force participation rate, increased slightly to 40.1 percent. The labor force participation rate of persons ages 55+ has remained at around 40 percent throughout the past year. In March the labor force participation rate of men ages 55+ was 46.1 percent, compared with 34.9 percent for women ages 55+.

The post specifically examines the data about women in the workforce, with the highest percentage of those 55 and older hitting the high in 2013.  "Education has been a key factor influencing women’s labor force participation and is likely to continue to have an impact in the future.  Over the past several years, women earned the majority of college degrees of all levels. If this trend continues, employers faced with the need for college-educated workers are likely to seek more ways to attract and retain female employees.  This in turn may influence the number of women in the labor market – and the number who continue to work at older ages."

Register Now: Webinar on Fundamentals of SNT Administration

Registration is now open for Stetson's annual Fundamentals of SNT Administration webinar.  This half-day webinar is scheduled for May 5, 2017 from 1-5 p.m.  The 4 speakers will cover topics on how to become a SNT administrator,  Tax issues when making distributions, services and products a SNT administrator can provide, and an update on the laws, regs and POMS.  The agenda is available here and registration is available here. (you can register online and fill out and submit a pdf). 

Full disclosure, I'm the conference chair. Hope to see you virtually at this webinar!

Elders with Depression & who Self-Neglect

NAPSA and NCPEA have released a research to practice brief on Correlates of Depression in Self-Neglecting Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study Examining the Role of Alcohol Abuse & Pain in Increasing Vulnerability Here is the summary from this one page brief:

Older adults with confirmed self-neglect report high rates of depressive symptoms. It has been estimated that between 50-62% of older adults with confirmed self-neglect suffer from at least sub-clinical levels of depressive symptomatology. Depressive symptoms in this population have been linked to untreated medical conditions. Further study is needed to understand the association between elder self-neglect and depressive symptoms, including studies determining potential correlates of depression in this population. Identifying such correlates could inform clinical social work and other mental health approaches for reducing depressive symptoms and self-neglect behaviors in this population. The cur-rent cross-sectional study reviewed a host of self-reported cognitive, functional, demo-graphic and clinical measures and identified a positive history of alcohol abuse, low self-rated health and pain as significant correlates of depressive symptomatology in older adults with Adult Protective Services (APS) validated self-neglect. Those with a positive screen for prior alcohol abuse were approximately 3 times more likely to have at least sub-clinical depression (Geriatric Depression Scale-15 >4). Having lower self-rated health was associated with a 53% increase in the likelihood of reporting at least sub-clinical depression. Reporting pain was associated with a 37% increase in the likelihood of reporting at least sub-clinical depression. These findings did not allow for establishing a temporal direction between depression, history of alcohol abuse, low self-rated health or pain. Nevertheless, they do provide insight into possible targets for improving out-comes in elder self-neglect populations given their evidence-based associations with both depression and self-management activities including accessing healthcare and completing activities critical for safety and protection.

Ability to Make Decisions and Correlation to Elder Mistreatment

The National Center on Elder Abuse released a new research to practice brief on  Decision-Making Ability and Risk of Elder Mistreatment. This is the introduction to the brief:  

There are many factors relevant to decision-making ability of older people including changes in the brain and cognition and social functioning. These changes can result in decision-making impairments that affect an older person’s ability to pay bills, drive, follow recipes, adhere to medication schedules, or refuse medical treatment (Braun & Moye, 2010; IOM, 2015). Decision-making ability may fluctuate at a given point in time (Falk et al., 2014), and while an older person may lack decision-making ability in one area, they may retain it in other areas (Braun & Moye, 2010). Decision-making ability is of special concern for the field of elder mistreatment because impaired decision-making can lead to an increased risk for abuse and exploitation among older people (Spreng et al., 2016). Thus, understanding the many factors relevant to decision-making ability is imperative to reduce risk of abuse and exploitation while maintaining and promoting autonomy among older people.

The 4 page brief covers key terms, explains how cognitive aging and capacity affect decision-making, the differences between medical decisional capacity and financial capacity and risk factors for financial exploitation.   This would be great to use in our classes!

 

What's Next in the Fight Against Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's & Dementia, the journal for the Alzheimer's Ass'n newest issue published a new report, Alzheimer's disease: The next frontier—Special Report 2017, A subscription is required but here is the abstract:

In the history of medicine, one means to progress is when we make the decision that our assumptions and definitions of disease are no longer consistent with the scientific evidence, and no longer serve our health care needs. The arc of scientific progress is now requiring a change in how we diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Both the National Institute on Aging—Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) 2011 workgroup and the International Work Group (IWG) have proposed guidelines that use detectable measures of biological changes in the brain, commonly known as biological markers, or biomarkers, as part of the diagnosis. This Special Report examines how the development and validation of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers—including those detectable in the blood or cerebral spinal fluid, or through neuroimaging—is a top research priority. This has the potential to markedly change how we diagnose Alzheimer's disease and, as a result, how we count the number of people with this disease. As research advances a biomarker-based method for diagnosis and treatment at the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, we envision a future in which Alzheimer's disease is placed in the same category as other chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, which can be readily identified with biomarkers and treated before irrevocable disability occurs.

 

More Issue Briefs on the Revised Nursing Home Regs

Justice in Aging, the Center for Medicare Advocacy and the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care have issued two more issue briefs on the revised nursing home regs CMS released last year.

The first brief is on visitation rights and is available here.  This is the executive summary for this brief:　

The revised nursing facility regulations affirm the rights of residents to receive visitors of their choosing at the time of their choosing, and require the facility to provide immediate access to the resident in accordance with the regulations. Access to spouses and domestic partners now specifically includes same-sex spouses and domestic partners.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services maintained the resident’s right to deny or withdraw consent for visitation of family members, other relatives, and other visitors at any time. The facility must ensure all visitors have full and equal visitation privileges (subject to resident preferences) and not discriminate against visitors based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.

The resident representative is added to the list of people and government representatives who have immediate and unrestricted access to the resident. However, visits from non-family visitors are now subject to "reasonable clinical and safety restrictions," which is a change from "reasonable restrictions."

The revised regulations require the facility to have a written visitation policy and inform residents of their visitation rights, the facility policy, any restrictions, the reasons for the restrictions, and to whom the restrictions apply.

The second issue brief is on rehabilitation services and is available here.  Here is the executive summary

The substantive requirements for specialized rehabilitative services are largely unchanged from the prior version of the regulations, with the exception of "respiratory therapy," which is added to the list of services that a facility must provide to its residents who need them. In responding to a question regarding whether respiratory therapy should include ventilator care, CMS emphasized that a nursing facility is obligated to meet residents’ needs.

Thanks to these 3 organizations for providing all of us with this very helpful information!

 

Financial Services Response to Fighting Financial Exploitation

We all know that financial exploitation is a serious and significant problem in the U.S.  I was interested in this article from Investment News detailing efforts that the financial services industry and others are taking to help their elder clients protect themselves from financial exploitation. Advisers taking steps to protect elderly explains although "[t]here's widespread acceptance in the financial services industry that elderly financial abuse is a growing problem, but there's no universally accepted game plan for how to respond... Many times firms' internal procedures will involve adviser education and training, and gathering third-party contact information for accounts."  The article highlights the efforts of Wells Fargo Advisors which the article explains: "Wells Fargo launched an 11-member team more than two years ago within its compliance department that serves as an internal clearinghouse and case manager when advisers see a potential problem with a client. ... The unit has taken about 4,000 reports from the field, about half of which were incidences of abuse. Wells' Elder Care Initiatives often involves state adult protective services or securities regulators in the matters.:

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has also launched efforts to help protect their elder clients, according to the article. For example, one step Merrill Lynch has taken is to have "created a contact authorization form that gives advisers a trusted person to reach out to in case of suspected fraud or to obtain more information about behavioral changes linked to possible exploitation."

The article also highlights the efforts of Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, and Fidelity Investments.  As for smaller firms, they aren't lagging behind.  For example, "[s]maller firms also are responding to the elder-abuse threat. For more than a year, Romano Wealth Management has had in place steps that its nine advisers follow in reporting potential abuse to the compliance officer, who then decides whether to involve adult protective services or regulators."

The article also discusses the efforts at the federal level. "The industry is starting to get protection from regulators. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. rule designed to curb elder abuse. It requires brokers to make “reasonable efforts” to identify a “trusted contact” for investment accounts. It also permits them to prevent the disbursement of funds from the account and to notify the contact if the broker suspects the client is an abuse victim." The article also mentions several states that have passed laws that require investment advisors to notify APS as well as state regulators if financial exploitation is suspected.

The article discusses some other efforts and provides a good picture of various efforts taking place both by legislation and industry efforts.

 

Adult Kids & Their Parents in Senior Housing

We all know about housing for elders, whether a CCRC, independent living, age-restricted housing, active adult housing, whatever one calls it. I was interested in this article from Kaiser Health News that discusses older adult children moving into the same housing complex for elders as their parents. Boomerang Seniors: Aging Adults Move To Be Near Mom Or Dad covers how the aging adult kids, whether members of the Boomer or Silent generations, are caring for their elder parents, and doing so by living nearby in the same housing complex.

Caregiving for an older family member is not what it was when first studied and coined as the “sandwich generation,” those people squeezed between aging parents and young children, said Amy Horowitz, a professor of social work at Fordham University in New York City.

“Now it’s the children who are on the verge of retirement or who have retired and are still having responsibility of older parents,” she said. “In New York City, I know somebody whose almost-90-year-old mother is living in the same apartment building. It becomes, how do you balance your own life?”

These very old parent and elder child relationships seem to be increasing, according to the article. It makes sense, when you consider the fastest growing segment of the population is the 85+ group. So with all of us living longer, the reality is that the children are past retirement age and caring for a parent who is in that "old-old" age cohort.

The article profiles some folks who have made this move.  One couple profiled "are great-grandparents. Yet they’re among a growing group of seniors with a living parent, which means these 21st-century post-retirement years might well include parental caretaking. Expectations are altered amid the new reality of longer life expectancy and growing numbers of aged Americans."  One expert interviewed for the article describes this trend as "aging together". The highlights advantages to such arrangements such as the adult child not having to drive to visit mom.

Reframing Aging Toolkit

The Frameworks Institute has released a reframing aging toolkit, known as Gaining Momentum.  Here is the introduction

The way Americans currently think about aging creates obstacles to productive practices and policies. How can the field of aging help build a better understanding of aging, ageism, and what it will take to create a more age-integrated society?

To answer this question, a group of leading national aging organizations and funders commissioned the FrameWorks Institute to conduct a Strategic Frame Analysis®, an empirical investigation into the communications aspects of aging issues. In this toolkit, you’ll find this original research as well as a variety of materials to help you apply it. If you use communications to make the case for adapting society to the needs of an aging population, the evidence-based insights here will be useful to you.

You’ll notice that the materials here are primarily designed to build framing concepts and skills. You won’t find “turnkey” handouts that are ready to print, but rather, examples and guidelines that help you work more intentionally and strategically to advance the conversation about older people in the United States.

Sharing and telling a common story is part of what it takes for a movement to drive major and meaningful social change. We invite you to begin to use these framing recommendations in your work, learn more about them, and share them with others working to create a more equal, more inclusive society.

There's a quick start guide and a "frame brief"  that  provides "an approach to changing public thinking about aging in America."  Among other things, the toolkit provides resources as well as suggestions for conversation.  Check it out.  It could be a great exercise for your law students!

 

Free Webinar: Reverse Mortgages Emerging Issues

Justice in Aging has announced a free webinar,  Reverse Mortgage Servicing & Foreclosure: Emerging Issues. The webinar is set for April 19, 2017 at 2 p.m. edt.   Here is the webinar description

Reverse mortgages allow older homeowners to age in place by supplementing income, providing funding for repairs or modifications to the home, or other necessary expenses by converting equity in their homes into cash. Recently there has been an uptick in reverse mortgage foreclosures due to property charge defaults and other issues, leading to the displacement of older adults from their homes. Homeowners and their families also face challenges when dealing with the companies that service reverse mortgage loans.

This free webinar, Reverse Mortgage Servicing & Foreclosure: Emerging Issues outlines issues facing reverse mortgage borrowers and offers strategies to address the challenges. This session will highlight recent changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program.

To register, click here.