Elder Law Prof Blog

A Little Weekend Inspiration: Shooting Your Age at the U.S. Senior Women's Open

Here's fun news.   This week, one-time Arizona State golfer and a favorite pro,  JoAnne Carner, shot her age  -- 79 -- in the opening round at the U.S. Senior Women's Open tournament in Chicago.  

The details are here  and here -- including lots of great pictures, with her trademark visor and cigarette dangling from a lip.  

More on California's Aid-in-Dying Law

We have blogged a couple of times at least about California's Aid-in-Dying law, most recently about the judge declaring the law unconstitutional. While the constitutionality issue makes its way through the court system, California in late June released statistics to show how many folks had previously availed themselves of the law. The New York Times reported that Nearly 400 People Used California Assisted Death Law in 2017.

Here are some statistics from the article:

374 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in 2017, the first full year after a law made the option legal....

577 people received aid-in-dying drugs last year, but not everyone used them....

Of the 374 who died, about 90 percent were more than 60 years old, about 95 percent were insured and about 83 percent were receiving hospice or similar care. The median age was 74....

Most of the recipients were college educated and receiving hospice or similar care....

The 374 people who died include 11 people who were prescribed drugs in 2016 but died last year.

Another 86 people were prescribed the lethal drugs but died without taking them, while the fate of the remaining 128 people wasn't reported.

What Lessons Will Emerge From Arizona Investigation of 92-Year Old Woman Who Shot and Killed Her 72-Year Old Son?

Reading the news of a July 2 shooting was chilling, especially for anyone associated with long-term care or elder care.  According to Arizona news reports, Anna Mae Blessing, age 92, explained, "You took my life, so I'm taking yours." She used a handgun, drawing it from the pocket of her robe, to shoot multiple times, killing her 72-year old son.  

Ms. Blessing had been living in an apartment, along with her son and his girlfriend; she was reportedly upset about her son's plan to transfer her to an assisted-living facility.  The apartment was located in Fountain Hills, east of Scottsdale, Arizona.  Ms. Blessing also reportedly attempted, unsuccessfully, to shoot her son's girlfriend, who fought her off, dislodging both the first and a second handgun.  

Followup stories reported the sheriff's office had responded at least six times to "domestic" calls at that location during the previous six  months.

According to a sheriff office statement, Ms. Blessing is now charged with first degree murder, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of kidnapping.   

On the one hand, it could be tempting to dismiss this story as an isolated, sad, ironic tragedy.

But what I've been seeing is that senior living providers, especially those offering assisted living, are recognizing that something is deeply amiss about an individual's perception that assisted living is so horrible as to warrant this reaction.  

Steve Moran who publishes the Senior Housing Forum  asks "Why did she have such an aversion to assisted living?"  He muses, "This is a fixable problem....."   For more of Steve's thoughts read:  "The Headline: Woman, 92, Killed Son Who Tried Putting Her in Assisted Living."  

In an editorial titled "Assisted Living's Image Problem," Lois Bowers, Senior Editor for McKnight's Senior Living News, writes:

The Blessing case undoubtedly is a complex one, with more probably in play than a simple suggestion of a move to assisted living. But even so, it presents an opportunity for introspection for the senior living industry as well.

 

I mean, it seems that at least one person thought that assisted living was so terrible that a prison cell was preferable. And yes, this appears to be an extreme case, but it's not the first time that an older adult has resisted moving into a senior living community.

 

We know that senior living can offer physical and mental health benefits for older adults. So how can the industry improve at allaying their fears and educating them about those benefits?

 

And what can the industry do to educate the general public about the differences between assisted living communities and skilled nursing centers? More elucidation is needed, as was made obvious by articles in the lay press about the Blessing incident that used “assisted living” and “nursing home” interchangeably, despite a press release from the sheriff's office that specified that Thomas suggested assisted living to his mother (I know; I saw the press release).

 

We know that assisted living communities are different from SNFs, and we know that both types of facilities have evolved over the years, and yet I see this confusion regularly in the general media. I've seen government officials make this mistake, too.

 

So what's the solution? Surely, sales professionals educate individual prospects and their family members when they conduct tours and hold special events at their communities. Campaigns such as the American Seniors Housing Association's Where You Live Matters effort undoubtedly help, too, as does the advocacy work by organizations representing senior living operators.

I was in Arizona the day the story broke.  I confess, I spent extra time with my arm around my own 92-year old mother that week -- at her home in assisted living.  

Consumer Credit Security Freezes for Free on September 21, 2018.

The National Center for Law & Elder Rights (NCLER) has released a fact sheet explaining a new law that allows consumers to place freezes on their credit info for free, starting on September 21, 2018. New Law Provides Free Security Freezes and Increased Fraud Alert Protection explains that "[o]n May 24, 2018, the President signed Public Law 115-174 into law. Section 301 of Public Law 115-174 amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to establish a new federal right for consumers to implement a security freeze of their credit file." (citations omitted).

The legislation establishes standards for the creation, temporary lifting or “thaw,” and permanent removal of security freezes from the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. The security freezes are essentially limited to parties seeking the consumer’s information for credit purposes. The freeze does not apply to parties who seek the report for employment, insurance, or tenant-screening purposes. It also does not apply to existing creditors or their agents or assignees conducting an account review, collecting on a financial obligation owed them, or seeking to extend a “firm offer of credit” (i.e.,prescreening).

 

In addition, the new law preempts state credit freeze laws and expands the length of  fraud alerts from 3 months to a full year!  Further, "[t]he legislation’s preemption extends to any state requirement or prohibition with respect to subject matter regulated by the statute’s provisions relating to security freezes. For example, some state statutes are stronger than the new federal standards by allowing consumers to freeze access to credit reports for employment or insurance purposes." There is also a provision covering when a fiduciary needs to secure a freeze for an individual who is incapacitated.

PS-if you haven't checked your credit reports this year, what are you waiting for?

 

How "Liveable" is Your Community?

AARP has named the top 10 cities with populations  500,000 and over that are the most "liveable." I'm not living in one of the top ten-are you? Nor am I living in one of the top 10 mid-sized (100,000-499,999) "liveable" communities. Nope, not living in one of the top 10 small (25,000-99,999) "liveable" communities either. 

How does AARP determine if a community meets their liveability scale?  The website explains that "AARP developed the Livability Index, a ground-breaking tool—now in its third year—that uses more than 50 national data sources and 60 indicators spread across seven categories to jump-start community conversations about livability and encourage action by consumers and policymakers alike.It turns out that many of the characteristics that make a community “livable” are the same across all ages: safety and security, affordable and appropriate housing and transportation, and the ability to live near family and friends who can be relied upon." The index looks at housing, environment, health, community engagement, employment, neighborhoods and transportation. How does your city fare?

BTW, this could be a really good exercise for students to do in their elder law course. The fall semester will be here before we know it!

The Right To Visitation for Persons Under Guardianship

We're back!  Hope everyone had a lovely 4th. I wanted to be sure you saw this new fact sheet from the ABA Commission on Law & Aging regarding thee right of visitation for persons under guardianship. The fact sheet, Guardianship and the Right to Visitation, Communication, and Interactionsummarizes state statutes that specifically address the issue of visitation.  Here's the introduction:

Defining the right to visitation, communication, and interaction under guardianship is an important issue in elder and disability rights law. This issue recently gained media attention when the adult children of incapacitated celebrities such as Casey Kasem and Peter Falk petitioned the courts for the right to visit their parents over a guardian’s objections, and then advocated for legislative change. These high-profile visitation cases highlight an unknown but anecdotally frequent number of instances nationally. In addition, as more state legislatures codify protections for the rights of people with guardians, and the public becomes more aware of the potential risks of guardianship—including isolation from friends, family, and community—more states are debating hotly contested visitation bills.

Estrangement from family, friends, and acquaintances can be a precursor and a consequence of guardianship. The factors that led to the appointment of a guardian–mental illness, dementia, poverty, abuse, and exploitation–may have also led to unwanted isolation. Family, friends, and professionals should all be aware of the potentially devastating effects of isolation on the person; loss of ties to friends, family, and social networks can have a negative effect on anyone’s physical and mental health.

Traditionally, a guardian has the power to encourage or limit important relationships and connections. Recently, national standards and state laws have charged guardians with encouraging and supporting visitation in accordance with a person’s values and preferences. Still, a guardian may have to weigh the important benefits of visitation with the need to restrict contact due to family dysfunction, undue influence, neglect, abuse, and/or financial exploitation.

The fact sheet offers 13 FAQ with various state legislative responses. Twenty-two states have addressed the visitation issue in some form, with summaries of those actions provided as part of the FAQ. The fact sheet also summarizes some of the provisions of the new Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act that address the issue.

Click here to access the fact sheet.

More on Using Trusts As Planning Devices for Firearms

I've written in the past about the use of "gun trusts" as a legal device to handle passage of guns to others, while avoiding some laws related to registration by gun owners.  

There's another way to think about trust documents with guns, to provide a safeguarding process within families.  As one article suggests, 

Talk to your loved one about how to safely transfer ownership of their guns if they should become incapacitated. Consider writing a “gun trust,” a legal document outlining that process.

For more, read the Kaiser Health News's piece, Worried About Grandpa's Guns? Here's What You Can Do.  Thanks, Matt Lawrence, for sharing this story.

Supported Decision-Making Used to Convince Judge to Terminate Guardianship

The Washington Post reported on the case of an 87 year old woman who convinced a judge to terminate her guardianship in favor of supported decision-making. This 87-year-old D.C. woman just made it easier for you to keep your independence explains that "[t]he octogenarian is the first senior citizen in the District to convince a court to terminate a guardianship placed on her in favor of “supported decision-making.” She and her attorneys successfully argued that with help from people in her life, she could make her own decisions and did not need a court-appointed guardian to do that for her."

Her case marks the first time that the District’s supported decision-making law, which was passed in May, has been cited in court to help a resident regain independence. Most of us have friends or relatives we turn to for advice. This is the same as that — but more. The D.C. law formalizes those relationships and requires institutions and organizations to recognize the role of people who serve in those supportive positions. The District is only the fourth jurisdiction in the country to pass the law, after Texas, Delaware and Wisconsin. (Virginia and Maryland — are you listening?)

The elder acknowledges the need for help for some things and the knowledge of who she calls to get that help.  Her reaction to the ruling?  She's quoted in the article: “It makes you feel powerful to be in charge of your own life,” she said. “You can have a lot of help everywhere, but you are your own boss.” She's realistic, though, recognizing that at some point she may not be able to live independently.

The Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act (UGCOPAA) incorporates supported decision-making. So far Maine has adopted UGCOPAA and a bill has been introduced in New Mexico to adopt it.

Still, she said, she worries about the future, about whether one day she will be told that she can no longer live alone in her apartment.

She knows all too well what many of us, thankfully, have not yet had to learn — the suddenness with which life can change.

Not Wild About Robots for Elder Care? How About Becoming Your Own Robot? (I like this idea!)

Recently I was chatting with my always interesting California friend, Jack Cumming.  We were commenting how lately we've been swamped with interesting new topics in aging.  Jack had the best report of all.  

It seems that a senior living community is working with a new company to serve as a testing ground for wearable exoskeltons.  What's that? Remember how Bruce Wayne always had his Bat Suit ready to go in his Bat Cave?   

How might this work?  Watch the video at the "Discover" tab for a company called Seismic, that is developing what it rightly calls (and has trademarked) "powered clothing." 

I suspect my health law colleague Matt Lawrence will like this too!  We can call this a Sci Fi Monday post!