MSBA ELDER LAW SECTION E-NEWSLETTER
May 2, 2017
Vol. 9, No. 29
E-Newsletter Editorial Staff:
Communications Committee Chair: Margaret Kyle
Editor in Chief: Rachel Schromen
Web Editor: Bridget-Michaele Reischl
Contributors: Rachel Schromen, Julian Zweber, Laura Orr
NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS: UPCOMING CLE ANNCOUNCEMENTS
CLE Cancelled
During the Elder Law Section-sponsored on April 6, 2017, plans for a May 11 CLE ("Serving Elderly Immigrants") were announced and printed in distributed PowerPoint slides. Please note that the CLE will not be occurring on May 11. Efforts are underway to present the CLE on another date during the 2017-2018 bar year.
Submitted by: Laura Orr, laura.orr@smrls.org.
2017 Elder Law Institute
The 2017 Elder Law Institute is scheduled for October 5 and 6, 2017. The institute's planning committee has been formed and will begin meeting next week. If you would like to suggest presentation topics to the committee or offer your own availability as a presenter, please contact Laura Orr at laura.orr@smrls.org.
2017 Probate and Trust Law Section Conference
The 2017 Probate and Trust Law Conference will be held Monday, June 12, 2017, 7:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 7:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. The conference will be located at the St. Paul River Centre, 175 West Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55102. There will be the opportunity for 11 CLE credits, including 3 ethics credit and 3 elimination of bias credits. The schedule for this conference is available here.
Any other participants may register online.
Submitted by: Rachel Schromen, Rachel@SchromenLaw.com
EVENTS SCHEDULED IN THE NEXT MONTH –
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 from 8:30 – 9:30a.m. at Kyle Law located at 2332 Lexington Ave N., Roseville, MN 55113. The Communications Committee oversees the monthly Elder Law E-Newsletter and the Elder Law Section website. Meetings are to be held every other month to review issues related to the newsletter and the website, and to conduct an annual member survey. Anyone interested in serving on the committee or suggesting ideas for the newsletter or website may contact Communications Committee chair Margaret Kyle at margaret@kylelawmn.com
EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM via conference call. Attendees should call 1-877-226-9607 and use Conference ID 8157976029#. Questions may be directed to Laura Orr at laura.orr@smrls.org.
NEW LAWYERS COMMITTEE: Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 12:00 at Chestnut Cambronne, PA, 17 Washington Ave. N. #300, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Each meeting has a different topic based upon input from the new lawyers committee. Please contact Pook Grathwol at pgrathwol@chestHYPERLINK "mailto:pgrathwol@chestnutcambronne.com"nutcambroHYPERLINK "mailto:pgrathwol@chestnutcambronne.com"nne.com or (612) 336-2919 or Jeanine Johnson at jjohnson@meyernjus.com or (612) 630-3254.
ELDER LAW NEWS
Ageism in Healthcare and How Dangerous It Can Be
Seniors’ Brain Changes Could Make Them Vulnerable to Scams
Submitted by Rachel Schromen, Rachel@SchromenLaw.com
Please submit news articles of interest to Rachel@SchromenLaw.com
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE MSBA COMMUNITIES
Q1: Married couple, 55+ year-old spouse in transitional care now getting a needs assessment.
Both are retired. Under $120K in financial assets. $500K homestead with $200K mortgage, 1200/mo payments.
The mortgage was taken out 3 or 4 years ago by the married couple against their homestead;
the money was turned over to a son and his partner for their business capital.
Son and business partner have been giving the money to the CS, who in turn makes the mortgage payments.
This has been going on for three or four years, and is reflected in the couple's bank records.
There is nothing in writing to confirm this arrangement.
Question: How to report this in their Medical Assistance Application, and how it will be
treated?
A1: I would document the loan with a promissory note which reflects the actual terms and payments history of the loan. Can the son give any security for the loan? I would then assign the promissory note to the CS. If properly documented, I would report it as a bona fide loan for fair value, payable according to its terms. I expect MA will try to treat it as a gift requiring that it be returned in full to avoid a period of disqualification for MA. Best possible outcome: MA might treat the loan as a loan. The principal balance would be an asset that is not available except as repaid, allowing the CS to keep other assets within the $123,900 allowance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Q2: I have an out of state client whose mother is a MN resident. She is 94 and fairly healthy. She currently receives alternative care set up by a caseworker. She is the surviving spouse of a Veteran. My client does not believe anyone ever applied for VA benefits. He is preparing for the future and looking into Elderly Waiver. I believe he should apply for VA benefits first. He is having a difficult time with the application because his expenses are being covered by alternative care. His desire is to be very honest and proceed in an ethical manner. Does anyone have advice?
A2: All MA programs (EW is one of them) require the recipient to obtain whatever other benefits are available to the recipient. My rule of thumb is "get everything you can as soon as you can."?? Each county has a veterans service officer and veterans service organizations (VSOs) to assistant a veteran or surviving spouse to get every VA?? benefit available to the veteran or spouse.?? Do not hesitate to contact the veterans service officer in the county where mother is located. The telephone number should be available from the county white pages or web site. The VSOs are supposed to assist the son as necessary.
NEWLY FORMED DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
At the most recent Elder Law Council Meeting, a Diversity Committee was formed. Jeanine L. Johnson is serving as chair of this committee. The committee is seeking additional members. Being that the committee is newly formed, meeting dates and times are to be determined. Please contact Jeanine L. Johnson at jjohnson@meyernjus.com.
ELDER LAW CASES
Please submit Elder Law cases of interest to Rachel@SchromenLaw.com
STATUTES, REGULATIONS, BULLETINS
Please submit statutes, regulations, or bulletins of interest to Rachel@SchromenLaw.com
ELDER LAW SECTION ACTIVITIES
ADVOCACY COMMITTEE:
Contact David Rephan at drephan@HYPERLINK "mailto:drephan@chestnutcambronne.com"chestnutcambronne.com or Suzy Scheller at suzy@schellerlegalsolutions.HYPERLINK com for more information.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE:
The Communications Committee oversees the monthly Elder Law E-Newsletter and the Elder Law Section website. The committee is re-forming, and is composed of the newsletter editor, web editor, associate editors and contributors, and any other interested section members. Meetings are to be held every other month to review issues related to the newsletter and the website, and to conduct an annual member survey. Upcoming meetings for the Communications Committee are as follows:
May 10, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.
July 12, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.
September 13, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.
November 8, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.
The meeting location is at Kyle Law at 2332 Lexington Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113.
Anyone interested in serving on the committee or suggesting ideas for the newsletter or website may contact Communications Committee chair Margaret Kyle at margaret@kylelawmn.com
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The education committee will meet Wednesday, May 10, 2017 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM via conference call. Attendees should call 1-877-226-9607 and use Conference ID 8157976029#. Questions may be directed to Laura Orr at laura.orr@smrls.org.
GOVERNING COUNCIL:
Meetings for the Elder Law Section Governing Council are set every other month, on the third Friday of that month, at 3:30 p.m. The remaining meetings for the Elder Law Section Governing Council for the year ending in June 2017 are as follows:
June 23, 2017 at 3:30 p.m.
Please be reminded that the meeting location is: Estate & Elder Law Services, Monroe Village, 1900 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418. The meeting takes place in the building’s conference room. There are a few parking spaces behind the building and lots of street parking. People should walk to the back of the building and come to the back door that faces directly into the meeting room. For further information, please contact John Kantke at john.kantke@voamn.org or 612-676-6300.
MA COMMITTEE MEETING:
The 2016-2017 MA Committee meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every other month:
June 27, 2017 at 3:30 p.m.
August 15, 2017 at 3:30 p.m.
October 17, 2017 at 3:30 p.m.
December 19, 2017 at 3:30 p.m.
The Medical Assistance Committee is a study group to analyze the member’s questions and case studies and to discuss administrative policies and procedures in relation to Medical Assistance in Minnesota, Lisa Pluto, of Pluto Legal, PLLC, is Committee Chair. For directions, or to attend by phone, please contact Traci Sherman with Pluto Legal, PLLC, at tsherman@plutolegal.cHYPERLINK "mailto:tsherman@plutolegal.com"om or 50HYPERLINK "tel:612-336-2948"7-247-5900 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Topics for the meeting may be submitted to tsHYPERLINK "mailto:tsherman@plutolegal.com"herman@plutolegal.com under the subject heading “MA Committee Topic,” or faxed to 507-247-5868.
The Committee is hosted by Estate & Elder Law Service at Monroe Village, 1900 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418 and meets at the nearby Monrie Village conference room. There are a few parking spaces behind the building and lots of street parking. People should walk to the back of the building and come to the back door that faces directly into the meeting room.
NEW LAWYERS COMMITTEE:
Meetings will be held the second Thursday of every other month at noon. Each meeting has a different topic based upon input from the new lawyers committee. Minutes of past meetings are available. The meetings are formatted so that a seasoned elder law attorney will speak for the first half hour, and the second half hour will be questions and answers.
Upcoming meeting dates:
May 11, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.
July 13, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.
September 14, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.
Meetings will be held at Chestnut Cambronne PA 17 Washington Ave N #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55401. Please contact Pook Grathwol at pgrathwol@chestHYPERLINK "mailto:pgrathwol@chestnutcambronne.com"nutcambroHYPERLINK "mailto:pgrathwol@chestnutcambronne.com"nne.com or (612) 336-2919 or Jeanine Johnson at jjohnson@meyernjus.com or (612) 630-3254.
PRO BONO COMMITTEE:
Meetings will be held every two months, on the third Friday of that month, from 12-1pm. Meetings will be held at Chestnut Cambronne PA 17 Washington Ave N #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55401.
Upcoming meeting dates:
June 16, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.
Questions may be directed to Jill Sauber at jsauber@maserlaw.com.
VULNERABLE ADULT COMMITTEE:
Meetings are held from 12:00 – 1:30 at Ken LaBore's office located at 5001 Chowen Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55410. Ken always provides pizza and drinks.
Upcoming meeting dates are TBD.
Contact Ken for more information at Klabore@MNnursinghomeneglect.com or 612-743-9048.
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The MSBA Elder Law Section’s Website contains information about section committees and leadership. It also contains useful practice resources.
You may email Bridget-Michaele Reischl at bridget@decorolaw.com to suggest changes to website content.
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Current and prior E-Newsletters are posted on the website for the MSBA Elder Law Section and are available here.