Discount to MA NAELA Members

Date: Thursday, February 07, through March 6 2008

Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 04:00 PM - 08:00 PM

Fundamentals of Elder Law Practice is an in-depth, interactive, five-part series, which is taught by Massachusetts’ leading elder law attorneys. As an elder law practitioner, you need to have a firm understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, DRA (Deficit Reduction Act of 2005), Asset Protection, Estate Tax Rules, Income Only Trusts vs. Testamentary Trusts, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, HIPAA, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), guardianships and conservatorships. You need to know how to prepare clients for health care decision making and advice about complicated tax issues.

This course will also address how recent Medicaid changes will affect your practice. The course will utilize case studies and problems to teach the basic principals and the “how to’s” every elder law attorney needs to know. Ample time will be allotted to each topic for an in-depth discussion with an opportunity to ask questions. Fundamentals of Elder Law Practice is the only comprehensive course which provides a solid introduction to elder law practice in Massachusetts for new attorneys and for attorneys from other disciplines who are preparing to enter the field of Elder Law. Participants will have an opportunity to explore a Medicaid application and witness a mock Fair Hearing. You will also learn about the difficult ethical issues associated with elder law practice.

• How to navigate the Medicaid Application Process
• Specific transfer rules and potential problem areas
• How to protect and preserve assets
• The different kinds of guardianship/conservatorship
• The ins and outs of Social Security Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income
• Regulatory framework and the mechanics for the Medicaid fair hearing process

Part II
Roundtable on Mechanics of Setting up and Running an Elder Law Practice including: Staffing; Marketing; Case Management Systems; Learn how to transform a “typical” law office into one that subtly considers the visual, auditory, and spatial impairments often associated with an aging population; Discuss and get tips on creating an environment that is pleasant for your clients, their families, your staff-and you. Alex Moschella, Esq., CELA, Moschella & Winston, Somerville, MA

Explore the real world of practice - developing plans for optimal asset protection, including the Medicaid and Tax ramifications. Explore fact patterns including couples and singles with and without children, and with a disabled child. Learn when to use an income-only trust vs. testamentary trust vs. special needs trust. Learn how to apply the federal and state estate tax rules to a case and how to draft for maximum tax savings while achieving the best Medicaid result. Learn how the marital deduction works; how to elect marital deduction treatment; how and why to select which assets to qualify for the credit shelter vs. marital deduction. Complete the plan with appropriate Powers, Proxies and HIPAA Authorizations.

An overview of plenary versus limited guardianships, practice tips and procedure to pursue guardianship and alternative tools to avoid the need for guardianship or conservatorship. You will learn how to differentiate between temporary and permanent guardianships, assented and non-assented conservatorships, and finely-tuned equity-style guardianship decrees. Learn the customary breadth of guardianship and the precipitant circumstances that require expanded court authority. Hear about the answers to conceptually difficult areas of turf war between the rights of the ward versus the authority of the guardian or conservator, and how to distinguish the rights and obligations of the guardian versus the agent under a health care proxy or an attorney-in-fact under a durable power of attorney. Learn the procedure and grounds to remove a guardian or conservator or discharge the guardianship or conservatorship.