King & Wood, P.A.

How Will a New Illinois Law Protect Seniors?

“In an effort to further protect senior citizens, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) has moved to deny inheritance to those convicted of assaulting their elderly family members.”

In an attempt to protect senior citizens to a greater degree, a bill by Illinois State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) to deny inheritance to anyone convicted of assaulting their elderly family members was signed into law recently.

Wealth Advisor’s recent article, “New Illinois law denies inheritance to those who abuse elderly family members,” says with the current Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, an individual who is convicted of financial exploitation, abuse, or neglect of an elderly person is prohibited from benefitting from the victim’s estate.

Senator Crowe’s proposed legislation broadens the law to include assault, aggravated assault, battery, and aggravated battery against anyone over the age of 60.

“It’s disheartening that we need legislation such as this to prevent family members from taking advantage of their elders,” Crowe said.

“Seniors are targeted every day for their estate, and I’m proud to put this legislation forward to prevent abusers from benefitting after committing this serious crime.”

“Every day, we see the devastating effects of abuse of senior citizens, often by family members,” said Tom Gibbons, Madison County State’s Attorney. “I’m thankful to Senator Crowe and our legislators passing this important measure to prevent abusers from profiting from their abuse.”

Crowe has worked on other protective legislation for the elderly. She has created Illinois’ Elder Abuse Task Force. The state senator plans to be a member of the task force and to study senior mistreatment and protective services and laws. The task force will then report the findings back to officials.

“We hope not to merely punish cruelty, but to deter it with this law,” said Crowe. “The message for abusers should be clear: You get nothing.”

House Bill 347 passed the Senate and awaits the governor’s signature to become law. It would go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (August 6, 2019) “New Illinois law denies inheritance to those who abuse elderly family members”

New Dementia Education Now Required for Physicians and Nurses

Connecticut has taken a big step in requiring that nurses and doctors are mandated to have training in recognizing and treating dementia, authorizes a plan to build dementia-capable programs and creates a portal for background checks on employees who work with the elderly.

Connecticut Senate Bill 827 adds continuing medical education training on Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia for nurses and physicians in the state, according to a recent article from McKnight’s Senior Living, “New state laws emphasize dementia training, background check database access.” This is good news for the 78,000 people living with the disease in the state. The goal is to give these medical professionals the resources they need to identify the signs and symptoms of dementia in the patients they are caring for.

Effective January 1, nurses renewing their licenses are required to take two contact hours of training or education about diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression. And physicians who are applying to renew their licenses may count toward their training requirements two hours of continuing medical education in these areas.

“With no cure for Alzheimer’s, it is imperative that we detect the signs of this disease earlier, enabling us to improve the quality of life of those with this disease,” said state Sen. James Maroney (D), who co-chairs the state Aging Committee. “This legislation makes great progress towards ensuring just that,” he added, noting that the state has the seventh oldest population in the U.S.

The new law also authorizes an update of the Connecticut Alzheimer’s Plan to build dementia-capable programs. Under the law, the executive director of the state Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors is to create a working group to find any issues in the implementation of a task force’s recommendations and to make recommendations on best practices for Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia care.

Connecticut’s governor also signed into law Senate Bill 832. This legislation mandates that the state Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors provide a portal on its website with links to publicly available databases, and the professional licensure verification database maintained by the state Department of Public Health (used for background checks of those who work with the elderly).

“Elder abuse and criminal action against those with disabilities are unacceptable, and the public should be aware who those perpetrators are in order to protect their family and friends from future act of crime against our most vulnerable populations,” commented state Senator Tony Hwang.

In addition, the new law expands the Department of Public Health’s background check program for those working in the long-term care field. In the past, people who had been convicted of certain crimes against older adults were not included in the program. Those who have been convicted of other crimes are no longer permitted to work in long-term care facility.

Reference: McKnight’s Senior Living (July 22, 2019) “New state laws emphasize dementia training, background check database access”

What is San Diego Doing to Combat Elder Abuse?

“District Attorney Summer Stephan announced an outreach campaign designed to increase awareness of financial elder abuse and remind employees of San Diego-area financial institutions of their duties as legally mandated reporters of such crimes.”

Finance professionals who serve senior citizens “are some of our best eyes and ears for spotting and preventing the exploitation of older and dependent adults,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said during a news conference at the San Diego Hall of Justice.

Fox 5 San Diego’s recent article, “County battles financial elder abuse with new campaign,” says that under California law, employees of financial institutions, including all banks and credit unions, are required to report suspected elder and dependent adult financial abuse.

This applies whether they have direct contact with a potential victim or even just witness an incident they suspect may be financial abuse.

“Employees in financial institutions can make a real difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community to help protect them from losing their life savings,” Stephan commented.

The new program, launched in conjunction with Financial Elder Abuse Awareness Month, gives finance workers examples of warning signs to watch out for and details on how to report any suspected abuse of the elderly.

The training materials include a video featuring industry representatives from the Credit Union League and Western Bankers Association, as well as Marlene Ruiz, a longtime local bank employee who helped prevent a financial elder-abuse crime.

When Ruiz saw that one of her older clients was the victim of an obvious scam, she intervened. As a result, she was able to prevent the victim from having thousands of dollars stolen from his bank account. In honor of those actions, the District Attorney’s Office named Ruiz one of its “Citizen of Courage” in 2018.

An estimated $36.5 billion is lost every year in the U.S. from elder financial exploitation. Last year, U.S. banks reported nearly 25,000 suspected cases of elder financial abuse to the Treasury Department. That’s more than double the amount of five years earlier.

In fiscal 2017-18, San Diego County Adult Protective Services fielded 4,563 referrals about financial-abuse allegations. Nearly 15% of those reports came from financial institutions, according to Stephan’s office.

Reference: Fox 5 San Diego (June 18, 2019) “County battles financial elder abuse with new campaign”

Minnesota Finally Sets Up Licensing System For Assisted Living Centers

“Minnesota nursing homes have been licensed for years, but Minnesota was the only state that didn’t license assisted living facilities.”

A major set of reforms has passed in the Minnesota legislature that covers how assisted care facilities operate.

Although the state’s nursing homes have been licensed for many years, Minnesota was the sole remaining state that did not license its assisted living facilities.

WCCO’s recent article, “Minn. Legislature Approves Licensing System For Assisted Living Centers” reported that on the Senate floor, Senator Karin Housley made some personal comments, when discussing the piece of legislation that will help 40,000 Minnesotans currently in assisted living.

“Sen. Pappas lost her mother to Alzheimer’s. I lost my mother to Alzheimer’s,” Housley said.

The legislation will require assisted living facilities to be licensed by August 2021.

“I just got all choked up because I saw our parents smiling down on us,” Housley said. “It’s going to make a huge difference.”

The legislation has two levels of licensing, one is for assisted living facilities, and the other is for those facilities that provide dementia care.

Amanda Vickstrom, Executive Director of the Minnesota Elder Justice Center, commented that the bill is badly needed.

“Someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s—their needs are going to be higher,” Vickstrom said. “The assisted living licensing structure is really critical, and then some consumer protections, some retaliation protections that sort of level the playing field.”

In addition, the law permits families to put a hidden camera in an assisted living facility beginning in January 2020, if abuse or neglect is suspected (for a period of 14 days). After 14 days, a family will be required to reveal the camera to a state ombudsman. However, they can still leave the camera in the room.

The legislature has earmarked $30 million for the state government to create the licensing system.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has indicated that he will sign the law.

What is Congress Doing for Seniors?

“The Consumers First Act could also come up for a vote soon, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, informed the House Democratic Caucus in an April 25^th “Dear Colleague” letter that he intends to bring H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, to the House floor in May.

Think Advisor’s recent article, “SECURE Act to Get House Vote in May,” explains that the SECURE Act passed the House Ways and Means Committee on April 2. There’s been action on the companion bill—the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) of 2019. That legislation has yet to be scheduled by the Senate Finance Committee.

In discussing the actions taken during the first 100 days of the 116th Congress, Representative Hoyer said that the House will soon take up H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, “to affirm the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement, in spite of President Trump’s pledge to withdraw the United States.”

Hoyer signaled that a vote on the SECURE Act would follow “over the coming work period,” and noted that with the flood insurance program set to expire at the end of May, “I expect the House to take action to address that as well.”

Hoyer said in the next few weeks, “as committees continue to markup legislation, the House will also take up legislation to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and to address rising prescription drug costs.”

Another possibility for consideration in May by the full House is Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ Consumers First Act, H.R. 1500. That bill passed out of that committee on March 28. Waters’ bill is aimed at reversing the damage done to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under former acting director Mick Mulvaney.

The Senior Security Act of 2019 would require the SEC to create a Senior Investor Taskforce. That bill could be up for a House vote very soon. The House docket also has a resolution on Supporting the Protection of Elders Through Financial Literacy.

The bill includes a provision requiring law enforcement and regulatory agencies to work together to understand and detect elder frauds and scams.

Reference: Think Advisor (April 29, 2019) “SECURE Act to Get House Vote in May”

Welcome Caroline Palmer!

We are pleased to announce that Caroline Palmer has joined our firm as Front Desk Coordinator.  Caroline will administer our client intake and scheduling processes. 

Caroline is a 2019 graduate of Florida State University, where she completed a B.A. in History with a minor in English.  A native of Live Oak, Florida, Caroline enjoys taking her dog, Jack, to the park, spending time with family and friends, and travelling when she can.  Caroline plans to continue her education by pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences.

 

Welcome to the firm, Caroline!

Pennsylvania Falling Down in Care for the Elderly

“An internal Pennsylvania state government watchdog agency is criticizing how county-level agencies investigate thousands of complaints they receive about elder abuse and how the state ensures that complaints are investigated adequately.”

The Pennsylvania State Office of the Inspector General noted numerous failures by some county-level agencies to properly investigate complaints under timelines required by state law and inadequate staffing of the state office that monitors those agencies. The IG’s report also said investigative practices are not standardized across counties. It further criticized training requirements for caseworkers as far too weak, particularly compared to model states.

Pittsburgh CBS Local’s article, “Pa. Criticized for How it Handles Elder Abuse Cases,” also reports that complaints can involve physical abuse, self-neglect or financial exploitation. Pennsylvania, like other states, is experiencing a fast-growing number of complaints that has forced some counties to hire more caseworkers to keep up with the workload.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration said it has started to address the report’s findings. Just before the report was released, the governor fired the top two officials in the Department of Aging, which oversees what is called protective services for people who are 60 and older.

The Associated Press reviewed hundreds of pages of Department of Aging records in 2017 and discovered that the performance of the county-level agencies varied significantly. The department’s reviewers had told some counties that they’d failed, in some cases multiple times, to meet regulations and expectations over properly investigating complaints and logging casework. In addition, the AP also found wide discrepancies in the way in which a county deemed a complaint to be worthy of a full investigation and action. The details of complaints, investigations and the identity of the person whose situation is in question remain confidential.

Caseworkers handled almost 32,000 calls about potential elder abuse in the 2017-18 fiscal year, which is an increase from 18,500 five years earlier. Beginning in 2011, the Department of Aging has been led by people who came from a county-level agency. The department has no oversight from an outside, independent agency or reviewer.

Because of the frustration with the issues identified in elder-abuse investigations, department staff in 2017 started grading counties on a more aggressive compliance schedule. Since that time, more than 33% of the 52 county-level area agencies on aging have at one point received a substandard red or yellow rating, according to information from the department.

Reference: Pittsburgh CBS Local (January 9, 2019) “Pa. Criticized for How it Handles Elder Abuse Cases”

Professional Guardian Preys on Elderly in Nevada

“The choices she made were out of greed, not because she didn’t understand the ethical obligations of being a guardian.”

Several people described their personal grief, and they read letters from several others who lost thousands of dollars and expensive heirlooms that would never be replaced, because a guardian stole from elderly victims for whom she was supposed to care.

The Las Vegas Journal-Review reported in a recent article, “Ex-Nevada guardian to serve up to 40 years behind bars,” that as victims wept and told their stories of suffering during a court hearing, a shackled and seated April Parks kept her head turned and never looked their way.

Karen Kelly, Clark County’s public guardian, read through a long list of names of seniors who were victimized and lived under “intense anxiety and anguish” for the final years of their lives because of Parks and those who worked closely with her. Parks’ business partner, Mark Simmons, and her husband, Gary Neal Taylor, also were ordered to serve time in prison. In addition, the judge ordered the three defendants to pay more than $500,000 to their victims. Parks, 53, pleaded guilty last year to exploitation, theft and perjury charges.

One woman, Barbara Ann Neely, said Parks separated her from family and friends, saying, “She was not a guardian to me.”

Neely said. “She did not protect me. As each day passed, I felt like I was in a grave, buried alive.”

Another victim compared Parks to Hitler.

The 53-year-old Parks told the judge that she accepted responsibility “but never intended harm,” adding that “things could have been done better. … We were a group practice, and honestly I think some things got ahead of us.”

She claimed that she had a “great passion” for guardianship and took “great care and concern” in her work.

Parks was one of the most active private professional guardians in Nevada, and she frequently acted as the surrogate decision-maker for as many as 50 to 100 elderly and mentally incapacitated people at a given time. As guardian, she had total control of their finances, estates and medical decisions.

Las Vegas Journal-Review (January 4, 2019) “Ex-Nevada guardian to serve up to 40 years behind bars”

How Can I Protect an Elder Loved One From Abuse?

“The elderly are often seen as easy targets for criminals and unscrupulous scammers alike.”

The (Lorain OH) Morning Journal’s recent article, “How to protect elder loved ones from abuse,” reports that the National Center on Elder Abuse says the 2010 census showed the largest number and proportion of people are 65 years old and older in the U.S. population with 40.3 million people, or about 13% of the population. By 2050, that number is expected to more than double to 83.7 million.

A 2010 national study found that financial abuse is the most commonly reported form of abuse followed by potential neglect, emotional mistreatment, physical mistreatment and sexual mistreatment. With financial abuse and neglect, the courts often must get involved to limit the damage and try to get the elderly person the help they need.

When looking for elder abuse in family or friends, look for changes in their circumstances. A neighbor may become more isolated or is making decisions that are potentially harmful to themselves. There’s also self-neglect, where a senior isn’t taking good care of themselves. “New people” in their lives may also be a risk. They may want to assume control over the senior’s person’s life and exclude other people who have had longstanding relationships with the person.

Financial exploitation can take many different forms. Isolation is a critical component of financial exploitation. If a senior is isolated from the people who’ve helped them make financial decisions in the past, and then a new person comes along, that individual may try to make financial decisions for their own gain.

If you think a loved one or neighbor is suffering from elder abuse, start by just talking to them. Talk to them about some of the changes you’ve seen.

There are people who are required by law to report elder abuse, and that list has recently expanded to include chiropractors, dentists, ambulance drivers, coroners and member of the clergy, among many others.

A judge can freeze a bank account and suspend powers of attorney. She can also order evaluations and require that Medicaid and Medicare applications be made for the adult. A judge can continue her orders up to six months and appoint guardians.

The best way to keep loved ones safe from this kind of elder abuse, is to make certain that important legal documents like a will and powers of attorney are done while the person is still competent, and that people they trust are named to carry out those documents.

Reference: The (Lorain OH) Morning Journal (December 26, 2018) “How to protect elder loved ones from abuse”

Choose Power of Attorney Agents Wisely

“O’Hara used a steady stream of his mother’s income from Social Security and other investments ‘to pay for personal expenses, including cell phone plans, credit card payments, youth soccer fees and entertainment,’ the indictment said.”

For nearly four years, John Jerome O’Hara took charge of his mother’s care at a Kentucky nursing home. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

O’Hara gained power of attorney over her affairs in June 2014. He was expected to manage thousands of dollars in income a month. In addition, O’Hara was supposed to use that income for his mom’s living expenses at Wesley Manor in Louisville.

However, reports The Washington Post in the article “He had power of attorney over his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother—and stole $332,000, grand jury says,” for nearly four years, O’Hara robbed his mother instead. The charges contained 18 counts—ten of bank fraud, four of wire fraud and four of “access device fraud.”

The charges carry a maximum of several lifetimes in prison, the indictment said.

Each bank fraud count carries a maximum of 30 years in prison. In addition, there’s the potential for hefty fines and restitution.

O’Hara took the funds, in part, by writing checks to himself, according to the indictment.

He also wrote checks out to cash or signed “POA” for power of attorney. He withdrew money from her bank accounts to use for his expenses, prosecutors allege.

O’Hara’s alleged theft left a trail of financial distress, which was clear to investigators. Most significantly, he failed to pay his mother’s living expenses, the indictment said. This forced other family members to pay more than $100,000 to keep her cared for at the nursing home.

In addition, O’Hara left other obligations unpaid. He missed mortgage payments at his mother’s home in Lexington, the indictment said, and the home was foreclosed in March, as a result.

Reference: The Washington Post (December 9, 2018) “He had power of attorney over his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother—and stole $332,000, grand jury says”