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Schedule and Faculty
Schedule times listed below are for the live
seminar. Times for replays may differ due to varied start times and abbreviated lunch and break periods.
Please refer to the
DATES/LOCATION
tab for individual replay start times.
Thursday,
October 7, 2010
8:15 – 8:45 a.m.
CHECK-IN & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:45 – 9:00 a.m.
WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND SECTION
ANNOUNCEMENTS
– Jennifer L. Wright, MSBA Elder Law
Section Chair
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
National Health Care Reform and
Long-Term Care – What Will It Mean for Our Clients?
Gene Coffey of the National Senior
Citizens Law Center was at the epicenter as the titans clashed over
federal health care reform. This presentation will explore the
development and ramifications of the new federal health care laws
and provide practical insights into how they will impact our
Minnesota clients needing long term care in the years to come.
– Gene Coffey
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
BREAK
10:45 – 12:15 p.m.
National Health Care Reform and Its
Impact on Minnesota
The panelists will provide an overview
of health reform legislation, discuss its likely impact on
consumers, older Americans, those with disabilities, and health care
providers, and describe implementation issues in Minnesota.
– A. Kimberley Dayton, Michael Zdychnec
& a representative from the Minnesota Department of Human Services
12:15 – 12:30 p.m.
AWARDS CEREMONY
– Julian J. Zweber
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
INSTITUTE LUNCHEON
Minneapolis Marriott City Center Hotel
Lunch provided at live program only.
1:45 – 2:45 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION A
1. BASICS: The Basics of Medical
Assistance Eligibility
This session will review the basic rules
applied to determine eligibility for Medical Assistance for single
and married individuals. Notable exceptions to the general rules
will also be covered.
– Allison J. Frasier & Mary Frances M.
Price
2. Elder Justice: Connecting Public
Policy and Legal Practice
Review of 2010 state legislation; how
recent changes in the law in 2009 and 2010 have affected legal
practice; a review of the national 2010 Elder Justice Act; and what
is on the horizon for future legislation both in Minnesota and
nationally.
– Iris C. Freeman, Kenneth L. LaBore &
Suzy M. Scheller
3. A Perilous Journey
The impact of emotional, psychological,
and family dynamics in estate and guardianship litigation.
– Luther M. Amundson
2:45 – 3:00 p.m.
BREAK
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION B
4. BASICS: Medical Assistance Estate
Recovery
Dealing with estate recovery claims can
be as complicated and vexing as obtaining medical assistance
benefits in the first place. This presentation will review the
federal and state statutes which govern recovery of medical
assistance benefits correctly paid and discuss the statutes of
limitation applicable to medical assistance claims, use of
affidavits of collection, claims in probate and clearance
certificates for decree of descent proceeding and Transfer on Death
Deeds to make sure that assets do not escape recovery. The
presentation will touch on the impact of the recent Barg decision
and the 2009 amendments to Minn. Stat. 256B.15 and 519.05, as an
introduction to the Medical Assistance Update on Day Two of the
Institute.
– Allison J. Frasier & Mary Frances M.
Price
5. Elder Facility Admissions Agreements:
What Are We Signing?
What can providers and residents/family
members expect by signing an admission agreement? A look at the
terms of admissions agreements in nursing home, assisted living, and
other care settings, including arbitration provisions, authority of
the family member signing the document, responsibilities of the
signor, care contracts versus residency contracts, and expectations
for care.
– Suzy M. Scheller and panelists to
discuss both the provider and resident perspective
6. Elder Law Mediation: Possibilities
and Pitfalls
There is a growing interest in the field
of elder law mediation. When disputes arise involving elders’ living
situation, medical care, assistance with activities of daily living
and/or finances, it is often in everyone’s interest to resolve these
issues without resort to the courts. On the other hand, for the
elders involved, their lives, rights and well-being are at stake.
How can elders’ interests be protected, family and caregiver
relationships be preserved, and communications be improved, while
conserving elders’ resources? Elder law mediation may provide a
welcome alternative to elders, families, and care providers
struggling with these issues. In this session, we will describe the
growing need for elder law mediation, the crucial training,
expertise and resources that elder law mediators must have, and
important ways to ensure that the well-being of elders involved in
elder law mediation is protected.
– James M. Crist, Janeen L. Massaros,
Jessica S. Ware & Jennifer L. Wright
7. Elimination of Bias: Understanding
and Working with Clients of Diminished Capacity with Regard to
Decision Making
2-hour session
2.0 elimination of bias credits (applied for)
When a guardian has been appointed,
there is a general assumption that the ward loses the right to
exercise choice. But is it true? Are there levels of capacity? Are
there corresponding levels of choice? Whose choice is it? Dr.
William B. Orr will separate the myths from the facts and help
practitioners overcome the biases that arise when a client has been
declared to have diminished capacity.
– Dr. William B. Orr
4:00 – 4:15 p.m.
BREAK
4:15 – 5:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION C
Breakout session #7 continued
8. BASICS: Navigating Your First
Guardianship/Conservatorship Petition
Topics include initial client
consultation, preparing the Petition and related documents, and
hearing and post hearing matters.
– Lori D. Skibbe
9. What You Don’t Know About Your
Insurance Can Kill You
Personal injury attorney Fred Soucie
hears it all the time, "I’ve got complete insurance coverage."
Wrong. Fred will take us down the trail of tears an injured person
faces when they find out what their homeowners, auto or general
liability insurance really is. It will be an eye opening session
about protecting ourselves. Our clients also need to protect
themselves from losing their retirement basket.
– Fred M. Soucie
5:15 p.m.
INSTITUTE RECEPTION (live program only)
Join us for food, drinks and great
PRIZES! We will be collecting your business cards at the reception
for a drawing at 5:30 p.m. Must be present to win.
Friday, October 8, 2010
8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Local Efforts in Advance Care Planning
Kent Wilson, MD, Medical Director of
Honoring Choices Minnesota (HCM) will talk about Honoring Choices
Minnesota and it collaborative, community-wide public health
initiative led by the Twin Cities Medical Society. The goal of
Honoring Choices Minnesota (HCM) is to assist health care
organizations and community partners with the installation of a
comprehensive advance care planning program. Edward Ratner, MD,
Medical Director, Heartland Health Care and Hospice, Roseville, MN
will discuss POLST, "Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment",
which is a signed medical order form for patients diagnosed with
serious illness, that communicates the patient’s end-of-life health
care wishes to other health care providers during an emergency. Dr.
Ratner will also present his thoughts on Minnesota’s need for POLST.
– Edward Ratner, MD & Kent Wilson, MD
– Kristine E. Mullmann, moderator
Short Shots
The following "snapshot sessions" offer a
rapid-fire survey of some of those "niggling" issues that arise in
the practice of elder law.
10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
UTMA and 529 Accounts for the Disabled
Child
Parents and grandparents frequently
establish UTMA and 529 accounts for a disabled child. How are these
accounts treated for purposes of Medical Assistance and SSI? This
short shot will provide you with critical information so that you
can properly advise your clients of the risks, rewards and options
of these specialized accounts when planning for a child with special
needs.
– Laura J. Zdychnec
10:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Minor as an IRA Beneficiary – Fixing the
Problem
If you died and left $100,000 of IRA
money to your one-year old granddaughter this year, she could
withdraw several million dollars from the account during her
lifetime. So what is the problem with naming a minor as an IRA
beneficiary?
– Janet E. Totter
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Veterans Homes and Medical Assistance
Certification
An update on efforts by the Minnesota
Veterans Homes to obtain Medical Assistance certification and the
implications for veterans and their spouses.
– Cathryn D. Reher
10:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Veterans Benefits – An Overview
There are over 400,000 veterans living
in Minnesota. This session will help you to spot potential benefits
for these veterans, their spouses and their children. We will review
both service connected and non-service connected pension, medical
care and health insurance through the Veterans Administration and
the Department of Defense, and other benefits such as home loans,
home adaptation and burial benefits.
– David A. Rephan
11:00 – 11:15 a.m.
BREAK
11:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Paying Pre-Eligibility Medical Expenses
with Post-Eligibility Income
Medical Assistance (MA) serves as a
safety net for those who can no longer afford their own health care,
but some MA clients reach the safety net after accruing months of
unpaid medical expenses. Under federal law, State Medicaid Plans
must permit MA recipients to deduct reasonable pre-eligibility
medical expenses from their post-eligibility income. State plans
must articulate limitations defining "reasonable" medical expenses.
This short presentation will demonstrate how knowing the function
and contents of a Medicaid State Plan can allow you and your client
to address unpaid medical bills.
– Laura Orr
11:30 – 11:45 a.m.
EW: Should it Stand for "Entangled Web?"
Under the Elderly Waiver program, the
income spend down and the asset transfer penalty rules are tangled
in ways that can trap an Elder Law planner. This short shot will
attempt to help you avoid some of the snares.
– Patty Dunlop
11:45 – 12:00 p.m.
The Estate Tax – Do We Know What We Are
Doing Yet?
What we know (or don’t know) about the
federal estate tax for decedents dying after 2009 and Minnesota’s
response. As appropriate or available: a very brief overview of the
latest legislation; a quick description of what has been proposed in
Congress; rumor, innuendo, speculation and/or prognostication.
– Richard D. Hawke
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
LUNCH (on your own)
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION D
10. Ethical Issues in Elder Law
1.0 ethics credit (applied for)
The Student Committee of the MSBA Elder
Law Section Governing Council will address a few of the real ethical
dilemmas facing elder law practitioners today. This session includes
information on topics such as: (1) Who is the client; how to deal
with the family members of the elder client (Model Rules 1.6, 1.14
comments 1 and 5): (2) the scope of the lawyer’s duty in dealing
with a client with diminished capacity (Model Rule 1.14); and (3)
issues with client honesty, the lawyers duty when a client submits
false information to the County or State when applying for benefits
(Model Rules 3.3 and 4.1).
– Adam Heuett, Sarah Leonard, Adam Rohne
& Ruthanne Vos
11. Medical Assistance Update
The 2010 Legislature made no changes to
basic medical assistance eligibility standards. Significant changes
focused on reducing growth in home- and community-based programs and
reducing reimbursement rates for medical assistance providers. The
biggest developments in medical assistance during the past year
centered on estate recovery and the State’s effort to avoid the
impact of the recent Barg decision. This session will discuss these
developments and the potential for further litigation to challenge
the 2009 amendments to the estate recovery statutes.
– Randy F. Boggio, Peter M. Hendricks &
Julian J. Zweber
12. Moving in Together – Planning
Considerations for Elders and Their Families
When a loved one’s needs change and long
term care is required, families often evaluate a number of living
arrangements to meet the care needs and financial limitations of the
family. This may include the option of extended families merging
their resources and moving in together. This session will explore
the legal, financial and emotional considerations of these familial
co-habitation arrangements.
– Kristine E. Mullmann & Mary Frances M.
Price
2:00 – 2:15 p.m.
BREAK
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION E
13. The Elusive Elderly Waiver Benefit
At a time when the State is aggressively
limiting nursing home placement in favor of community based care, it
is also eviscerating the Elderly Waiver program. This presentation
will explore the roadblocks to accessing the Elderly Waiver program
and tips for establishing eligibility.
– Lisa K. Pluto
14. Suing the Kids
Transfers, hardship waivers, and
transferee liability.
– JoEllen P. Doebbert
15. Long-Term Care Planning for Baby
Boomers
Elder law attorneys deal with the here
and now. So, how do we advise clients who may be twenty years or
more away from needing long term care? The future of long term care
services is more uncertain than ever, with demand increasing and
available funds decreasing. This session will address the
complications facing attorneys now and in the future. Specifically,
how to advice the Baby Boomer generation today about planning ahead
for long term care in the face of uncertainty, including the role of
long term care insurance; the need for elder law attorneys to be
actively involved in shaping the future of the long term care
system; and how elder law attorneys are likely to be impacted by
future changes in the long term care delivery system.
– Larry K. Houk & John A. Kantke
3:15 p.m.
INSTITUTE ADJOURNS
3:30 p.m.
Meeting of the Governing Council of the
Elder Law Section
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