IN-PERSON PASSHOLDERS:
You may use your Pass to register for the live simulcast at no charge.
ONLINE
Monday, October 25, 2021 - Tuesday, October 26, 2021
8:50 AM - 4:45 PM
LIVE ONLINE ONLY – NO IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE
In-Person Passholders – You may use your Pass to register for the live simulcast at no charge.
Join elder law practitioners, section members, and professionals from around the state October 25 & 26 for the 2021 Minnesota Elder Law Institute. The Institute features new law and developments as well as helpful and practical sessions on a variety of topics and processes you need to know to practice elder law in Minnesota, including:
8:20 – 8:50 a.m.
JOIN ONLINE
8:50 – 9:00 a.m.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION – INCLUDING WELCOME BY INSTITUTE CHAIRS
Callyn T. Bedker & Amber M. Hildebrandt
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
Legislative Update
Join Suzanne Scheller for the 2021 annual legislative update, including a look at licensing requirements for assisted-living facilities.
Suzanne M. Scheller
9:45 – 9:50 a.m.
BREAK
9:50 – 10:50 a.m.
Medicare Coverage: Law, Fallacies, and Realities
This session will introduce participants to key areas of Medicare coverage and explore common barriers to coverage and necessary care. We will consider frustrations and possible solutions, particularly for Medicare beneficiaries with longer term and chronic conditions.
Judith Stein
10:50 – 11:00 a.m.
BREAK
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION A
101
Serving Low-Income Seniors: Government Benefits for People 60 and Older
Emily Weichsel and Laura Melnick will talk about federal disability benefits, state supplemental benefits, retirement benefits, food support, unemployment benefits, and cash programs for low-income older adults.
Laura Melnick & Emily F. Weichsel
102
Assisted Living Licensure Changes – A Deep Dive into Important Details
Suzanne M. Scheller
103
Community Directed Consumer Support
Staffing shortages are creating critical situations for the elderly and others who are dependent on supports from others. Consumer Directed Community Support, a Home and Community Based Waiver Service, offers options to pay higher staff wages as well as reduce cumbersome and sometimes lengthy licensing requirements. People using these services are the recognized employer and get assistance through Financial Management Service providers. This session will review the eligibility criteria for CDCS and provide an overview of the services and supports available and well as the typical process to access the service in MN.
Jerry Mellum
12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
LUNCH
12:10 – 1:10 p.m.
LUNCH PRESENTATION
Medicare Home Health Coverage
Grab your lunch and join us! This session will provide a focus on what Medicare coverage should be available for home health care under Medicare law. Current practical limitations and practice tips will also be discussed, as well as opportunities for systemic change.
Judith Stein
1:15 – 2:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION B
201
Introduction to Medical Assistance
Jill M. Sauber
202
What to Do About Lack of Assisted Living: A Provider Perspective
Lindsey Krueger
203
Medical Assistance Service Contracts
In the COVID-19 world, persons with disabilities are struggling to locate and privately pay for skilled and unskilled workers to assist with their long-term services and supports. This presentation will cover issues and legal requirements for a person with a disability to privately pay an informal provider under Medical Assistance compliant service contracts and to explore the obligations of the parties such as independent contractor or employee status, tax implications, and relevant Medicaid policies and laws.
Bobbi Hermanson-Albers & Cathryn Reher
2:15 – 2:30 p.m.
BREAK
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION C
301
Planning for the Dirt: Dealing with Real Estate When Medical Assistance Is Present
Common real estate plans and how they intersect with medical assistance; how to protect real estate assets and what to do when unintentional gifting has occurred.
Callyn T. Bedker & Traci Sherman
302
Discharges from Assisted Living: Understanding Resident Rights and Facility Requirements Under the New Assisted Living Law
On August 1, 2021, as part of the new Assisted Living Licensure law, a host of legal changes went into effect related to the resident discharge process. Sean Burke, a consultant to the Minnesota Elder Justice Center and Ron Elwood, a supervising attorney with the Legal Services Advocacy Project will introduce attendees to the new discharge process and the various rights and responsibilities embedded in the law. Unlike typical landlord tenant law that governed housing with services settings, there are various complexities in the new law that advocates working with residents or facilities need to know. Attendees will learn about the basic process of an assisted living discharge, the various requirements for facilities if they believe they need to discharge a resident, and the protections that residents have against unfair and arbitrary discharge.
Sean Burke & Ron Elwood
303
VA on the Homefront: Caring for our Veterans in the Community
Learn about the unique services the Minneapolis VA Health Care System provides to Veterans and their Caregivers living in the community. Respite, adult day, home care, and nursing home care are services are provided to eligible Veterans in effort to maintain community living as long as possible. We will provide comprehensive information on eligibility, important program information and VA contacts to access these resources.
Jessica A. Hollie & Molly Malchert
3:30 – 3:45 p.m.
BREAK
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Third Party Payees and Attorney Client Privilege
1.0 ethics credit applied for
What ethical obligations exist when a third party pays for the lawyer’s representation? When can and should a lawyer accept payment from a non-client? What if that third party is a Power of Attorney and is not named on the check? These questions, and more, will be answered in this elder-law specific discussion. Lawyers often find themselves in the crossfire just trying to get paid. In this presentation we will explore how the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct provide answers to these questions and discuss how attorneys can use detailed representation agreements to protect themselves from headaches and confusion during and after the representation.
Jean M. Gustafson & Nicholas M. Ryan
8:25 – 8:55 a.m.
JOIN ONLINE
8:55 – 9:00 a.m.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Pfoser v. Harpstead and the Implications on the Practice of Elder Law
This session will take a deep dive into the status of pooled trusts accounts for clients over the age of 64, asset-transfer exceptions, and the decisions reached at the trial court, appellate court levels, and most recently before SSA administrative law judges.
Laurie Hanson
10:00 – 10:05 a.m.
BREAK
10:05 – 11:05 a.m.
Elimination of Bias: Combating Ageism by Transforming Your Practice
1.0 elimination of bias credit applied for
Ageism is a pervasive form of bigotry and can find its way into everyday practices without our conscious awareness. Mitigating and eliminating ageism can begin by transforming your practice by utilizing age-friendly principles and practices you can easily implement. This session will provide you with an overview of ageism and reframing aging as well as practical ideas and tools to assess current policies and practices, develop an action plan based on the assessment, and evaluate your progress.
Dr. Rajean Moone, Ph.D.
11:05 – 11:15 a.m.
BREAK
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION D
401
Minnesota’s Eviction Transition Law
Housing law veteran Larry McDonough will provide a comprehensive overview of Minnesota’s eviction transition law and how it impacts tenants, landlords, and the courts. This session will discuss in detail litigating eviction actions under Minnesota’s eviction transition law, and cover resources such as their manual Pandemic Eviction Defense and Tenant Claims in Minnesota and their new answer form.
Lawrence McDonough & Laura Orr
402
New Stuff in Special Needs Planning: What You Need to Know
We will catch up on several new and developing issues, including the interplay between Guardians and ABLE accounts, Pooled Special Needs Trust possibilities for people over age 65, accounting trends and how they are influencing distribution decisions, and even a tax tip or two.
Jeffrey W. Schmidt
403
Combating Elder Fraud
Lori A. McGee & Marit Anne Peterson
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
LUNCH BREAK & AWARDS CEREMONY
1:15 – 2:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION E
501
What’s New in Assisted Living? An Ombudsman Perspective
Deputy Ombudsmen Aisha Elmquist and Genevieve Gaboriault work with regional ombudsman around the state who serve residents in all 2,000 of the state’s newly-licensed assisted living facilities. We’re early into the new law, but we will identify 5 key issues that we are seeing so far. This session will also highlight how and where in statute and rule the Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care is designated to be part of processes like pretermination meetings and assisted living closures.
Aisha A. Elmquist & Genevieve Gaboriault
502
Long-Term Care Planning with Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO): The Where, When, Why and How?
Mary Frances Price
503
Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Providing Legal Services to Solo Older Adults
2-hour session
2.0 elimination of bias credits applied for
A growing number of older adults, by choice or circumstance, cannot or do not rely on family members for care and decision support during the second half of life. Preliminary estimates suggest this definition could apply to from 23% to 30% of adults age 55+. Because solos have no family safety net, it is essential that they plan for support across the “long middle,” when they have capacity, as well as for end-of-life. Attorneys who work with older adults on incapacity planning are well positioned to assist solos. This presentation will summarize current data related to solos, along with examples of gaps and barriers in policies and practices impacting solos. Participants will be invited to discuss these issues and share their own experiences and ideas for better practices and future policy action. Presenters will offer practical tips on how participants can better assist solos within their practice as elder law attorneys.
Linda J. Camp & Christine Courtney
2:15 – 2:30 p.m.
BREAK
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION F
Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Providing Legal Services to Solo Older Adults (continued)
601
Legal Tools for Helping the Vulnerable: How to Plan for Client Incapacity
This session will identify and examine circumstances practitioners should be aware of when working with clients presenting cognitive, mental health, or substance abuse issues. Focus will be given on how to draft and prepare estate planning documents that will allow the client’s substitute decision makers to assist them during incapacity. The session will review common documents used to plan for clients in crisis, common pitfalls with these documents to be aware of, and whether to turn to the Court when all else fails.
Lauren L. Fink & Sarah B. Sicheneder
602
Medical Assistance Treatment of Trusts
This session will include basic eligibility guidelines for treatment of trusts, including treatment of third-party support trusts compared to first party special needs trusts, and current estate recovery policies affecting irrevocable trusts.
Amber M. Hildebrandt & Julian J. Zweber
3:30 – 3:45 p.m.
BREAK
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Advising Clients with Dementia and Other Memory Impairments
1.0 ethics credit applied for
Clients with memory loss pose special challenges to representation, whether it be dealing with family and caregivers, assessing capacity, or simply keeping the appropriate persons informed of the status of the client. This session will walk through common ethical issues lawyers may encounter such as: diminished capacity, undue influence, conflicts of interest, and more.
Karin K. Ciano
LIVE SIMULCAST
Monday & Tuesday, October 25 & 26, 2021
Attend online
$425 MSBA members / $425 paralegals / $495 standard rate
Other discounts that may apply:
Scholarships available!
Need-based scholarships are available for in-person and online seminars. For further information or to obtain a scholarship application, contact us at 800-759-8840 or customerservice@minncle.org.
Minnesota CLE is applying to the Minnesota State Board of CLE for 12.75 CLE credits, including 1.0 ethics credit for the Day 1 afternoon plenary, 1.0 ethics credit for the Day 2 closing plenary, 1.0 elimination of bias credit for the Day 2 morning plenary at 10:05 a.m., and 2.0 elimination of bias credits for breakout #503. The maximum number of total credits attendees may claim for this program is 12.75 credits.
