Writing Your Tulsa Estate Planning Blog

For a long time, a majority of Americans have believed that a person has the right to choose when they want to pass away and to have a physician’s assistance in death. However, few people actually did have that right. That is beginning to change.

The U.S. has come a long way since the days when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was prosecuted for assisting terminally ill patients commit suicide. At that time, he was popularly viewed as a monster in the media.

He, however, may have ultimately won the war.

Americans have gradually come around to the view that terminally ill people have the right to end their lives when they want to and under the circumstances they choose. For some time now, polls have consistently suggested that more than 60% of Americans believe a physician should be able to help a willing terminally ill patient pass away.

Laws allowing it, have been much slower to pass.

20% of Americans will soon be living in states that allow the practice, as The New York Times reports in “Physician Aid in Dying Gains Acceptance.”

Given the popularity of the idea, it seems likely that even more states will soon allow the practice. That raises new challenges for the elderly, their families and for elder law advocates.

Families will need to consider things previously unconsidered, such as when it is appropriate for a family member to choose to pass away.

Advocates will need to make sure that laws and regulations are designed with appropriate protections for patients and doctors.

Reference: New York Times (Jan. 16, 2017) “Physician Aid in Dying Gains Acceptance.”

Student loans are often thought to be an issue for younger people, but data suggests that they are increasingly becoming an issue for senior citizens.

In recent decades, the costs of getting a college education have skyrocketed at a rate that far surpasses the general rate of inflation. This has caused more and more students to take out student loans.

After graduation these students start their careers with large debts that sometimes are in the six figures, especially if they received post-graduate degrees. This issue has started to attract the attention of many politicians who have tried to figure out how to make college more affordable and how to make it easier for people to pay off their student loans.

Many people assume that these politicians are merely paying attention in order to attract younger generations to vote for them. However, data compiled by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests that student loan debt is also an elder law issue, according to Financial Advisor in “Student Loan Debts Plague Older Americans.”

In 2015, 2.8 million people age 60 or over had student loan debts. The majority of them took out the loans for children or grandchildren, but 27% had student loan debts from their own educations.

A total of 37% of people with student loan debt over the age of 65 were in default, which means that their Social Security payments can be reduced, their tax refunds can be taken and their wages can be garnished.

This is a particular problem for people on Social Security since the program is designed to eliminate elder poverty.

If the payments are reduced to pay back the government for student loans, then the poverty reduction benefits of the program are also reduced.

Reference: Financial Advisor (Jan. 16, 2017) “Student Loan Debts Plague Older Americans.”

When people are approaching death, they could choose to talk about anything that they wanted. Most talk about their friends, families and other loved ones.

You might think that when people are dying and they are visited by a chaplain that they would want to speak to the chaplain about religion and seek reassurances about what will happen to them after they pass away. However, CNN recently published an article by a long time hospice chaplain “What people talk about before they die.”

According to the chaplain, people never talk about God or any formal religion. That is not what is on their minds. Instead they talk about the people and things that they loved in life, mostly the people. That, of course, is not the people they worked with usually. It is their friends and especially their families.

This is actually an important insight.

For most people, their families are not just the most important thing to them when they pass away but the most important throughout their lives.

We might not always act like it when we have work to do, but most of us would miss our families more than we would miss our jobs. Knowing that when we pass away it is likely that our families will be on our minds, we can also presume that we would be a lot more comfortable at the time if we can rest at ease knowing our families will be taken care of.

The best way to make sure that your family will be taken care of is to get a professionally crafted estate plan.

Reference: CNN (Dec. 20, 2016) “What people talk about before they die.”

Therapy animals have been used effectively for all kinds of patients, including those with Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is not always practical or safe to use real animals with people suffering from dementia. Some care centers are substituting robotic pets.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia can give patients a deep sense of loneliness. Patients often cannot remember where they are and who the people are around them. This can lead to feelings of being alone.

One way to combat this is with companionship. However, elder caregivers and elder law advocates all know how difficult it can be to get the necessary companionship on a consistent basis.

Therapy animals have sometimes been used. However, even with specially trained dogs and cats, there is still a safety risk for many patients and the animals themselves.

Of course, real animals have to be cared for and fed as well, which takes up caregiving time.
The New York Times in “Therapy Cats for Dementia Patients, Batteries Included” discusses a new trend to use robotic cats.

Robotics have gotten good enough and cheap enough that some commercially available robotic pets could have benefits for patients with dementia.

The article discusses their use in one nursing home where the residents really enjoy the robots. They give a sense of joy and empowerment, even when the patients realize that the robots are not real animals.

There has been no conclusive research proving any long term benefits of robotic pets for people with Alzheimer’s. However, the short term benefits are easy to see for those who work with the patients.

Reference: New York Times (Dec. 15, 2016) “Therapy Cats for Dementia Patients, Batteries Included.”

After facing his own mortality, B.J. Miller has made it his life’s goal to change the way that people pass away.

When he was a sophomore in college, B.J. Miller went out drinking with friends. On the way to a convenience store at 4 a.m., he decided to climb to the top of a commuter rail car. When he got to the top, he received a massive electrical shock and fell.

He woke up in a hospital a few days later, severely burned and in great pain. Doctors had to amputate both of his legs below the knees and his left arm. Rather than retreating into a permanent shell, Miller went back to school and eventually became a doctor.

Learning from his own near-death experience, Dr. Miller decided to devote his medical career to end-of-life, or palliative care, focusing on the quality of life for the terminally ill and their families.

Dr. Miller eventually became executive director of a small hospice in San Francisco known as the Zen Hospice Project. Once a pioneer, the Zen Hospice is now a role model for a growing effort nationwide to “reclaim death as a human experience instead of primarily a medical one.”

Dr. Miller talks about his experience and his mission in the New York Times Magazine article, “One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die.” The article chronicles the story of one young man’s journey to accept a terminal diagnosis of mesothelioma and how Dr. Miller’s approach helped him, and his family, to achieve some peace with the loss of such a young, promising life. The piece is fairly long, but well worth a read, especially if you or someone you love is dealing with a terminal illness.

Reference: New York Times Magazine (January 3, 2017) “One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die.”

Debbie Reynolds passed away from a stroke one day after the death of her beloved daughter. Could a broken heart have been the cause?

You have probably heard someone suggest that another person they know passed away from a broken heart. When someone passes away soon after the death of a loved one, such as a spouse or child, it is common to say that the death was caused by a broken heart.

The death of Debbie Reynolds, only one day after the death of her daughter, has quickly been attributed to the phenomenon. However, some people doubt whether there is any such thing in reality or if it is just a common myth.

It can actually happen, according to FOX News in “Debbie Reynolds’ death: Can you die of a broken heart?”

After an acute stressor, such as the death of a loved one, it is possible for part of a person’s heart to become enlarged and to stop pumping properly. The rest of the heart will continue to function normally and might compensate for the enlarged portion by working harder. This can lead to heart attacks or strokes, which can cause death.

The phenomenon is known as Broken Heart Syndrome, although there is also a Latin name that textbooks use.

The syndrome normally only occurs in people who have previously had some sort of heart difficulty. Since that includes many elderly people, whether they are aware of it or not, it is important for estate attorneys, elder law advocates and family members to be aware of the syndrome.

Make sure that an elderly person who has lost a loved one has the care and support they need, so they do not suffer from broken heart syndrome.

Reference: FOX News (Dec. 30, 2016) “Debbie Reynolds’ death: Can you die of a broken heart?”

Before you get remarried late in your life you should do some estate planning.

People who are at or near retirement age are getting remarried more often than ever before. Most elder advocates think it is a wonderful thing that people are finding love and comfort late in their lives.

However, there is a potential problem.

Not enough older people getting remarried are properly planning for what doing so will mean for their families and estates. Without proper planning things can quickly go awry as New Hampshire Magazine reports in “Navigating Late-Life Remarriage.”

The biggest problem is that people do not take the time to consider what a second marriage might mean for their children’s ability to receive an inheritance. Children from an earlier marriage can be left out of an estate entirely without planning.

By default, a person’s entire estate goes to a living spouse. It cannot be assumed that the spouse will make plans to leave anything inherited for stepchildren in his or her estate. There is no legal obligation for the spouse to do so and the law will not give the money to those children if the spouse passes away without an estate plan.

This, of course, does not mean that someone should not get remarried late in life. It just means that some planning needs to take place before doing so.

Before getting remarried visit an estate planning attorney who can assist with the proper legal plans to make sure your children are protected.

Reference: New Hampshire Magazine (Dec. 2016) “Navigating Late-Life Remarriage.”

A new study suggests that the total costs from elder abuse in the U.S. continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Elder abuse is a serious problem in the U.S. This has been known for a long time. As more people live longer while suffering from some form of cognitive impairment due to age or disease, fraudsters have more and more incentive to target the elderly.

What is not often known by the general public is how frequent financial abuse of the elderly is and how costly it can be.

Recently, the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discussed the results of a recent survey that helps to answer those questions in “Elder Financial Abuse Is Costing Americans.”

The numbers are alarming: 37% of elderly caregivers report that the person under their care has been the victim of financial abuse. The average cost of the abuse to the elderly victim is $36,000. That is up 20% from two years ago when the average cost per victim was reported at $30,000.

Given the large number of elderly people in the U.S., these numbers show that a significant amount of wealth is being taken from the elderly in abuse incidents.

If you suspect that an elderly person you know is the victim of elder abuse, it is vital that you contact an elder law attorney and alert authorities. While it is often difficult to recover the lost funds, it can be done if the proper people are informed in time.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Nov. 16, 2016) “Elder Financial Abuse Is Costing Americans.”

The Millennial generation might still have a long way to go before they reach retirement age, but they should be paying attention to elder law issues that will affect them in the future.

People of all generations tend to pay the most attention to the issues that affect them directly and immediately.

Most senior citizens do not think a lot about the cost of a college education and the availability of entry level jobs. Conversely, younger people do not think much about Social Security and Medicare. Each group has more pressing concerns that hold their attention.

However, the younger Millennial generation should pay attention to Social Security and Medicare.

Some people believe that stock markets will be bearish in the next few years. As a result, Millennials should save 25% of their current income to make sure that their retirement nest eggs grow at the appropriate rate, according to Wealth Management in “Should Millennials Double Retirement Savings Rates?”

Many Millennials will quickly point out that due to other economic factors beyond their control, they cannot afford to save 25% of their incomes, or even the traditional 10-15%.

As a result, people in that age group will be reliant to some extent on Social Security and Medicare when they retire. Since both of those programs face impending financial problems, Millennials need to pay attention to how these programs might change.

They should not consider it just an issue for older people. It will be their issue one day.

Reference: Wealth Management (Jan. 11, 2017) “Ken Thompson’s mother says she was cut out of will by late Brooklyn DA’s wife.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services has many worried that Medicare could undergo severe changes and cuts. However, there might be some opportunity for positive changes as well.

It is no secret that U.S. Rep. Tom Price is not a fan of Medicare or any form of federal government health coverage. Since he has been in Congress, the legislator has sought to make drastic changes to Medicare and to reduce its funding. This has many seniors and elder law advocates rightfully worried.

If he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services, the future of Medicare is in doubt, as Price would be in charge of overseeing the program.

However, as NJ.com recently argued in “Make lemonade out of possible Medicare lemon,” there might be an opportunity for positive changes to the program.

One thing Price might do as secretary is to end Medicare at the federal level and instead give each state a block grant to administer its own replacement program. That could leave open the possibility that individual states could seek to negotiate prescription drug prices with manufacturers, which the federal government is currently prohibited from doing.

While negotiating at the state level would not be as effective at lowering prices as it would be at the federal level, it would still be helpful and Medicare patients could see their drug prices reduced.

Reference: NJ.com (Dec. 26, 2016) “Make lemonade out of possible Medicare lemon.”