Volume 3     Number 1     1995    

ARTICLES

Elder Law: A Guide to Key Resources - Susan J. Hemp and Cheryl Rae Nyberg

This research guide identifies and describes 163 books, periodicals, reference tools, databases, electronic discussion groups, organizations, and U.S. government agencies useful to the elder law practitioner and the legal researcher. Appendices include a state-by-state list of state aging agencies, bar association committees and sections, law school courses and clinics, and publications; acronyms; and subject headings and index terms used in library catalogs, periodical indexes, and related sources.

Susan J. Hemp is Assistant Law Librarian, Reference and Microforms, and Assistant Professor of Library Administration, University of Illinois, and received her M.S., Library Science form the University of Illinois in 1990. Cheryl Rae Nyberg is Assistant Law Librarian, documents and Reference, and Associate Professor of Library Administration, University of Illinois, and received her M.S., Library Science for the University of Illinois in 1979.

Health Care Reform -- Past and Future - David Blumenthal

In this article, Dr, Blumenthal explores the federal government's role in passing health care reform legislation. Dr. Blumenthal begins by postulating why health care reform legislation failed to pass Congress in 1994. Next, he reviews how Medicare legislation passed Congress in 1965. Dr. Blumenthal then compares the legislative successes of Medicare with the recent legislative failures of health care reform. Finally, using this comparison, Dr. Blumenthal predicts that federal health care reform will only materialize when there exists a combination of public support for and political skill in marshaling reform.

This article is reprinted by permission of The New England Journal of Medicine which published it as "Health Care Reform -- Past and Future," in Vol. 322, pages 465-68 (1995). Copyright © 1995 by the Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.

David Blumenthal is Chief of Health Policy Research and Development Unit within General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Massachusetts.

The Elder Law Attorney: Working with Grief - Clifton B. Kruse, Jr.

In this article, Mr. Kruse confronts the difficult issue of dealing with a client's grief. the author provides a synopsis of the role of the elder law attorney, a cogent discussion of the various types of grief and how to identify them, and some techniques that the elder law attorney can incorporate into his or her practice to help deal with their grief. More specifically, Mr. Kruse suggests that if elder law practitioners asked the right questions, avoid forcing the grieving client into making any irreversible decisions, and listen and remain attentive, they can assist their clients and their clients' families in their time of great need while still performing their vital legal services.

Reprinted with permission by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. this article originally appeared in two parts in the NAELA News, Vol. 6, No. 7 and Vol. 6, No. 8.

This essay is as lightly modified version of an article published in 23 Colo. Law. 2111 (1994).

The author gratefully acknowledges the ACTEC presentation for increasing his own intellectual understanding of bereavement; emotional appreciation of the grieving process comes, of course, only in personal experience and by working with grieving clients.

Clifton B. Kruse. Jr. is a partner in the law firm of Kruse & Lynch, P.C. in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He limits his practice to estate planning, estate administration and elder law. He is the author of Third-Party and Self-Created Trusts -- A Lawyer's Comprehensive Reference , published by the American Bar Association; "Self and Spousal-Settled Income Trusts," published in Medicaid Trust Portfolio Series , by Little Brown & Co., 1993, (amended 1994); and "Settlement Trusts," published by Little Brown & Co., (June 1995). He was written numerous law journal articles on trusts, estates and elder law. Mr. Kruse received his Juris Doctorate from Washburn University in 1963 and is a member of the Colorado Bar Association. He is a Fellow in both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and is currently serving as President of the National Academy. Mr. Kruse is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of elder law and estate planning for various professional legal educational associations, including the ABA, the National College of Probate Judges, the American Association of Law School Professors, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

NOTES

Family Limited Partnerships, Trusts, or Limited Liability Corporations: Which Should the Elderly Choose? - Timothy R. Baumann

A variety of planning devices are available for the elderly that allow them to save taxes and protect assets. These devices include trusts, family limited partnerships (FLPs), and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). However, recent court cases have brought into question the effectiveness of FLPs as planning devices. Moreover, LLCs are relatively recent inventions, and their effectiveness may be uncertain, Mr. Baumann investigates the advantages and disadvantages of these planning tools and concludes that FLPs should be avoided by the elderly in favor of trusts and LLCs.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Where Are You?" -- Putting the Focus of Grandparent Visitation Statutes on the Best Interests of the Child - Christine Davik-Galbraith

In her note, author Christine Davik-Galbraith argues that familial problems such as divorce should not end the grandparent-grandchild relationship and that it is the right of both parties to visit one another. Currently, the United States addresses the issue of grandparent visitation rights through the court system. Because the Supreme Court has yet to address third-party visitation rights, rulings, concerning visitation issues amount the lower courts have been inconsistent. Ms. Davik-Galbraith recommends that states adopt legislation that specifically handles grandparent visitation rights and balances the interest of the grandparent, parent, and child, with the best interests of the child being the determining factor in granting visitation rights.

Mandatory Reporting Statutes: A Necessary Yet Underutilized Response to Elder Abuse - Molly Dickinson Velick

The United States is only beginning to recognize that elder abuse is a growing problem within our society. Mandatory reporting statutes have become an important mechanism for fighting elder abuse. In this note, Ms. Velick discusses and dismisses the most common arguments against mandatory elder-abuse reporting statutes. She then examines proposals to increase compliance with mandatory reporting laws in view of budgetary restrictions. Ms. Velick then suggests three low-cost methods to boost compliance, including increasing public awareness, interagency cooperation, and amending state statutes to protect reporters. She concludes that is time for critics to stop complaining about the lack of adequate funding and take meaningful action now to combat the growing societal problem of elder abuse.