http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-23T14:12:22-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/70_is_not_so_old_say_state_court_judges_challenging_retirement_rule/ Pennsylvania law mandates that state court judges retire when they are 70 years old, a rule which has been in existence since 1968. That’s discriminatory, say some jurists, who also object to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court taking control of their commonwealth court lawsuit challenging the rule. Bucks County Judge Alan… Careers, Civil Rights, Elder Law, Judiciary, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Wed, 22 May 2013 13:45:10 -0500 44303.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_jails_estate_lawyer_as_flight_risk_calls/ A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer's effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a "bizarre" and unjustified "hatchet job" on Joseph Caramadre's former counsel, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre's bid for a… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Insurance Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 1st Circuit Court, States, Rhode Island Tue, 21 May 2013 06:09:54 -0500 44283.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/wwii_vet_reaches_fund-raising_goal_in_effort_to_prevent_his_daughter_from_e/ A World War II veteran who claimed breach of fiduciary duty by his daughter in a lawsuit is now trying to prevent her from evicting him with a fundraising appeal that reached its goal on Thursday. John Potter, 91, lived in his Zaleski, Ohio, home for 56 years, report ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Elder Law, Real Estate & Property Law Thu, 16 May 2013 07:49:54 -0500 44212.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/author_harper_lee_sues_says_agent_tricked_her_into_signing_over_to_kill_a_m/ At 87, the author of one of the most famous trial novels ever written has failing eyesight and hearing. And in 2007 author Harper Lee was recovering from a stroke when she signed away her royalties from her 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, to her literary agent, Samuel Pinkus,… Celebrities, Contracts, Corporate Law, Elder Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 07 May 2013 14:57:01 -0500 44075.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/frugal_senior_cant_use_mileage_points_for_final_trip_home_because_she_will_/ Thinking ahead, a woman in her mid-90s has raised the question of whether the mileage points she has accumulated with a major airline can be used for her final flight to her home state, after her demise. The answer, according to an airline spokesperson contacted by Dear… Aviation & Space Law, Consumer Law, Contracts, Elder Law Wed, 01 May 2013 12:22:43 -0500 43995.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/aba_helps_lawyers_thrive_by_being_at_the_forefront_of_new_practice_areas/ Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bar Associations, ABA, Business of Law, Careers, Cybersecurity, Elder Law, Law Firms, Solos/Small Firms, President's Message Wed, 01 May 2013 04:50:06 -0500 43791.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/caregiver_used_legal_documents_to_siphon_350k_from_elderly_mans_assets_pros/ Carmelita Pasamba met Marshall Davies, who was then 90 years old, in 2007, while working as a nursing assistant at an Illinois hospital at which he was a patient. Now Pasamba, 62, is facing a criminal case for allegedly siphoning off over $350,000 of his assets. She is charged with… Criminal Justice, Elder Law, Trusts & Estates, States, Illinois Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:35:14 -0500 43652.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/brooke_astor_estate/ The son of an elderly heiress and a now-disbarred lawyer convicted of working together to siphon some $60 million from her estate have lost an appeal before a midlevel New York court. Following the determination that Anthony D. Marshall, 88, and Francis X. Morrissey Jr. were appropriately convicted in 2009… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Elder Law, Trials & Litigation, Trusts & Estates, States, New York Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:15:24 -0500 43449.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_accused_of_stealing_elderly_neighbors_1.6m_life_savings_resigns_from_/ A California judge who is facing a 32-count case concerning his alleged theft of a now-deceased elderly neighbor's life savings of $1.6 million or more has voluntarily stepped down from the Alameda County Superior Court bench. Judge Paul Seeman agreed to resign Thursday and never seek to serve on the… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, Trusts & Estates, States, California Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:40:18 -0500 43392.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/tipster_tells_police_missing_man_was_hospitalized_staff_refused_to_say_due_/ When worried friends reported an 81-year-old man was missing from his home on Monday, one of the first things police in Salem, Ore., did was contact local hospitals. There was no sign of Thomas Dill there, so authorities and friends kept searching. After two days, an anonymous tipster told police… Elder Law, Family Law, Health Law, Privacy Law Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:17:58 -0500 43185.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_a_nurse_shuns_911_operators_cpr_advice_questions_arise_are_legal_fear/ Updated: On the tapes, the 911 operator pleads with a caller to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a collapsed resident at an independent living facility. The caller, who had identified herself as a nurse, refuses, citing corporate policy. The elderly resident dies. The incident last month at Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield,… Elder Law, Health Law Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:13:47 -0600 43134.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/attorney_who_didnt_tell_police_about_employees_theft_from_client_is_disbarr/ A Georgia attorney has been disbarred following her conviction of misprision of a felony due to an employee's misuse of a guardianship client's funds. In a brief order (PDF) on Monday, the court noted that Zondra Taylor Hutto had not responded to the disciplinary case and found that… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 11th Circuit Court, States, Georgia Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:27:06 -0600 43099.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dc_circuit_oks_surviving-spouse_suit_re_hud_reverse-mortgage_rules_said_to_/ A lawsuit contending that federal regulations contravene legislative intent by encouraging the foreclosure of reverse mortgages against borrowers' surviving spouses has been given a green light by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. Reversing a lower court's dismissal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday… Administrative Law, Banking Law, Elder Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, D.C. Circuit Court Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:50:21 -0600 42229.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/elderly_couple_in_fight_with_lawyers_over_tens_of_thousands_of_dollars_in_q/ Corrected: The battle between a court-appointed law firm and the family of an elderly couple that was in its care over legal fees is raising questions of the treatment of aging Americans by paid guardians and the lack of state processes to protect them. A judge appointed Virginia-based law firm… Administrative Law, Business of Law, Elder Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Trusts & Estates, States, Virginia Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:00:58 -0600 41834.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_accused_of_embezzling_500k_from_her_own_grandmother_gets_probation/ A Texas lawyer who took a plea earlier this year after being accused of embezzling $500,000 from her own grandmother has avoided a prison sentence. However, Judge George Godwin told Michelle Lorenz Valicek, 54, that he doubts she will comply with the terms of her deferred adjudication probation, the Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Trusts & Estates, States, Texas Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:35:17 -0600 41721.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nj_lawmakers_to_consider_right_to_die_legislation/ New legislation introduced in New Jersey this week would grant doctors the right to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients who request the life-ending medications. The Death with Dignity Act is modeled after similar laws in Oregon and Washington state. The New Jersey… Elder Law, Health Law, Legislation & Lobbying, States, New Jersey Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:10:01 -0500 40906.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ahead_by_1.4m_after_representing_retiree_for_a_little_over_a_year_lawyer_is/ Attorney Lee Levenson Jr. was making a base salary of $100,000 when he left a Florida law firm and went to work for Billy and Barbara DuBois in 2007, at an annual salary of $350,000. By the time Levenson stopped working as a private attorney for the wealthy retired farm… Careers, Lawyer Pay, Contracts, Disability Law, Elder Law, Tort Law, States, Florida Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:34:23 -0500 40746.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/behind_bars_elderly_prison_population_expected_to_triple_by_2030/ Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Criminal Procedure, Elder Law, Opening Statements Sat, 01 Sep 2012 04:10:51 -0500 40220.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/elon_law_school_to_open_elder_law_clinic/ Elon University School of Law announced this week that it plans to open a student-staffed Elder Law Clinic this fall and will begin reviewing cases Wednesday. The clinic will provide free legal counsel to low and moderate-income area residents aged 60 and over, according to a post on the Elder Law, Law Schools, Law Students, States, North Carolina Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:55:07 -0500 40240.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/abas_law_and_aging_commission_gets_an_award_for_clear_writing/ The ABA’s Commission on Law and Aging has explained how to give someone a health-care power of attorney, and it’s done so in plain language. Its brochure on the process is so clear, in fact, that the commission won a national award. The Center for Plain Language gave the commission… Bar Associations, ABA, Elder Law Fri, 25 May 2012 06:00:01 -0500 38955.abajournal.com