Elder Law

Hospital Tries to Nix Power of Attorney After Daughter Seeks More Care for Her Mom

An adult daughter who holds a power of attorney to make medical decisions for her 86-year-old mother says Dolores Bedin, who is suffering from inoperable pancreatic cancer, isn’t strong enough to go home. But Northwestern Memorial Hospital disagrees. In an effort to get Bedin discharged, the medical center has asked…

Nov 9, 2010 3:13 PM CST

Lawyer with Alzheimer’s Diagnosed When His Wife Discovered Unpaid Bills

By the time Arthur Packel’s wife realized he had Alzheimer’s disease, the now-retired lawyer had stopped paying their bills for some time. And she couldn’t figure out what he had done with much of the money, reports the New York Times. Now Renee Packel, 75, works as a receptionist to…

Nov 1, 2010 11:37 PM CDT

Accused of Murder, Lawyer, 61, Knew Zip About Client’s Fatal ID-Theft Scam, His Counsel Tells Jury

A 61-year-old lawyer facing a first-degree murder charge in a fatal identity theft scam allegedly orchestrated by a client admittedly impersonated the victim, in order to help the perpetrators gain access to his assets. But attorney David Replogle did so only because his client, Kaushal Niroula, 28, threatened his mother…

Oct 7, 2010 8:54 PM CDT

Newspaper: ‘Weak-Kneed’ Discipline Council Stumbled in Probate Judge Matter

In a 2004 will, Josephine Smoron left almost all her considerable assets, which included a dairy farm, to her longtime caretaker. A subsequent estate document in 2006 explained that she had expressly disinherited several churches. But as she lay dying in 2009 her court-appointed conservator transferred her assets to two…

Oct 4, 2010 6:58 PM CDT

Financial Probe of Europe’s Weathiest Woman Could Focus on 2 Law Firms

A battle between an elderly heiress to the l’Oreal cosmetics fortune and her estranged daughter for control of the mother’s finances has exploded into a series of investigations concerning possible money laundering and tax evasion and questionable political contributions. But rather than being a potential target of the probe, heiress…

Sep 7, 2010 11:22 PM CDT

$667M Nursing Home Verdict Surprised Even the Plaintiffs’ Lawyers

A class action lawsuit that resulted in a $667 million verdict last month against a for-profit nursing home company surprised even the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The verdict is thought to be the largest in the country so far this year, the Associated Press reports. The huge award is “sending shock waves…

Aug 31, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Patient Rights Pitted Against Civil Rights in Nursing Home Bias Case

An Indiana patient rights law led one Indiana nursing home to go along with the wishes of a resident who specified she wanted only white caregivers. The law says patients can choose their “providers of services” and nursing homes must reasonably accommodate residents’ preferences, the Associated Press reports. Plainfield Healthcare…

Aug 25, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Report: DA’s Office Is Probing Finances of Heiress, 104; Lawyer & Accountant Handle Her $500M Assets

The elder abuse unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is reportedly probing the finances of an extremely wealthy New York heiress who has spent the last 22 years living in a hospital. Huguette Clark, 104, is estimated to be worth about $500 million, with about $200 million sunk into…

Aug 24, 2010 7:24 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Gets 5 Years for Swindling Clients Out of $4.3M

A now-disbarred Georgia lawyer was sentenced today to five years and three months in federal prison for swindling clients out of $4.3 million. M. Dewey Bain, 59, must also pay restitution for the money he took from clients, promising to hold their money in trust and invest it safely but…

Jul 7, 2010 7:47 PM CDT

Woman, 91, Can Keep Exhumed Bodies at Home If She Builds a Crypt, DA Says

Faced with an unusual situation, a Pennsylvania prosecutor is offering an unusual solution. Jean Stevens, 91, who apparently persuaded an unidentified individual to exhume the bodies of two close relatives so she could talk with them as they lay on sofas at her home in rural Wyalusing Township, can get…

Jul 6, 2010 10:52 PM CDT

Solo Lawyer & Office Manager Wife Accused of Stealing $2M From Guardianship Clients

A 71-year-old solo practitioner in Texas and his 70-year-old office manager and wife are facing a 26-count federal indictment for allegedly stealing more than $2 million from the accounts of disabled military veterans for whom he served as a guardian. Joe Phillips, who practices in Houston, and his wife, Dorothy,…

Jun 30, 2010 9:00 PM CDT

Queens Prosecutors Don’t Require ‘Hate’ Showing in New Use of Hate Crimes Law

Some New York prosecutors are using the state’s hate-crimes law to prosecute people who prey on the elderly. Prosecutors in Queens have obtained tougher sentences under this approach, and it’s attracting interest among prosecutors statewide, the New York Times reports. Theft of less than $1 million usually does not require…

Jun 22, 2010 3:42 PM CDT

Minn. Supreme Court Disbars Lawyer Who Stole $60K from Elderly Dad

The Minnesota Supreme Court wants to deter elder exploitation by lawyers, including a lawyer who pleaded guilty to financial exploitation of her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father. On Thursday, the court disbarred Minnesota lawyer Lisa Jane Mayne for stealing $60,000 from her father after he gave her power of attorney in 2005, the…

Jun 11, 2010 1:35 PM CDT

Hot Topics

Senior lawyers try to get kids to care about government programs

Jun 1, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

Ethics May Require Challenges to Alzheimer’s-Impaired Lawyers

Alzheimer’s disease is not an ailment that announces its presence. It sneaks up, dropping hints of its existence that only become obvious when it is already wreaking havoc in the lives of its victims and their loved ones. The wife of a solo practitioner in Oklahoma knows that pattern all…

May 2, 2010 2:00 PM CDT