Dillman: Understanding legal capacity and how to test for it
Professionals working with older adults will inevitably face the challenge of determining whether a client or potential client has legal capacity.
Professionals working with older adults will inevitably face the challenge of determining whether a client or potential client has legal capacity.
If the pilot run was any indication, a new tool used by Indiana Legal Service’s Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults, or LAVA, Project could help more endangered and victimized Hoosier adults obtain legal assistance.
None of the advance directives currently used in Indiana address receiving care with a severe dementia diagnosis.
The current economic crisis has rattled the confidence of all of us, including my clients. If you are in a practice that focuses on pre-planning, then I am sure you are seeing a similar reaction. Clients who are typically proactive are now pulling back on the reins and taking care of immediate needs — doing just enough to address these immediate needs — rather than preparing for the near future.
Often, caregivers can feel guilty about getting away while they have so much responsibility at home or find it impossible to imagine getting a break. Lots of questions can arise, such as who will take care of the loved ones, how they can continue receiving help, what happens if an emergency arises and more. But with so much day-to-day responsibility as a caregiver, it’s important to have time to refresh and avoid burnout.
A 60-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the “suspicious” death of a woman at an Indianapolis nursing center where they both were residents, police said.
Applegate & Dillman Elder Law, a central Indiana-based elder law firm with locations in Indianapolis, Zionsville and Carmel, launched the Applegate & Dillman Elder Law Mediation Center on Wednesday.
COVID-related deaths are part of a national emergency. As a result, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just began accepting applications for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance on April 12.
Advocates for nursing home residents say they worry a new Indiana law expanding COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers will effectively block many lawsuits over neglect and substandard treatment that weren’t caused by the pandemic.
Most Americans agree that government should help people fulfill a widely held aspiration to age in their own homes, not institutional settings, a new poll finds.
Although an adult guardian properly deposited a check after his ward died, the trial court did not err in denying the guardian’s request to exercise estate planning, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Adult guardians will soon be part of the statutory scheme for making decisions about disposition of a deceased ward after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill extending their authority.
A bill to extend the duties of guardians when an incapacitated adult dies was much better received in an Indiana House committee Tuesday than when the bill was introduced in the Senate.
A bill to give adult guardians authority to oversee the disposition of a ward’s remains is up for a final vote in the Indiana Senate this week, but the version of the bill senators will vote on is markedly different from the introduced legislation.
Indiana lawmakers moved forward Thursday with a proposal to change visitation restrictions at the state’s health and residential care sites amid concerns about residents’ declining interactions with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic.
Indiana officials say they want to make it possible for more Hoosiers to age at home rather than at nursing homes, especially as the pandemic continues to sweep across America.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday said residents age 70 and older can now schedule COVID-19 vaccinations.
The diagnosis is in. Unfortunately, you or a loved one is diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Obviously, the first step is to work with your doctor to slow the progression. However, there are legal steps you need to take as quickly as possible.
A guardianship task force has recommended that the Indiana Legislature amend state statute to give guardians authority over dispositions if necessary. While the concept received general support in a recent meeting of the Probate Code Study Commission, the question remained: how do you balance the authority of a guardian with that of another party, such as a POA?
As Indiana announces its preparations to begin coronavirus vaccinations for some 400,000 health care workers by the end of the month, the inoculation timeline for the state’s nursing home residents is still to be determined.