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By Theresa E. Davis
Assistant Editor
While Florida has a reputation as a great
place for people to live out their golden years in the sun,
many seniors face hardships at this stage in their lives.
The elderly are often targets for many forms of exploitation,
and more sinister problems like abuse or neglect.
Enter The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section,
which exists to cultivate and promote professionalism, expertise,
and knowledge in the practice of law regarding issues affecting
the elderly and persons with special needs.
Section Chair Emma S. Hemness of Brandon puts
it more succinctly: “We are talking about our society’s most
vulnerable persons. Representing them requires the most caring
spirit.”
“A truly rewarding work, as many well know,”
added section Chair-elect Linda Chamberlain of Clearwater.
“The Elder Law Section wants to establish
itself as the leader in issues affecting the elderly and
persons with special needs,” Chamberlain said, adding the
section aspires to be Bar members’ first contact for its
core focus areas, including guardianship, government financial
assistance benefits, elder abuse/neglect and exploitation,
and advance directives.
The Elder Law Section has committees that
address all sorts of issues pertinent to some of Florida’s
most vulnerable persons: health care, Medicaid, and government
benefits; the death-care industry — which deals with aspects
of funerals and burials — exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
guardianship and special needs trust; and estate and financial
planning.
Chamberlain said a newly formed abuse, neglect,
and exploitation committee is working to connect the various
state agencies that deal with these issues to clarify the
applicable statutes and promote more active protection and
assistance for the elderly.
“This is only the beginning,” Hemness said.
“Our aging population is expected to swell for years to come.”
Hemness said elder law is an ever-changing
and highly legislated field and the section advocates to
aid in the development of laws benefiting elder citizens
and those concerned with the care and needs of the elderly.
“The laws we must understand govern both the
living and the dead, and are in a constant state of change,”
she said.
“The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has made
the most sweeping changes to Medicaid eligibility in 17 years,”
Hemness said. “In the post-Schiavo era, upholding health
care advance directives can quickly develop into a political
quagmire. Fortunately, I believe the Elder Law Section is
ready for the tasks that lay ahead.”
Chamberlain described an ad hoc committee,
led by Hemness, that will analyze the Long-term Care Insurance
Partnership implemented via the Deficit Reduction Act of
2005.
“The program will be new to Florida and is
based on the concept of giving individuals the assurance
of knowing they will receive Medicaid benefits for the payment
of their long-term care,” Chamberlain said.
“We, as elder law attorneys, are helping raise
the marks that history will give our society by holding us
all accountable for how these vulnerable individuals are
treated,” Hemness said. “The results we acquire for our clients
are the very measuring stick by which we, as people, will
be judged.”
Hemness said she remembers a time when a relative
summarized the current popular opinion about lawyers in a
joke. “You know, the one with 1,000 lawyers being at the
bottom of the ocean being a good start?
“However, I take great pride in pointing to
our section as proof to the contrary. I believe our section
members are the ‘good’ lawyers,” she said.
Hemness said the Elder Law Section is growing
and maturing even though section participation has room to
improve. The section has about 1,800 members, but Hemness
said “only a handful” of elder law attorneys are consistently
involved in the section’s substantive committees.
As part of its long-range plan, the section
will work to increase its diversity and encourage greater
involvement. There are plans to follow up with nonrenewing
members and seminar attendees, and consistently provide information
at seminars and other ELS meetings on how to become involved
in the section. The section also has efforts underway to
reach out to law school students as a way to increase membership.
A Law School Liaison Committee was recently formed with an
initial objective of establishing contacts with all of Florida’s
law schools. The section will also work to build increased
interaction with other sections and organizations that represent
the interests of older people and people with disabilities.
“I am inviting each and every member of our
section to become active in one of the substantive areas
in which you have an interest,” she said. “The section works
hard to support your efforts to be a ‘good’ lawyer.”
Membership
in the Elder Law Section is open to any licensed attorney
interested in the legal issues of the elderly and the annual
dues are $50. Member benefits include subscription to The
Elder Law Advocate and
an opportunity to subscribe to online Medicaid Fair Hearing
Reports. For more information about becoming a member, contact
Arlee J. Colman, program administrator, at (850) 561-5625
or e-mailing acolman@flabar.org. Or
visit the section’s Web site at www.eldersection.org. |
