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Voice of Experience

Voice of Experience: September 2024

Book Review: Life is Filled with Swift Transitions

David M Godfrey

Summary

  • Sooner or later, every lawyer will hear from a family in crisis from an unexpected illness or injury.
  • Karren’s book provides an overview of the issues that arise from unexpected crises and how to respond.
  • The book provides a great overview of the basics of Elder Law.
Book Review: Life is Filled with Swift Transitions
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Either in our professional or personal life, we will all be called upon to help a person, or their loved one, who has received a diagnosis of a life-changing illness or experienced a life-changing injury, and this book is about the legal issues that arise in that sudden life-changing moments. “Life Is Filled with Swift Transitions” is an introduction or overview of elder and disabilities law published by the ABA Senior Lawyers Division, written by SLD Chair Karren J. Pope-Onwukwe.

The text is organized into four sections and thirteen pithy chapters. 

The first section is titled “Foundations of Elder Law” and includes chapters on Medical Assistance / Medicaid, Guardianship, Estate Planning, and Elder Abuse. This section defines elder law and disabilities law and the overlap between the two. Because of the catastrophic cost of long-term care, Medical Assistance, also known as Medicaid, is a core of elder and disabilities practice. Life-changing illnesses or injuries often bring with them a need for a legal decision-maker - bringing guardianship or conservatorship into practice. Estate planning covers not just what happens to assets at death but also legal decision-making during life. Lastly, the section provides an overview of elder abuse and scams.

The second section is titled “Long-Term Care and At-Home Possibilities,” with chapters covering advanced care planning, assisted living, home and community-based waivers, memory care, continuing care retirement communities, and debilitating disease strategies. Every adult who has the capacity to do so should complete at least basic advance directives for health and financial matters. The text covers the spectrum of settings where people live and receive care. The last section prepares the reader to discuss some specific life-changing illnesses that are likely to arise in this practice area.

The third section is “Ethical Issues and Other Considerations Involving Client Autonomy” and looks at ethical and other considerations related to long-term care planning, and independent living: paying for in-home care. One of the most challenging issues in this area of practice is honoring choice and trying to protect clients from obviously bad decisions. The text discusses mental health and mental health advance directives and specialized courts for persons with diminished capacity. The last chapter in this section provides an overview of paying for care at home.

The fourth section is titled “Medical Assistance Long-Term Care Planning Strategies” and has chapters covering the basics of qualifying for Medical Assistance, also known as Medicaid, to pay for long-term care. This section is a class in Medicaid 101. It covers the basics of medical income and asset eligibility for means tested health care benefits. The text includes some basic examples, a starting point for learning the depth that is the specialty of Medicaid and Veterans Benefits practice.

All of this is followed with extensive appendices offering examples of commonly used contracts, agreements, Medicaid applications, and eligibility standards. The examples will help the reader know what to ask for and recognize documents that clients bring in for review.  

The book is a starting point for lawyers, advocates, and family members to understand the spectrum of issues that illness or injury make urgent. Each of the topics in the book could be expanded into a full book on their own. This book is a great overview to start what can easily be a lifetime of study on these issues.

I recommend the book for two groups of readers. Lawyers and other advocates new to this area of law and who are seeking a fundamental understanding either to help clients or help family and loved ones (elder law becomes personal for attorneys as we age). The book would also be helpful for clients who are information seeking, those who ask, “Isn’t there something that I could read that would help me understand all of this?” Lawyers working in this field may find it helpful to give or loan a copy to clients and their family members to help the family understand the scope of the options.

A challenge in writing a book like this is that the laws, regulations, and policy on nearly all of the legal options vary from state to state. The text regularly reminds the reader to study the law, regulations, and policy manuals in their state and to consult with experienced experts in local practice. The author offers examples based on her state of practice and urges the reader to explore what can be done in their state. The text also advises that not all options are possible in all states. The book does a good job of answering the challenge of writing for a national audience. 

The book is available from the ABA Webstore in print and e-book.   

The list price is $59.95, discounted for ABA SLD members to $47.95, or it can be ordered from your favorite bookseller. 

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