Are you interested in learning more about elder law, how it could benefit your practice, and how you could go about incorporating this area of law into your practice? You have come to the right place.

What is elder law?

Elder law is the area of law focused on issues that affect the aging population. While estate planning law focuses on what happens when the individual passes away, elder law focuses on what happens while the individual is still alive. This can include guardianship issues, addressing elder abuse claims, handling discrimination claims, planning for long-term care, obtaining government benefits, and helping with special needs issues. Let’s discuss some of these points in more detail.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a broad-sweeping federal law meant to eliminate discrimination against those with disabilities. The ADA doesn’t specifically address polling places, but Title II requires equal voting rights for those with disabilities. As such, state and local governments must ensure that those with disabilities have physical access to polling places. In addition, reasonable modifications of voting procedures are required to meet an individual’s needs.

However, new trends in voting laws over the last couple of years are being hailed as discriminatory towards those with disabilities or mobility issues. Those with disabilities or mobility issues oftentimes use non-traditional methods to cast their votes: mail-in ballots, ballot drop-boxes, curbside voting, or inciting the help of another at the voting booth. Altering these methods is often the focus of these new laws.

A Self-Settled Special Needs Trust (SNT) and a Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust (SNT) are used when a beneficiary would like access to extra funds without jeopardizing their eligibility for public benefits. Let’s review some key differences between these trusts.

The Self-Settled SNT—available in Elder Docx™—is irrevocable and is used when the assets funding the trust belong to the beneficiary. This would be if an individual has money in the bank, or comes into money, such as via a settlement or inheritance. If the funds are obtained through a settlement, an MSA subtrust may be needed. (More on that in a bit.)