MSBA Elder Law Section

Annual Reports

MSBA ELDER LAW SECTION
2010-11 Annual Report

Section Membership and Organization

As of June 22, 2011, the Elder Law Section has 511 members. This represents a 3% increase in membership since July 2010.Thirteen standing committees were actively involved in providing services to section membership during the year. The Governing Council, consisting of 29 elected voting members, four student members, and three ex-officio members, met six times during 2010-11. The section held its annual meeting at the offices of Estate and Elder Law Services, 1900 Central Avenue NE, Suite 106, Minneapolis, on June 17, 2011.

Section Finances

The Elder Law Section had an account balance of $18,662.59 as of April 30, 2011, an increase of approximately $3,500 over its ending balance for 2009-10.

Elder Law Institute

The 2010 Elder Law Institute was held on October 7 & 8, 2010, at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center in downtown Minneapolis. The Keynote Speaker was Gene Coffey, attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center in Washington, D.C., who spoke on how the new health care reform legislation impacts seniors. The program included fifteen specialized breakout sessions (including 1.0 hours of ethics credit and 2.0 hours of elimination of bias credit.) Topics of “short shots” and other plenary sessions included UTMA, Veterans Homes, veterans’ benefits, Elderly Waiver, federal estate taxes, and local efforts in advance care planning. A “Basics” track was also offered, including sessions on Medical Assistance eligibility, Medical Assistance estate recovery, and navigating a guardianship/conservatorship petition.

The course book for the 2010 Elder Law Institute is available for purchase at: http://www.minncle.org/PublicationDetail.aspx?ID=5074511

Awards and Recognition

During the Elder Law Institute, the Mary Alice Gooderl Award, which is presented annually to acknowledge outstanding contributions to the field of elder law, was presented Bryan Jamison of Jamison & Jamison, P.A., in Shoreview, Minnesota

9 Days in June CLE Presentations

With the MSBA Health Law Section, the Elder Law Section co-sponsored a presentation entitled, “Legal Issues at the End of Life,” at four of the MSBA’s 9 Days in June sites. The program was well received at all four locations – Duluth, Mankato, Prior Lake and Blaine, and featured a panel discussion of issues lawyers should be aware of when dealing with elderly or terminally ill clients.

Medical Assistance Forums

The section continued to provide a bi-monthly forum on Medical Assistance issues, open to all who wish to attend. Although no CLE credit is given for the forums, the discussions and information on cutting-edge issues relating to Medical Assistance in Minnesota have provided a valuable benefit to practitioners.

Pro Bono/Volunteer Service Activities

During 2010-11, the section participated in the following pro bono/volunteer service activities:

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) - For the fourth year, the section served as a state liaison for NHDD, a nationwide program committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. On April 16th of each year, hundreds of NHDD events are held around the country. In Minnesota, NHDD attendees have the opportunity to learn more about and complete a Minnesota Health Care Directive. More information about NHDD is available on the state website at: www.mnhealthcaredecisions.info.

ProJustice Minnesota Website - The section provided new content for the Elder Law area of the Civic Law Practice Area Library on the ProJustice Minnesota website. The materials are available as a resource for attorneys wishing to engage in pro bono activities involving Elder Law.

Spring Service Project – The Law Student Committee worked on its second Spring Service Project, assisting Estate and Elder Law Services with organizing its existing client files in its new office setting on April 29 and May 9.

Maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults Brochure - The section revised and made available to the public a brochure detailing the law and remedies regarding physical, mental, or financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

Minnesota Medicaid State Plan - The section formed a new Medicaid State Plan committee, to maintain access to the up-to-date State Plan and to seek effective input into the process of state plan amendments. The State Plan is now available online at Practicelaw.org.

Website

The section continued to maintain a website, which was updated and revised during 2010-11. The website is available at: http://www2.mnbar.org/sections/elder-law/index.asp

e-Newsletter

The section also continued to publish a weekly e-Newsletter, which is distributed via email to all section members each Tuesday and which is posted online on the Elder Law Section’s webpage. The e-Newsletter provides information on section activities, upcoming educational opportunities and CLEs, news items about elder law issues, published and unpublished cases pertaining to elder law, links to other useful websites, and statutes, regulations, and bulletins of interest to elder law practitioners. The Law Student Committee provided a “Link of the Week” and a law student member co-authored a lead article in the e-Newsletter.

Legislation and Amicus Briefs

The Elder Law Section did not submit any legislative proposals or amicus briefs in the 2010-11 term.

Election Results

At the June 17, 2011, Annual Meeting, a new slate of officers and Governing Council members was elected for the 2010-11 year, as follows:

Officers
Chair:                          Suzanne Scheller
Vice Chair:                 Laura Zdychnec
Secretary:                  Joel Button
Treasurer:                  John Kantke

Governing Council Members - 2-Year Terms ending June 2013
Vicki Ahl                                             Kenneth LaBore
Mark Anderson                                  Terrie Lewis
Stuart Bear                                        Vicki McIntyre
Kathleen Eveslage                            Sally Mortenson
Margaret Grathwol                            Kristine Mullman
Richard Hawke                                  David Rephan
Paulette Joyer

Student Members - 1-Yr Terms Ending June 2011
Courtney Allensworth           William Mitchell
Brenna Galvin                        William Mitchell
Analee Heath Leach             Hamline
Megan Stowers                     St. Thomas

The 2011-12 Governing Council will also include members elected in 2010 for two-year terms expiring in June 2012:

Marjorie Austin                                  Sarah Rowley
Joel Button                                         Suzanne Sandahl
John Kantke                                       Lorie Skibbie
Jennifer Lammers                             Dan Steinheigen
Laura Orr                                            Jennifer Wright
Cathryn Reher                                   Julian Zweber

Following the election of officers, the following members were appointed by Chair Suzy Scheller to serve as MSBA Representatives for 2011-12:

MSBA Assembly Representative
Lori Skibbie (Alternate: Laura Zdychnec)

MSBA Legislative Committee Representative
Julian Zweber

The section remained extremely active throughout 2010-11 and continues to seek new ways to provide tangible benefits to section members and to the public.

Respectfully submitted,

Jennifer L. Wright

2010-11 MSBA Elder Law Section Governing Council

Annual Report Archives
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- Last Updated 04/05/2011 -

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