MSBA ELDER LAW SECTION E-NEWSLETTER
September 14, 2015
Vol. 8, No. 37
E-Newsletter Editorial Staff:
Communications Committee Chair: Allison Burke
Editor in Chief: Margaret Kyle
Web Editor: Christine Huberty
Contributors: Barb Brekke, Christina Groshek, Julian Zweber, Mary Frances Price
Genevieve Gaboriault
UPCOMING EVENTS
PRO BONO MEETING Friday, September 18, 2015 from 12-1 p.m at Chestnut Cambronne PA 17 Washington Ave N #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55401. Meetings will be held the third Friday of every other month, from 12-1pm. Questions may be directed to Jill Sauber at jsauber@maserlaw.com.
ELDER LAW INSTITUTE Monday- Tuesday October 19-20, 2015 from 8:55 am – 4:50 pm at Minnesota CLE Conference Center, 600 Nicollet Mall # 370, 3rd Floor, City Center, Minneapolis, MN 55402-1641. Don’t miss this annual event!
Please see attached brochure: https://www.minncle.org/materials/seminars/10616.pdf
Submitted by Genevieve Gaboriault, gegaboriault@mylegalaid.org
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR ELDER LAW SECTION AWARDS
The Awards Committee of the Elder Law Section is seeking nominations for Section awards to be presented at the Minnesota CLE Elder Law Institute on October 19-20, 2015. Nominations are being sought for the following Awards:
The Mary Alice Gooderl Memorial Award
The Mary Alice Gooderl Memorial Award is presented by the Elder Law Section to acknowledge outstanding contributions to the field of Elder Law by a member of the Elder Law Section, as exemplified by Mary Alice Gooderl, one of the founders of the Elder Law Section.
The Lifetime Service Award
The Lifetime Service Award is presented to a member of the section who has made outstanding contributions to the Elder Law Section over an entire career or many years of service.
The Elder Law Section Hall of Fame
The Governing Council has authorized a new Award category to be known as the Elder Law Section Hall of Fame. The criteria for admission to the Hall of Fame include:
1. Membership in the Elder Law Section.
2. Success in litigation or other public or private advocacy having a substantial positive impact on the elderly or on the way Elder Law attorneys practice Elder Law.
3. Success in persuading CMS, DHS or another government agency to adopt substantial positive changes in medical assistance or other government programs or policies affecting the Elderly.
3. Publication of important works in the literature or other media to educate consumers or Elder Law attorneys regarding any important subject affecting the Elderly.
4. Success in obtaining legislation to protect or improve the rights or condition of the Elderly.
5. Efforts to accomplish the criteria in sections 1 to 4 that fall short of success but still deserve recognition for substantial efforts toward an important goal.
6. Other important activities by Section members that the committee members believe deserve recognition in our Hall of Fame.
For the first year of the Elder Law Section Hall of Fame, the Awards Committee will give preference to nominations of former or present Section members who were active in the early years of the Section. The Section was founded in 1991.
Special Recognition Awards
These awards are for special efforts or accomplishments of a more isolated nature that deserve special recognition since the last Awards ceremony. Examples of this award were the award given to Vicki McIntrye for serving as first editor of the e-Newsletter, and the awards given to Tom Meinz and to the Barg children for persevering in the Barg case.
Nominations will close at 5 pm on Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Please submit nominations to Julian J. Zweber at 1360 Energy Park Drive, Suite 310, St. Paul, MN 55108-5252, telephone 651-646-4354 or 651-646-4539 (FAX) or julianzweber@qwestoffice.net.
Submitted by Julian Zweber.
GOVERNING COUNCIL ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE
The Governing Council of the Elder Law Section held its annual meeting on June 19. Officers for 2015-2016 are:
President: Mary Frances Price
Vice President: Andrea Smith
Treasurer: Stuart Duering
Secretary: John Kantke
The Elder Law Governing Council Members for 2015-2016 are:
Stuart Bear Genevieve Gaboriault Brenna Galvin
Margaret Grathwol Richard Hawke Jeanine Johnson
John Kantke Kenneth Labore David Rephan
Jill Sauber Lori Skibbie Laura Zdychnec
Lauren Fink* Margaret Kyle * Jeff Schmidt*
*new members
Committee Chairs for 2015-2016 are:
Advocacy Support Suzy Scheller & David Rephan
Awards Julian Zweber & Stuart Bear
Bylaws Laura Zdychnec
Communications Allison Burke
Education Laura Orr
Elder Law Institute Mary Frances Price
Law Student Mary Ebb
Legislative Julian Zweber
Medical Assistance Lisa Pluto
MSBA Delegate Dan Steinhagen
MSBA Alternate John Kantke
New Lawyers Jeanine Johnson & Pook Grathwol
Nominating John Kantke
Pro Bono Jill Sauber
Strategic Planning Dick Hawke & Pook Grathwol
Vulnerable Adult Ken LaBore
MSBA Representative Dan Steinhagen
Legislative Liason Julian Zweber
Lori Skibbie was presented with a plaque to recognize her excellent leadership of the section as Chair during the 2014-2015 term. We would also like to thank all of the outgoing members who served in leadership positions.
Thank you also to the officers, committee chairs and members, most of whom continue to serve year after year.
Submitted by Mary Frances Price, MFPrice@mnelderlaw.com
LAST CHANCE TO WRITE A LAW REVIEW ARTICLE WITH RELATIVE EASE
The Executive Editor of the soon-to-be Mitchell | Hamline Law Review, is seeking articles about Elder Law topics for publication in Spring 2016. The issue will be fully dedicated to any and all Elder Law issues, including estate planning, VA, and SSDI benefits. Even better, the law review staff is available to do research, editing, etc.
The Mitchell | Hamline Law Review also appreciates very "practical" articles that simply state what the law is and can be used a reference for practitioners. The editor has already done research on the new ABLE act (tax free accounts for disabled individuals for their disability-related expenses) that would go nicely in an article on Supplemental or Special Needs Trusts. Even a Medicare primer would be publishable, and the editor has researched Part B late enrollment premium increases (and avoiding them) for working Medicare-eligible individuals. An article on social security disability family maximums and how those are calculated would be wonderful. Anything on the VA would be great.
The early (and negotiable) deadline for drafts is mid-September. Would you like to write an article? Contact Christine Groshek, christina.groshek@wmitchell.edu
WEB EDITOR POSITION OPEN
Position Description: Monitor DHS website for new bulletins and manual letters pertaining to Elder Law. Collect and compile these updates and email to Tram Nguyen at tnguyen@statebar.gen.mn.us periodically to include on the Links/Resources page. Annually update the Mary Alice Gooderl Award Recipient page. Research, collect, and submit additional updates as requested by the section. If you are interested, please contact Margaret Kyle at margaret@kylelawmn.com or 612-615-9535.
PRO BONO OPPORTUNITY
Serve MN: Real Help from Lawyers for Families Dealing with Dementia
Elder law attorneys are encouraged to sign-up for this new opportunity to provide important information and resources to individuals recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and to their families. The Pro Bono Committee of the Elder Law Section of the MSBA is working with the Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota and North Dakota to engage attorney volunteers to provide legal information and resources to individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer’s. Please consider learning more about this new exciting pro bono opportunity. If you would like to participate, please complete the enrollment form at Pro Bono Application and submit it to icaservemn@gmail.com
Submitted by Barb Brekke, bbrekke@brclawyers.com
ELDER LAW NEWS
Please submit news articles of interest to Margaret@kylelawmn.com
ELDER LAW CASES
No cases reported this issue.
STATUTES, REGULATIONS, BULLETINS
Minnesota Statutes Data Base updated to include 2015 Amendments
The Revisor of Statutes has updated the official Minnesota Statutes data base to include the amendments made by the 2015 Legislature. The update became effective September 8, 2015. The Table of Chapters for the updated data base is available at: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/
Submitted by Julian Zweber, julianzweber@qwestoffice.net
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Do you have a great story, have you read a good book, have you dealt with a case that relates to elder law? The Communications Committee is always looking for informative items for the weekly newsletter. Please email submissions to the newsletter editor, Margaret Kyle, margaret@kylelawmn.com.
ELDER LAW SECTION ACTIVITIES
ADVOCACY COMMITTEE:
Contact David Rephan at drephan@chestnutcambronne.com or Suzy Scheller at suzy@schellerlegalsolutions.com for more information.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE:
The committee last put on a CLE on April 28 covering distinctions in procedure and law when addressing concerns with nursing homes versus other long-term care settings like assisted living and housing with services. Anyone who would like to contribute to planning and presenting future CLE’s may contact Laura Orr at laura.orr@smrls.org.
GOVERNING COUNCIL:
The remaining 2015 meetings of the Elder Law Section Governing Council will be held at 3:30 pm on the following remaining Fridays:
October 16, 2015
December 18, 2015
Please be reminded that the meeting location is: Estate & Elder Law Services, Monroe Village, 1900 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418. The meeting takes place in the building’s conference room. There are a few parking spaces behind the building and lots of street parking. People should walk to the back of the building and come to the back door that faces directly into the meeting room. For further information, please contact Mary Frances Price, Chair, at MFPrice@mnelderlaw.com or (952) 929-0622
MA COMMITTEE MEETING:
The 2014-2015 MA Committee meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every other month (except the fourth Tuesday in June):
October 27, 2015 (date change due to conflict with the Elder Law Institute)
December 15, 2015
The Medical Assistance Committee is a study group to analyze Elder Law Section member questions and case studies and to discuss administrative policies and procedures in relation to Medical Assistance in Minnesota, Lisa Pluto, of Pluto Legal, PLLC, is Committee Chair. For directions, or to attend by phone, please contact Tracy Sherman with Pluto Legal, PLLC, at tsherman@plutolegal.com or 507-247-5900 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Topics for the meeting may be submitted to tsherman@plutolegal.com under the subject heading “MA Committee Topic”, or faxed to 507-247-5868.
Please be reminded that the meeting location is: Estate & Elder Law Services, Monroe Village, 1900 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418. The meeting takes place in the building’s conference room. There are a few parking spaces behind the building and lots of street parking. People should walk to the back of the building and come to the back door that faces directly into the meeting room.
NEW LAWYERS COMMITTEE:
Meetings will be held the second Thursday of every other month at noon. Each meeting has a different topic based upon input from the new lawyers committee. Minutes of past meetings are available. The meetings are formatted so that a seasoned elder law attorney will speak for the first half hour, and the second half hour will be questions and answers.
Upcoming meeting dates:
November 12, 2015
Meetings will be held at Chestnut Cambronne PA 17 Washington Ave N #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55401. Please contact Pook Grathwol at pgrathwol@chestnutcambronne.com or (612) 336-2919 or Jeanine Johnson at jjohnson@meyernjus.com or (612) 630-3254.
PRO BONO COMMITTEE:
Meetings will be held the third Friday of every other month, from 12-1pm. Meetings will be held at Chestnut Cambronne PA 17 Washington Ave N #300, Minneapolis, MN, 55401. Questions may be directed to Jill Sauber at jsauber@maserlaw.com.
September 18, 2015
November 20, 2015
VULNERABLE ADULT COMMITTEE:
Meetings are held from 12:00 – 1:30 at Ken LaBore's office located at 5001 Chowen Avenue South. Ken always provides pizza and drinks. Contact Ken at Klabore@MNnursinghomeneglect.com or 612-743-9048.
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DON'T FORGET THE ELDER LAW WEBSITE IS A GREAT RESOURCE.
Here’s what you can find on the Website: Links to the DHS Health Care Programs Manual, the DHS Bulletin on treatment of uncompensated transfers, the Minnesota Bankers Association Compliance Bulletin on Powers of Attorney, legislative summary; Practice Links to organizations such as NAELA, ABA Commission on Law and Aging, Links to Federal and State Government Agencies, Statutes, and Regulations; Meeting Notices, Listings of Officers and Council Members, Section Bylaws, and more.
To access the ELDER LAW SECTION WEBSITE click here.
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Please send E-Newsletter contributions by 10 p.m. on Sunday of every other week to Margaret Kyle at margaret@kylelawmn.com.
If you do not wish to receive this E-Newsletter, send your request to be removed from the mailing list to Tram Nguyen at tnguyen@mnbar.org.
Current and prior E-Newsletters are posted on the website for the MSBA Elder Law Section and are available here.