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How Can I Combat the Social Isolation of Coronavirus?

Local and state governments are asking that we socially distance ourselves to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The CDC recommends that anyone who’s age 60 and older avoid crowds, and that those in a community with an outbreak remain at home as much as possible.

AARP’s recent article entitled “How to Fight the Social Isolation of Coronavirus” gives us some ideas to keep in mind to decrease the threat of social isolation and loneliness as the pandemic continues:

  1. Social isolation and loneliness are significant health issues. These related conditions impact a great number of adults in the U.S. It is thought of as being the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day! According to research from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, 43% of adults over 60 in the U.S. reported feeling lonely.
  2. Prepare and stay in contact. It’s crucial that we talk to family and friends to develop a plan to safely stay in regular touch, as we socially distance ourselves—or if required to self-quarantine for a possible exposure or are in isolation for a COVID-19 infection. This should confirm whom you can contact, if you need help getting food, medicine and other supplies.
  3. Find helpful organizations. Create a list of charitable and other local organizations that you or the people in your plan can contact, if access is needed to information, health care services, support and resources.
  4. Don’t forget about pets. Pets are a great source of love and companionship, and they can help combat loneliness. In fact, some pets have been linked with owners’ longevity. Just as you need to be sure you have enough supplies for you and family, be stocked with food and other supplies for your furry friends.
  5. Keep in mind those who are at the greatest risk for social isolation and loneliness. People with the highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and who should be the most aware of social distancing, will also be the most at risk of increased social isolation and loneliness. While planning is important, know that many individuals will likely experience increased social isolation and loneliness.

Reaching out to friends, family, and neighbors can help protect all of us from COVID-19, as well as social isolation and loneliness.

Reference: AARP (March 16, 2020) “How to Fight the Social Isolation of Coronavirus”

Can I Get Paid to Be a Caregiver for a Family Member Who’s a Vet?

AARP’s recent article entitled “Can I Get Paid to Be a Caregiver for a Family Member?” says that you may be able to get paid to be a family caregiver, if you’re caring for a veteran. Veterans have four plans for which they may qualify.

Veteran Directed Care. Similar to Medicaid’s self-directed care program, this plan lets qualified former service members manage their own long-term services and supports. Veteran Directed Care is available in 37 states, DC, and Puerto Rico for veterans of all ages, who are enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration health care system and require the level of care a nursing facility provides but want to live at home or the home of a loved one. A flexible budget (about $2,200 a month) lets vets choose the goods and services they find most useful, including a caregiver to assist with activities of daily living. The vet chooses the caregiver and may select any physically and mentally capable family member, including a child, grandchild, sibling, or spouse.

Aid and Attendance (A&A) Benefits. This program supplements a military pension to help with the expense of a caregiver, and this can be a family member. A&A benefits are available to veterans who qualify for VA pensions and meet at least one of the following criteria. The veteran:

  • Requires help from another to perform everyday personal functions, such as bathing, dressing, and eating
  • Is confined to bed because of disability
  • Is in a nursing home because of physical or mental incapacity; or
  • Has very limited eyesight, less than 5/200 acuity in both eyes, even with corrective lenses or a significantly contracted visual field.

Surviving spouses of qualifying veterans may also be eligible for this benefit.

Housebound Benefits. Veterans who get a military pension and are substantially confined to their immediate premises because of permanent disability are able to apply for a monthly pension supplement. It’s the same application process as for A&A benefits, but you can’t get both housebound and A&A benefits simultaneously.

Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. This program gives a monthly stipend to family members, who serve as caregivers for vets who require help with everyday activities because of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001. The vet must be enrolled in VA health services and require either personal care related to everyday activities or supervision or protection, because of conditions sustained after 9/11. The caretaker must be an adult child, parent, spouse, stepfamily member, extended family member or full-time housemate of the veteran.

Reference: AARP (May 15, 2020) “Can I Get Paid to Be a Caregiver for a Family Member?”

What Happens If Power of Attorney Documents are Rejected?

It is frustrating when a bank or other financial institution declines a Power of Attorney. It might be that the form is too old, the bank wants their own form to be used, or there seems to be a question about the validity of the form. A recent article titled “What to know if your bank refuses your power of attorney” from The Mercury discusses the best way to prevent this situation, and if it occurs, how to fix it.

The most important thing to know is just downloading a form from the internet and hoping it works is always a bad idea. There are detailed rules and requirements about notices and acknowledgments and other requirements. Specific language is required. It is different from state to state. It’s not a big deal if the person who is giving the power of attorney is alive, well and mentally competent to get another POA created, but if they are physically or legally unable to sign a document, this becomes a problem.

There have been many laws and court cases that defined the specific language that must be used, how the document must be witnessed before it can be executed, etc. In one case in Pennsylvania, a state employee was given a power of attorney to sign by her husband. She was incapacitated at the time after a car accident and a stroke. He used the POA to change her retirement options and then filed for divorce.

At issue was whether she could present evidence that the POA was void when she signed it, invalidating her estranged husband’s option and his filing for her benefits.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that a third party (the bank) could not rely on a void power of attorney submitted by an agent, even when the institution did not know that it was void at the time it was accepted. For banks, this was a clear sign that any POAs had to be vetted very carefully to avoid liability. There was a subsequent fix to the law that provided immunity to a bank or anyone who accepts a POA in good faith and without actual knowledge that it may be invalid. However, it includes the ability for a bank or other institution or person to request an agent’s certification or get an affidavit to ensure that the agent is acting with proper authority.

It may be better to have both a POA from a person and one that uses the bank or financial institution’s own form. It’s not required by law, but the person from the bank may be far more comfortable accepting both forms, because they know one has been through their legal department and won’t create a problem for the bank or for them as an employee.

There are occasions when it is necessary to fight the bank or financial institution’s decision. This is especially the case, if the person is incapacitated and your POA is valid.

If there is any doubt about whether the POA would be accepted by the bank, now is the time to check and review the language and formatting with your estate planning or elder law attorney to be sure that the form is valid and will be acceptable.

Reference: The Mercury (July 7, 2020) “What to know if your bank refuses your power of attorney”

Baseball Champion Sues Daughter-In-Law, denies having Dementia

Eighty-two-year-old Giants great Orlando Cepeda filed a lawsuit against his daughter-in-law Camille Cepeda alleging elder financial abuse, fraud and infliction of emotional distress, as reported in the article “Giants great Orlando Cepeda denies having dementia, sues daughter-in-law for fraud” from the San Francisco Chronicle. He also accused her of negligence in handling his finances, after giving her power of attorney in 2018.

Cepeda accuses Camille of spending his money on personal expenses, including lease payments on a $62,000 Lexus, a Louis Vuitton handbag, expensive wine and taking out at least $24,000 in cash from his accounts. It also claims that she has placed all of his baseball memorabilia in a storage locker and will not give him the key or the location of the locker. That includes his National League Most Valuable Player trophy, which he wants back.

This is the latest news from a dispute that began after the Hall of Famer married his second wife, Nydia. They had two of Cepeda’s four sons, including Ali Cepeda, who is married to Camille. The parents are now not speaking to their son, and some of the brothers, four in total, have taken sides and are not speaking to each other.

Cepeda granted his daughter-in-law power of attorney in April 2018, two months after he suffered a heart attack and irreversible brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation. She was to have access to his accounts and pay his bills. Before the heart attack, she had handled his financial and business affairs.

On May 29, Camille filed a petition with the court seeking conservatorship of Cepeda, stating that he has dementia and cannot make his own financial decisions. Two of Cepeda’s sons, including Camille’s husband Ali, filed papers supporting her petition.

In Cepeda’s response, he cited two neuropsychological reports, including one done in May, that declared that he was fit to make his own medical decisions and understands all but the most complex financial issues. Cepeda says that his daughter-in-law filed for conservatorship to cover up the fraud that he is alleging in the lawsuit. He says that he does not need a conservator, and if anyone should have that role, it would be his wife Nydia.

The lawsuit filed by Cepeda offers a glimpse into why he believes she wants conservatorship, saying he doesn’t have the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of his remarriage, nor his decision to remove Camille as power of attorney and grant it to Nydia.

The suit alleges that Camille was opposed to the marriage from the start and even suggested they stage a fake ceremony that would not be legally sanctioned.

Cepeda’s lawsuit seeks damages, legal fees and demands that Camille return his memorabilia and all financial records she has allegedly refused to provide to account for how she handed his money. The suit also cites a $62,000 withdrawal to pay Cepeda’s tax bill, which was not actually paid. The filing says she was negotiating with the IRS, but she will not provide the documentation that he needs to settle with the government. Nor did she pay a medical bill for $6,800, although she did cash a check from the insurance company that was sent to pay for it.

Cepeda remains hopeful that the entire matter may be settled, before the case returns to court.

“It’s very painful,” Cepeda told a reporter. “I love my family. I love my kids. But this is life. You have to do what you have to do.”

Reference: San Francisco Chronicle (June 26, 2020) “Giants great Orlando Cepeda denies having dementia, sues daughter-in-law for fraud”

Elder Financial Abuse Risk Increasing for Seniors Isolated by Pandemic

The extended isolation and loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic is creating the perfect storm for financial exploitation of seniors, who are unable to visit with family members and friends, reports Fredericksburg Today in the article “SCC urges awareness of investment fraud among seniors due to increased pandemic isolation.” The unprecedented need to forgo socializing makes seniors who are already at risk, even more vulnerable.

In the past, scammers would deliberately strike during a health crisis or after the death of a loved one. By gathering data from obituaries and social media, even establishing relationships with support and social groups, scammers can work their way into seniors’ lives.

Social distancing and the isolation necessary to protect against the spread of the coronavirus has left many seniors vulnerable to people posing as their new friends. The perpetrators may not just be strangers: family members are often the ones who exploit the elderly. The pandemic has also led to changes in procedures in care facilities, which can lead to increased confusion and dependence for the elderly, who do not always do well with changes.

Here are a few key markers for senior financial abuse:

  • A new friend or caregiver who is overly protective and has gotten the person to surrender control of various aspects of their life, including but not limited to finances.
  • Fear or a sudden change in how they feel towards family members and/or friends.
  • A reluctance to discuss financial matters, especially if they say the new friend told them not to talk about their money with others.
  • Sudden changes in spending habits, or unexplained changes to wills, new trustees, or changes to beneficiary designations.
  • Large checks made out to cash, or the disappearance of assets.
  • Signatures on checks or estate planning documents that appear different than past signatures.

Not being able to visit in person makes it harder for family members to discern what is happening.  However, there are a few steps that can be taken by concerned family members. Stay in touch with the family member, by phone, video calls, texts or any means possible. Remind loved ones that scammers are always looking for an opportunity and may try to exploit them during the pandemic.

Every community has resources that can help, if elder financial abuse is a concern. An elder law estate planning attorney will be able to direct concerned family members or friends to local resources to protect their loved ones.

Reference: Fredericksburg Today (June 20, 2020) “SCC urges awareness of investment fraud among seniors due to increased pandemic isolation”

Save Your Family Stress and Plan Your Funeral

Making your way through the process of the death of a family member is an extremely personal journey, as well as a very big business that can put a financial strain on the surviving family.

Rate.com’s recent article entitled “Plan Your Own Funeral, Cheaply, and Leave Behind a Happier Family”  notes that on an individual basis, it can be a significant cost for a family dealing with grief. The National Funeral Directors Association found that the median cost for a traditional funeral, with a basic casket that also includes a vault (the casket liner most cemeteries require) can cost more than $9,000. With the cost of a (single) plot and the services of the cemetery to take care of the burial and ongoing maintenance and other expenses,  it can total more than $15,000.

Instead, if you opt for cremation and a simple service, it will run only $2,000 or less. That would save your estate or your family $13,000. Think of the amount of legacy that can grow from your last wishes.

If you want to research it further, it can be difficult. Without your directions, your grieving family is an easy mark for a death care industry that’s run for profit. Even with federal disclosure rules, most states make it impossible to easily comparison shop among funeral service providers, and online price lists aren’t required. However, you can do the legwork to make it easier on your family, when you pass.

Funeral homes also aren’t usually forthright about costs that are required rather than optional. The median embalming cost is $750.However, there’s no regulation requiring embalming. Likewise, a body need not be placed in a casket for cremation. The median cost for a cremation casket is $1,200 but an alternative “container” might cost less than $200.

The best thing you can do for your family is to write it down your wishes and plans and make it immediately discoverable.

It can be a great relief to tell your family everything you want (and don’t want). However, if that’s not feasible with your family dynamics, be certain that you detail of all your wishes in writing. You should also make sure that the document can be easily located by your executor.

Here’s a simple option: Write everything out, place your instructions in a sealed envelope and let your children and the executor know the location of the letter.

This elementary step can be the start to helping their decision-making when you pass away, and potentially provide some extra money to help them reach their goals.

Reference: rate.com (June 21, 2020) “Plan Your Own Funeral, Cheaply, and Leave Behind a Happier Family”

Can Bad Thoughts Bring on Dementia?

There is recent research that has shown a link between repeated patterns of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and signs of dementia. This study suggests a link between the key signs of dementia, the buildup of proteins in the brain and cognitive decline, and RNT.

Medical News Today reported in its recent article entitled “Link between dementia and repetitive negative thinking identified” that this study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The study set forth the foundation for future research to consider how the link may function, and if psychological therapies that treat RNT can inhibit Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

The CDC explains that dementia is a term that represents a variety of diseases characterized by cognitive decline, which includes trouble remembering, thinking or making decisions that adversely affect a person’s everyday life.

The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. This is a degenerative disease, which means it worsens over time. It’s not yet known exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease. The CDC says that there are likely several factors involved. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s.

Prior research has suggested that psychological factors, like depression and anxiety, may also have a connection to Alzheimer’s. This has led researchers to develop the concept of cognitive debt as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, which they believe is acquired by RNT. A large part of RNT are processes of rumination — repeatedly thinking about the past — and worry, being concerned about the future.

The research examined the participants’ RNT, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline levels for up to four years. They also measured the levels of tau and amyloid proteins in the brains of 113 of the participants. Scientists think that the buildup of these structures is key to the development of Alzheimer’s.

The authors of the new research discovered that the higher a person’s RNT, the faster their cognitive decline. They also found these people were more likely to have significant deposits of tau and amyloid proteins. However, although the research found a link between depression and anxiety and cognitive decline, they did not find a connection between depression and anxiety and the buildup of tau and amyloid proteins.

According to the lead author of the study Dr. Natalie Marchant of University College, London, United Kingdom, “[d]epression and anxiety in mid-life and old age are already known to be risk factors for dementia. Here, we found that certain thinking patterns implicated in depression and anxiety could be an underlying reason why people with those disorders are more likely to develop dementia.

“Taken alongside other studies that link depression and anxiety with dementia risk, we expect that chronic negative thinking patterns over a long period of time could increase the risk of dementia. We do not think the evidence suggests that short-term setbacks would increase one’s risk of dementia.

“We hope that our findings could be used to develop strategies to lower people’s risk of dementia, by helping them to reduce their negative thinking patterns.”

The study’s authors say that it’s probable that RNT contributes to Alzheimer’s in some way, possibly elevating an individual’s stress levels. However, they couldn’t discount the possibility that early signs of Alzheimer’s could lead to RNT.

Reference:  Medical News Today (June 11, 2020) “Link between dementia and repetitive negative thinking identified”

Should Nursing Homes Plan for Future Pandemics?

Roughly 6,000 nursing home residents have died during the pandemic in New York State.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities for one of the country’s most high-risk populations: our senior citizens.

Spectrum News reports in the article “Nursing Homes Could Be Required to Have Pandemic Plan” reports that a proposed bill in that state would require nursing homes to have plans for future pandemics, make those plans readily available on websites, provide regular updates on the status of patients and establish protection plans for staff and residents.

In addition, communication via videoconferencing must be made available for residents.

The bill would also mandate that a pandemic plan preserve a resident’s place in a nursing home after hospitalization is through. It would also include provisions for the facilities to have a minimum two-month supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The New York State Department of Health will be required to audit facilities annually for compliance.

“The nature of COVID19 exposed a tragic vulnerability among one of our most high-risk populations: our elderly,” said Assemblyman Joe Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat. “The rapid spread of the virus in nursing homes exposed a fatal flaw in pandemic planning and it is clear that more has to be done to protect nursing home residents and its healthcare workers.”

New York’s response to nursing homes during the crisis has come under some scrutiny. Part of that has been a March 25 order that required the facilities to take in COVID-positive patients.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has partially reversed that directive, by banning hospitals from discharging people to nursing homes who are still positive for the virus.

Cuomo has also placed some of the blame on the CDC guidelines for permitting nursing homes to take COVID residents. However, he didn’t raise the issue in a recent meeting with President Trump.

Twice weekly testing of nursing home and adult care facility staff is now underway. The testing capacity and supply has increased in New York over the past month.

The bill must still be considered by Governor Cuomo for approval.

Reference: Spectrum News (May 28, 2020) “Nursing Homes Could Be Required to Have Pandemic Plan”

Suggested Key Terms: Elder Law Attorney, Elder Care, Caregiving, Legislation

Why was Widow of Henry Ford II in a Fight over the Estate?

Henry Ford II’s heirs say that his attorney, Frank Chopin, tried to control their access to Ford’s 80-year-old widow, Kathleen DuRoss Ford.

Her daughters, Kimberly DuRoss and Deborah DuRoss Guibord, alleged that Chopin abused her, by “[forcing] pills down her throat.”

The Wealth Advisor article entitled “Ford Heirs Lose Battle to Oust Mother’s Allegedly Abusive Caregiver” explains that Chopin has power of attorney over the widow’s affair and denies the allegations.

A Palm Beach, Florida judge denied their request to have Chopin removed as her caregiver. It was a decision that left her daughters, grandchildren and even her 82-year-old sister, Sharon, distraught.

Tara DuRoss, a 23-year-old granddaughter of Ford’s, said that Chopin had restricted her time with her relatives. They were forced to scheduled conference calls and meetings away from her home. However, the calls then stopped.

“I used to call her every day. We just want to be able … to see her.”

Chopin said that it is untrue that Tara spoke to Kathleen daily. He called her an “idiot child,” and said the family was “estranged,” unless “they wanted something.”

Kathleen DuRoss Ford passed away on May 9.

Henry Ford II was also known as “HF2” or “Hank the Deuce.” He was the eldest son of Edsel Ford and eldest grandson of Henry Ford of the leading family in the American automotive industry.

After his death from pneumonia in 1987, DuRoss Ford was involved in a public fight over the fate of the estate, which was then thought to be at least $350 million. The legal battle eventually settled, and she received an annual allowance that was worth millions of dollars.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (March 31, 2020). “Ford Heirs Lose Battle to Oust Mother’s Allegedly Abusive Caregiver”

Will the Sunshine State Crack Down on Crimes against the Elderly?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill recently approving the creation of elder abuse fatality review teams.

These teams are authorized by Senate Bill 400, which permits, but doesn’t require the creation of elder death review teams in each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. The teams would review cases in their judicial circuit where abuse or neglect has been found to be linked to or the cause of an individual’s death.

The Naples Daily News’ recent article entitled “Deaths of Florida’s elderly who were abused or neglected to get increased scrutiny under new law” reports that for many years, the state has authorized teams to examine child deaths and domestic-violence deaths where abuse is involved. However, the state hasn’t had a comparable review when an elderly adult dies, even under suspicious circumstances.

State Senator Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, has sponsored the bill for the last four years and remarked that it’s “incumbent upon us as a state” to review cases of elder abuse and to look for gaps in service and possible policy changes to better protect the elderly.

“It can help to reduce elder abuse, if somebody knows that it’s going to be up for review if something happens to that senior,” said Gibson, the Senate minority leader. “The other thing is to prevent what happened in the cases they’re reviewing, to keep that from happening to another senior.”

Elder advocates believe that the new elder death review teams could help decrease the number of cases of nursing home neglect and mistreatment, like those identified in a recent USA TODAY Network – Florida. The investigation looked at 54 nursing home deaths from 2013 through 2017 where state inspectors cited neglect and mistreatment as factors.

The investigation found that Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration seldom investigated the deaths.

The new law states that these elder abuse fatality review teams can be established by state attorneys and would be part of the Department of Elder Affairs. They would be composed of volunteers and open to people from a variety of disciplines, such as law enforcement officers, elder law attorneys, prosecutors, judges, nurses and other elder care advocates.

The teams are restricted to looking at files that have been closed by the State Attorney’s Office, whether or not it resulted in criminal prosecution. Remarkably, state attorneys didn’t prosecute any of the 54 nursing home deaths reviewed in the network’s investigation.

Reference: Naples Daily News (June 11, 2020) “Deaths of Florida’s elderly who were abused or neglected to get increased scrutiny under new law”

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