Elder Abuse Settlements
Skilled Healthcare Group recently agreed to settle for $50 million a class action lawsuit alleging nursing home elder abuse. A jury had previously awarded $670 million in the nursing home lawsuit. Skilled Healthcare had appealed the award.
Skilled Healthcare operates 22 assisted living facilities in California. Patients and their families brought a lawsuit against the nursing home operator over inadequate staffing levels. Skilled Healthcare admitted no wrongdoing, but the settlement requires independent evaluation of their staffing levels for two years.
Elder abuse is not the only criminal behavior prompting nursing home lawsuits. In Tennessee, a settlement was recently reached in the case of 92-year-old Rose Michaels, whose home healthcare aide, Wessa Tanubo, was convicted of stealing $30,000 from her.
The woman’s family sued the company that employed Tanubo for elder abuse after learning Tanubo had prior felony convictions and the agency had not conducted adequate background checks. After reaching a settlement with Rose Michaels’ family, Home Care Assistance Company now conducts background checks on all providers through the US Department of Justice.
For more about settlements in nursing home lawsuits, other forms of negligence, and why cases end in settlements, turn to SettlementBoard.com.
Will and Trusts Disputes
I was thinking about the future and what inevitably was to come the other day when I realized that I do not know whether my grandparents or my parents even have an updated will and trust. This is troubling considering how large our family is. With that many opinions and emotions involved in a interpretation of an outdated will god only knows the outcome and whether or not our families property assets will be salvaged and pass on as needed.
Considering that Elvis Presley's estate was worth 10 million at the time of his death but after taxes, debts and other various fees due to poor planning his heirs only received a little under a million. Now my family is by far nowhere near that in worth but in terms of family value there are many things worth saving and not being taken by the state.
I saw that above example on Gregorek and Associates, PLLC website and was reading through a lot of the information they offer free on there. It's quite eye opening though many people try to avoid the subject due to emotions however I think we must be grown ups here as well as realists and do whats proactive.
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The Importance of Legal Care for the Elderly
As we age, our physical, financial, and legal needs change. Health considerations are often paramount. Choice among different residential arrangementsalone at home, with relatives, in a nursing home or assisted living facilitycan seem overwhelming. Yet taking the proper precautions to care for aging generations is a something that should never be overlooked.
Everyone ages, but trends in the aging population have changed. What used to be considered elderly was 65 years and older. Today, however, many of those individuals are still quite active. Also changing is the average life expectancy of an elderly person, and the fact that the elder population is increasing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2009, the estimated population of those aged 70 and over was 4.9 million, including more than 82,000 of those who are over 95. The population of the elderly is growing in proportion to the number of young people.
This means more care is needed to help our aging population as they move into their golden years. There seem to be assisted living homes popping up on every corner. There are also more medicines available for geriatric care, and elder care has become its own industry.
Knowing how to provide for parents, grandparents, and spouses in their senior years means having a clear understanding of a senior's rights, elder care laws in Brooklyn and throughout New York, and how a Brooklyn elder care attorney can help you with health, financial, and legal affairs in Brooklyn and Queens.
A reliable New York attorney should understand what is needed to deal with the issues facing those who are seniors and those who care for seniors. With changes in healthcare reform and Medicaid assistance, having a Brooklyn elder care lawyer can help:
- Handle emergency care situations
- Develop a long-term estate plan that takes into consideration wills, living wills, establishment of financial security, and future residential options
- Establish durable power of attorney
- Set up a health care proxy or medical power of attorney
An experienced and caring Brooklyn elder law attorney will focus on protecting the rights of the elderly and their families. Life is full of uncertainties and unexpected events, but it does not mean you should not be prepared.
Estate Planning Essential Documents
When you are preparing a will or trust to administer your estate upon death, every person should consider implementing the following legal documents to ensure that your affairs are properly handled during your lifetime when you are preparing for your estate planning in Jacksonville.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document would appoint another person, known as an attorney-in-fact, to make business, financial and legal decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to act. A Durable Power of Attorney can reduce or eliminate the need and cost needed to secure a court-appointed guardian to manage your affairs in the event you should become unable to handle them yourself.
Designation of Health Care Surrogate
This document allows you to appoint another person, known as your health care surrogate, to make medical decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to consent to medical treatment.
Living Will
This document provides your health care surrogate and health care binding instructions concerning the circumstances in which life-prolonging medical procedures which provide no curative benefit may be withheld or withdrawn.
Declaration of Preneed Guardian
This document allows you to appoint who will serve as your guardian in the unlikely event your affairs cannot be properly administered by your attorney-in-fact and health care surrogate.
Contact the Law Offices of Todd Watson, P.A. today for legal assistance in dealing with wills, trusts, and other matters of estate litigation in Jacksonville, Florida.
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