Based on Illinois Lawyer’s votes, Leading Lawyer Magazine Fall/Winter Edition announced:

The Top Ten Elder Law Attorneys

1.  Rick L. Law

2.  Diana M. Law

We are grateful for our colleagues and we deeply appreciate the professional recognition.

We congratulate the other members of the Top Ten List:

3.  Kerry R. Peck, Peck Bloom LLC

4.  D. Rebecca Mitchell

5.  Eve C. Epstein, Epstein and Epstein

6.  Kenneth M. Bloom, Peck Bloom LLC

7.  Mark B. Epstein, Epstein and Epstein

8.  Janna S. Dutton, Dutton & Casey PC

9.  Joseph T. Monahan, Monahan & Cohen

10. Howard Samuel Berk, IL Disability Association & IL Disability Pooled Trust

 When the kids are growing up, you always worry about how they’re going to turn out.  While I always worried about my daughter Diana, she has far exceeded all of my hopes for her.  She has become a great law partner, outstanding attorney, and an excellent wife and mother.  I could not be more proud of her.

The Northern Illinois University College of Law Alumni Council recently recognized Diana as the 2011 Young Alumna of the Year.  The Alumni Council stated, “Her practice focuses on serving seniors and those who love them…Most often, Diana’s cients are burdened by a long term care crisis.  With passion and purpose, she serves the frail, elderly, children with disabilities, and disabled adults.”

The Alumni Council also recognized that Diana is the president of the 1,345 member Kane County Bar Association, and that the Illinois State Bar Association named her Young Lawyer of the Year for 2010.  She was selected to be a “Super Lawyer Rising Star,” and Leading Lawyers Network selected her as a top elder law attorney for 2010-2011.  Along with renowned Chicago attorney Kerry Peck (of the Peck Bloom Law Firm), Diana is the co-chair of the Task Force for Senior Fairness. 

By Diana’s Dad, Rick L. Law, Law ElderLaw LLP

 Pictured below:  Diana receiving the Young Alumna of the Year Award

 Other 2011 NIU alumni award recipients were:  Mark D. Gilwit, Esquire, Alumnus of the Year; Honorable Renee L. Robinson (posthumously), Outstanding Service Award; Honorable Ronald G. Matekaitis, Distinguished Service Award; Mrs. Betty DeGunther, Honorary Law Alumna Award; Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbridge, Public Service Award; and Rachel Hernandez Hoag, Esquire, Mentor of the Year Award. 

 For more information on the recipients and their awards, click here.

Task Force for Senior Fairness

“Legislators Block Proposed Illinois Nursing Home Medicaid Rules”—that was this morning’s newspaper headline in our state capital.  That headline would not have happened except for major efforts on the part of our legal/political/lobbying team.

Here is a little background:  Last year, I needed to take a break from blogging so we could create a team to lobby in defense of the frail and the elderly citizens of Illinois.  We had not planned on taking a one-year-long blogging hiatus—but when the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IHFS) proposed its first draft of Medicaid rules changes in May of 2010, we felt the regulations were critically important enough to give it our full attention.

And give it our full attention we did!  We created the Task Force for Senior Fairness.  The task force included concerned attorneys from all over the state of Illinois and the Cook County Public Guardians Office.  We have worked alongside the Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  With this amazing group of people we have been able to achieve far more than we had initially thought possible, including:

• Hiring a capable lobbyist to help us communicate an understandable message to our legislators in the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (which administers Medicaid).
• Convincing legislators that while overhauling the Medicaid rules must be done in compliance with new federal law, it would be unfair to make the new Illinois Medicaid rules more harsh than the federal mandate.
• Creating a website (www.DontHurtGrandma.com) to help deliver information to politicians as well as to public interest groups and the average concerned citizen.

Fighting to make a difference, is important and invigorating work, but in many ways it has been like taking on an additional job!

There have been quite a few people who have been integral to our fight for senior fairness, including task force co-chair and renowned elder law attorney Kerry Peck; elder law attorney  (and my own daughter) Diana Law, who served as the task force co-chair and tireless advocate for rights for seniors; senior communications expert Jessica Bannister (a farmer’s daughter who is the webmaster and legislative chair for the Kendall County Republican Women); and our talented and highly regarded democratic lobbyist Michael Bauer.  We hope to feature some of these amazing colleagues in future blog posts, so that our readers can get to know and appreciate them as we do.

And of course I can’t send out a post about what’s been going on over the past year without talking a little bit about my family.  Some of my readers know that I have been an avid horseman for many years, which is why I was thrilled to be able to buy my two oldest granddaughters (5½-year-old Lucy and 4½-year-old Daphne) their first riding helmets this winter!  I can’t wait to start riding with both girls this summer, enjoying some grandfather-granddaughter “horseplay.”

Feel free to contact me at ricklaw@lawelderlaw.com.  I look forward to catching up with you, keeping you informed, and continuing the conversation here at my blog!

Sunday morning traffic jam, Crawford Colorado

I had just checked into the Crawford Country Store and Motel—a combination convenience store and motel in Crawford, Colorado.  I had chosen to live at this clean and basic lodging during a five-day horse training clinic on the western slope of the Rockies.  After I found and entered my room, I dropped my bags and headed for the bathroom.  I walked in, turned to my right, and flipped the light switch—nothing happened.  “The light bulb must be burned out,” I thought.  I tried again—and nothing.  Well, I hustled back downstairs to the country store area and told the folks behind the counter that my bathroom light did not work.  A young man looked at me, chuckled, and said, “You need to flip the switch behind the towel.”  My jaw dropped and I asked, “There’s a switch behind the towel?”  He assured me that there was, as he had just used it that morning when he cleaned the room.  Shaking my head and wondering about whomever had decided to install a towel rack over a light switch, I went back upstairs to see if this was really true.  I put my hand behind the towel and felt a switch.  Bingo, the light turned on!

I thought about this for a moment…  I had a low opinion of the decision to place a light switch “behind the towel”—but then it reminded me of how often in life the real answer to something is hidden from us.  The obvious answer is often not the right answer—this is why we need to find those professional counselors, health care providers, and lawyers who know where to find the light switch we need.

Imagine for a moment that you suddenly have a diagnosis of some grave physical ailment.  You would most likely consider immediately hustling off to see experts places such as the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic.  Another example: even though we are lawyers ourselves, we often hire other lawyers to give us advice in specific legal problem areas.  When we need to hire a lawyer, we seek out an experienced practitioner with a proven record.  You see, when I need an attorney, I want the best!  We don’t just hire the first person who says, “I’m sure I can take care of you, but I’m going to have to do some research in the area first.”  We hire legal counselors and refer our clients only to attorneys who can readily say, “Oh yes, we handle situations like yours every day.”  Those legal advocates know where the hidden light switches have been placed.

When it comes to dealing with the issues of the frail, elderly, and disabled, Law ElderLaw knows where those hidden light switches are.  Our areas of concentration are elder law estate planning, disability, Medicaid, and V.A. long term care benefits.  Our outstanding Law ElderLaw team turns on the lights for our clients every day!

My 4 year-old granddaughter, Lucy, has been explaining my recent illness by flatly stating, “Grandpa’s got a bug in his lungs.”  Thankfully after an almost two-week illness, I am ready to head back to the office… for half a day. (After all, “In Sickness and in Health” is the official name of my weekly blog, even though its host website is http://ricksblog.lawelderlaw.com.)  During my bout with sinusitis—which morphed into bronchitis—I experienced several things worth sharing.

First, when we are healthy, we do take a lot for granted.  I am grateful to be able to sleep in a bed again after many nights of trying to sleep in a chair.

Second, being a lawyer is not very helpful when you need medical care.  One physician who did a follow-up checkup told me that the prior doctor warned her that “he is a lawyer.”  I was not exactly sure how I should feel about that, but  it was obvious that we lawyers cause medical personnel to act as though they are treating a sick cobra. Third, I enjoyed using Wikipedia to look up everything I could about my illnesses and medications.  As a predominantly left-brained analytical, it is very satisfying to come home from a doctor’s office or the urgent care and look up information.  It was very helpful to understand the diagnosis of bronchitis.  I actually understood my own anatomy better and could better apply what the doctor had told me to do and what to expect.  In addition, I had been admonished to NOT use a cough suppressant  medications.  “But why?” I wondered.  “I feel like I really need some cough medicine!”  To better understand that order, I looked up cough suppressant medicines and learned that with bronchitis, its better to “promote coughing.”  Cough suppressants actually make it more difficult to clear the bronchial tubes.

It really helped to check all of the information out via Wikipedia ( www.wikipedia.org) and WebMD (www.webmd.com).  I could better understand why I got a little crazy after spraying Albuterol into my  body.  Nonetheless, that medication is a life-saver for asthmatics and folks afflicted with acute bronchitis.  For more on that, see the article entitled “Ventolin remains a breath of fresh air for asthmatics after 40 years.”

I am extremely grateful to my wife, Rose, and the entire legal team at Law ElderLaw.  We recently celebrated our 5th anniversary as an elder law-focused practice.  When I decided to dedicate myself to the frail elderly and the disabled, one of my biggest concerns was my own age.  One of my chief goals has been to make sure that if and when something happens to me, in that I cannot serve as the leader, the Law ElderLaw team would be strong enough to carry on.  Based on recent experience, I can assure everyone that Law ElderLaw is being ably managed and staffed by my successors.  Nonetheless, it’s time for me to get back to work!

Our Law ElderLaw motto is “Serving Seniors and Those Who Love Them.”  Jo Buscemi, niece of Raffaella Calabrese (more affectionately known as “Auntie Florence”), shared these words with me and asked me to share them with you:

Auntie Florence

Dear Mr. Law,

Around October 2008 my mother and I had our first meeting with Mr. Jonathan Johnson in regards to my Aunt Raffaella Calabrese (“Auntie Florence”).  My aunt had suffered for years with dementia and had various (six in all) live-in caregivers.  I was told by many to keep my aunt in familiar surroundings for as long as possible and I being her power of attorney, I did exactly that.

I came to your Aurora office one day and had our initial meeting with Jonathan.  I was very apprehensive.  Norridge HealthCare Facility recommended that I talk with you folks.  Well, after our second meeting with Jonathan and many phone calls and questions, we returned in about November of 2008 and contracted with your firm for assistance.  I put off as long as I possibly could placing Auntie in a nursing home, and then only because our sixth caregiver was returning to Poland and Auntie had exhausted all her life’s savings in addition to what I paid for from my savings.  I have MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and it was difficult to care for my aunt and mom, so I had to quit my job two years ago.  But this letter is not about me—it is about my Auntie Florence.

Auntie went to live at Norridge HealthCare Facility on June 18, 2009 and sadly, she passed away on February 9, 2010.  We were very satisfied with this facility and its staff.  During this time I was assigned to Gina Salamone as our attorney at Law ElderLaw.  I know I drove Gina and Sean (and everyone who answered the phone) nuts with all my calls and my frantic questions and nervousness.  I do believe Gina and I have a bond, though, and I trusted her with my precious family member and for that I am very grateful to her.

Jonathan Johnson and Gina Salamone

I have recommended people to your firm and I have even gone as far as handing out Jonathan’s and Gina’s phone numbers—and advised these people to get all their ducks in a row now rather than wait.

I have attached a picture of Auntie Florence and I wish you to express my family’s sincere appreciation for all the thousand times I called, ranted, cried, and went nuts—but your staff never gave up, not once.  Gina even went to the DHS regional manager on our behalf.

Mr. Law, I really appreciate everything your entire staff did for Auntie, and I promise you I will always recommend people who need this type of help to your firm.  God bless everyone at Law ElderLaw in Aurora, Illinois.  Thank you all again on behalf of Auntie Florence and the Buscemi family—we truly thank you.   Please enjoy the catered lunch on Thursday that my family is having delivered to your office.

Jo Buscemi

Enjoying the meal

Robin Spang as Wonder Woman

I’d like to introduce you to Robin Spang, our intake paralegal.

Robin and I have known each other for many years.  Robin has become one of the most valuable players on our team.  That’s saying a lot, because we have a team filled with valuable players.

As an intake paralegal, Robin is our front line in receiving inquiries regarding the solutions that we provide in the area of Medicaid, estate protection, VA benefits, and disability planning.  When someone calls Robin, she is authorized to spend unlimited amounts of time assisting them in the discovery of whether or not we are an appropriate solution for the particular burden they are carrying.

We receive a substantial number of professional referrals, and attorneys are a primary source of our business.  Recently I saw that Robin had received a very complimentary e-mail from an attorney who had referred a client to us.  This attorney had sent to me a string of e-mails beginning with a request regarding a Medicaid problem.  The initial request went something like this: “I am inquiring to see if you could help me to decode Medicaid and real estate obligations that I’m dealing with.  If this is an area that you understand, please let me know and I will call and set an appointment.  I need clarity regarding what is legal and what I can do regarding my parents home, assets, and life insurance.  I just need to know what their obligations are.  Thank you.”

The initial attorney responded by telling the prospective client that this was not an area of her practice and she wanted to refer them to Law ElderLaw.  Her client then contacted our firm and spoke with Robin.  I don’t know how long Robin spent with her, but obviously she gave her the right kind of answers and in a way that made her feel that she had received some relief and peace of mind.  She later notified her attorney as follows: “I can’t thank you enough for steering us towards Law ElderLaw.  What an incredible experience to have the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders.  This firm is nothing but helpful and empathetic!  I never thought that sitting down and talking with people from a law firm could be such a pleasant experience.  I’ll be sleeping much better now.  Thanks again.”

Those of us here at Law ElderLaw are very grateful for referrals—and for Robin, who receives those initial calls.  Funny thing is, I never knew that I was working with a woman who could lift “the weight of the world.”  I’m sure glad she’s here!

Thanks, Robin!
Rick

We all like to save money—especially on legal matters.  Millions of people are now using do-it-yourself online legal form services like www.legalzoom.com.  To check it out, I went there, too. Their home page proudly raves, “Save time and money… created by top attorneys… helps you create reliable legal documents… we even review your answers and guarantee your satisfaction.”  There is even a testimonial from an attorney who says, “As an attorney, I have been pleasantly surprised with the ease and efficiency of legalzoom.”

What is not as obvious, at the very bottom of the home page, is their disclaimer of liability.  Go ahead and  scroll down to the bottom of the page—you’ll see the disclaimer in very light print. It states:

“The information provided in this site is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered.  Legalzoom’s legal document service is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm.  Legalzoom cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction.  Please note that your access to and use of legalzoom is subject to additional terms and conditions.”

The words “additional terms and conditions’ is a hot-link that if you click on it will take you to an even longer disclaimer! The disclaimer guts all of the assurances of reliability and suitability of use that you may have assumed were part of the “actual review of your answers and guarantee of satisfaction.”  YOU ARE THE “LAWYER” WHO CHOOSES THE LEGAL FORM!

If you decide to be your own lawyer, please understand that  legalzoom has the best of all worlds.  They advertise that they will provide you with the best form of your choosing and save you money—but if you ever have a problem because of that document, they’re not responsible.  You are the one who made the decision about which legal document was right for you and your circumstances.

Just yesterday in a meeting with a client, that client exclaimed, “Wow, I never knew that there were so many things to think about in our estate planning.”  I responded, “You know, that’s what most people say when it comes to estate planning, disability, Medicaid, or veteran’s benefits.  You don’t do this work every day, so you just can’t know all of the issues.”

The real value of what any professional counselor does is listen to your description of your circumstances and goals, and then choose the best course of action.

There is an old story about a factory which shut down due to an equipment failure.  The owner of the factory called a renowned expert to rush to the factory to get things moving. The owner told him, “This shutdown is costing us $100,000 per day!”  The expert arrived, walked around the faulty machine, then took out a screwdriver and adjusted a thing or two.  Within moments the machine came back to life and the factory began to hum with activity.  The owner was thrilled—until he was given a bill for $10,000.  He roared, “But it took you less than 10 minutes to fix the machine—it cannot possibly cost $10,000!”  The expert calmly responded, “No, it took me a lifetime to know exactly where and how to use that screwdriver.  The bill is $10,000—but the value to you is $100,000 per day.”

Moral of the story:  The right solution for the circumstances often requires a lifetime of preparation.

Rick Law in 2004

Rick Law in 2009

Today I stop living a lie! Despite the old photo I have been showing you, I really don’t have brown hair anymore—and unfortunately, I now need to wear my eyeglasses all the time.  The photos above are both of me, Rick Law, 2004 and 2009.  I promise to no longer hide behind my former, more youthful 55-year-old portrait. No siree, I’m now a 59-year-old white-haired grandpa, and proud of it!

Let me reflect on the passage of the last five years—“Rick Law, 2004-2009.”  Someone insightfully said that the “dash” between dates symbolizes all of the life events that took place during that time.  As an  elder law attorney who works with the issues of the frail, the senior citizen, and those with disabilities of any age, some of the biggest changes that I have noticed over the last five years are:

1. Now the Boomers are coming into my office. Five years ago, my practice was totally focused on my parent’s generation, the Greatest Generation—but now it’s our turn.  We, the Boomers, are starting to die, become disabled, have memory issues and mobility issues, experience young-onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and have other longevity problems.
2. The federal and state governments have insufficient resources to meet the demand, so they keep creating even bigger barriers to accessing long term health care benefits.  This is true despite the current president’s recent health care promise that “I will not let a bureaucrat come between you and quality health care.”
3. The speed of change forces my legal team and I to have to “sprint” to remain honed and ready advocates.

For me personally, some of the most important things that have happened in the “dash” of the last five years are:

1. The startup and growth of our law practice, which is focused in the areas of estate protection and planning, disability, Medicaid, and veteran’s benefits for the over-65.  We have gone from three employees to a great team of twenty!
2. The birth of my four beautiful grandchildren—Lucy, Daphne, Evan, and Phoebe.
3. Having served over 1,500 clients throughout Illinois.
4. Delighting in the presence of our bright young attorneys—Diana M. Law, partner; Gina Salamone, Esq.; and Zachary Hesselbaum, Esq.  It makes me feel good to know that when and if something happens to me, these three can lead the legal team while serving our clients and their families.
5. The founding of the Veterans Benefit Institute, which has been one of my greatest legal experiences.  It has allowed us the opportunity to provide education about VA benefits for the over-65 wartime veteran to more than 80 law firms from around the country.
6. My entrance into the blogging world, which has allowed me to get to know some of the most wonderful, caring, and life-lifting people that I have ever met in my life.

So far this ‘aging thing’ has been full of love and life.  I am trying to follow the wit and wisdom of the great philosopher, Lucille Ball, who said, “The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.”  Here’s to eternal hope!

Rick

A number of times I have had clients tell me that they love their adult children, but  they have a child who has chosen a destructive lifestyle.  Sometimes it’s a mental health issue, or sometimes it’s just a matter of making very bad choices.  These parents do not want to abandon any of their children—but they also do not want to give money to fuel the fire that is consuming their child.  They come to me and ask me what to do.  These are not persons with a legally defined disability—but they will squander all of their inheritance unless their parents find a way to provide “lifetime love and protection” over estate assets.  The answer is what I call the Lifetime Love and Protection Trust (LPT).

A Love and Protection Trust is designed to be a legal tool to provide protection, motivation, and encouragement for an adult child who is unable to make careful and supportive decisions with his or her money.  The LPT works to ensure that your investment in your adult child is used to further your caring purposes, positive values, and enduring concerns for his or her well-being.

A professional trustee will follow your written trust instructions and safeguard your property to benefit your child.  Trained investment professionals will safeguard the money and work to maximize a reasonable and profitable return on the assets that you have left to be invested.  By law and by the trust document itself, the trustee must make prudent and intelligent decisions to protect your child and your trust monies.

Unfortunately, it happens all too often that adult children squander their entire inheritance unless you take control and help them by making a final gift of love and protection by using a lifetime trust.  The LPT prevents an adult child from foolishly spending, wasting, and losing your hard-earned estate.  Your investment in your child is protected from creditors, failed marriages, and other predators.

Some adult children consistently make destructive choices and therefore are extremely vulnerable to creditor lawsuits and many other types of legal claims.  An LPT can be designed to discourage substance abuse and to provide for the special needs of your adult child.  You can and should build protective walls around the legacy that you have chosen to leave your child.

Build a fortress with this trust.  At its most basic, a love and protection trust will be there for your child long after you are no longer able to be directly involved.  Your legacy of love, protection, and sound investment management will give your adult child the best chance to still have money available if and when he or she eventually chooses to seek help to make a positive life transformation.