Legal Issues

These links are in no way a substitute for legal or medical advice. Even the the best managed Web site is liable to be out of date and this is especially common with respect to legal advice because state and federal laws change all the time. Please treat these sites as background for a discussion with legal counsel or medical professionals.

General Surveys

An Older Person's Guide to Finding Legal Help From the AARP, this is a manual that defines the field of Elder law from the perspective of the legal consumer.

National Handbook on Laws and Programs Affecting Senior Citizens A dry, if comprehensive overview of all facets of law and the elderly. Presented by the American Bar Association. A PDF file requiring Adobe Acrobat©.

Massachusetts Legal Services Programs The Elder Law page on this site contains links to a series of clear, concise summary papers on legal issues of the elderly.

A Guide for Elders An online booklet prepared by the Gerontology Institute of the University of Massachusetts that provides summary information concerning a range of legal issues, especially financial, affecting the elderly. The booklet is specifically directed to a Massachusetts audience, but much of the information is of general applicability. On its Literature page, The Gerontology Institute website also provides links to lists of other publications, both web-based and print (an order form is posted on the site), on issues for the aging.

Finding Legal Services

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Features Questions & Answers when Looking for an Elder Law Attorney and a database Directory of Elder Law Attorneys.

Finding a Certified Elder Law Attorney Supplements the NAELA database. A part of the National Elder Law Foundation website. The Foundation oversees certification and a description of the requirements for certification is posted to the site.

Resources for Massachusetts Elders Legal Page Access to a searchable database of legal service providers in Massachusetts. Searchable by name of provider or particular issue; searches may be limited by county/city.

Public Benefits

Long Term Care Backwards and Forwards A work in progress, this multipart history of long term care in the United States is useful background to understanding the public benefits of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid that have come to define the safety net for elders in this country and that are currently under attack. An element of the ElderWeb site and written by the site's owner.

Legal Information Institute's Social Security Library Legal information in a fairly strict sense. The site has links to online versions of the Social Security Act and relevant rulings and decisions, but the focus of the site is an electronic version of the reference text Martin on Social Security.

Social Security Online For a less technical approach to understanding Social Security, it may be best to go straight to the source, the Social Security Administration's online presence. The Administration's site includes a short introduction Understanding Social Security and an extensive page of frequently asked questions. There is also a page of "Other Sites" which includes links to the official U.S. Government site for Medicare information and the official U.S. Government site for Medicaid information, as well as GovBenefits, an online screening mechanism by which an individual can determine eligibility for government benefits. Because Social Security is itself a political football for the current and recent Administrations, those interested may want to look at the positions on Social Security taken by AARP, the advocacy group for the aging.

Massachusetts Department of Medical Assistance While Medicare is a national insurance program, Medicaid is administered by the states. The Department of Medical Assistance performs that function in Massachusetts.

Proxies and Surrogate Decision-Making

"Living Wills"

Also called Advance Medical Directives. Massachusetts law does not specifically recognize "living wills" but does allow the more legally stringent "health proxy". A careful understanding of what proxy requires and entails is crucial.

End of Life Fact Sheet Presented by the Family Caregiver Alliance, this publication presents the significance of and preparations necessary for creating an advance medical directive.

Health Proxy Despite being produced for the MIT community, this article in health@mit, the MIT online medical newsletter, is generally useful as an outline of the requirements of the Massachusetts health proxy law.

Living Will Form (Advance Medical Directive)–Free Information Although part of a commercial site, this webpage succinctly defines terms and procedures, with a link to a page outlining Massachusetts health proxy law.

Guardianship and Power of Attorney

Legal Guardianship – the Facts An FAQ page presented by a nonprofit provider of guardianship services in Massachusetts.

National Guardianship Foundation The certifying body for legal guardians. The Foundation maintains lists, available through this site, of registered guardians (PDF file requiring Adobe Acrobat©).

Elder Abuse Sponsored by the Burlington Police Department and Lahey clinic, this site features links to information, including the applicable Massachusetts laws.

Estate Planning

The web is rife with law firm sites featuring FAQs and summary papers on the subject. For those who would prefer a source of information that is not so obviously beholden, the Guide for Elders publication by the University of Massachusetts (described above) is a good option.