Beyond Elder Law: New Directions in Law and Aging

228 Pages·2012·1.555 MB·English

by  Terry Carney (auth.), Israel Doron, Ann M. Soden (eds.)

Beyond Elder Law
.
Israel Doron Ann M. Soden
l
Editors
Beyond Elder Law
New Directions in Law and Aging
Editors
IsraelDoron AnnM.Soden
UniversityofHaifa NationalInstituteofLaw
Dept.Gerontology PolicyandAging
Haifa,Israel Montreal,Canada
ISBN978-3-642-25971-5 e-ISBN978-3-642-25972-2
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-25972-2
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2012935243
#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2012
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Dedicated to my late mother, Hava Doron (Bloy) for
herendlesslove.
Israel(Issi)Doron
Dedicatedtomylatefather,JamesA.Soden,C.M.,Q.C.,
forhispromotionofjusticeandtheglobalvillageandto
my late sister, Dr. Lesley Soden, for her unconditional
loveofherfellowman.
AnnM.SodenAd.E.
.
Foreword
Retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice, the Honorable Claire L’Heureux-Dubé,
approached me at this year’s Quebec bar convention to say, “Ann, your Elder Law has
reallybecomesomething.IrememberwhenyoufirstintroducedmetoitandIquestioned
whetherthiswasmerelythemarketingofgenerallawtoaparticularclientele.Andthenyou
enlightenedme.”
Theyearofthatfirstmeetingwas2002.InspiredandmentoredbytheCommis-
siononLawandAging(Commission)oftheAmericanBarAssociation(ABA)the
NationalElderSectionoftheCanadianBarAssociation(CBA)hadjustbeenborn
andwithitanimmediaterecognitionofanewareaofpracticeandoflawinCanada.
ThefieldofElderLaworLawandAging,asitwasalsoknown,beganinearnest.
IexplainedtoMaˆıtreL’Heureux-Dubéthatfromapracticeperspectivewewere
serving older adults and those playingimportant roles in the lives ofolder adults:
legalrepresentatives,family,andotherprofessionals.Wewoulddevelopaframe-
work for examining and understanding the impact of aging on laws, policies and
practices andinsodoingtakeaccountofthesocio-legalandmedico-legaldimen-
sionsofanagingpopulation.
Iwentontoexplainthatlawyershadnotbeenatthetable,norweretheypartof
any multidisciplinary bodies examiningthese important questionsofthe day. The
legalaspectsofagingformednopartofthestudyofgerontology,forexample.As
lawyers we were particularly equipped to defend legal rights and the important
values of older adults: dignity, the freedom from age discrimination; security,
including financial and workplace security, the promise of a health care system
meetingtheirneedsandprotectionfromabuseandexploitation;andautonomy,the
right to be treated as independent beings, even in the presence of diminished
capacity.
From an academic standpoint there were many specific legal issues affecting
older adults that would benefit from multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary
research to ensure that their rights were appropriately and respectfully addressed.
Someareasoflawswouldbefairerandmoreeffectiveiftheyreflectedtheissuesof
aging.Otherswouldrequirethatageistandage-relatedreferenceswhichperpetuated
vii
viii Foreword
judgments,policies,practicesandviewsthatexcessivelyorunnecessarilyrestricted
older people’s rights and autonomy be reformed or expunged. Certain legal terms
expressedoutdatedsocialconceptsjustifyingpaternalisticinterventions.
MadameL’Heureux-Dubéwentontohonoruswitha“SpecialNote”inthefirst
text on issues and concepts in Law and Aging in Canada, Advising the Older
Client,1 calling upon us to remember that we were a society for all ages. In our
effortstoaddresstheissuesofagingwewerenottosetolderpersonsapartinsome
newclass.Wewerenottoghettoizethem.Ihadtakenthatadmonishmenttoheart
throughoutthedevelopmentandproposaloftheareaandwillcarryherwordswith
mealways.
Andhermostrecentcommentatthebarconvention,agenerouscompliment,of
course,wouldstaywithmeaswell.Yes,thefieldhadreallybecome“something”.
Butwhathadwedoneandbecome?Werewemovingfastenoughandonallfronts?
Wherewereweonourarcofentryintothisfield?Werewejustbeginningorinmid-
course?Wereoureffortsmerelyfragmentedorweretheyframed?Whenwouldour
missionbeaccomplished?Whatdirectionswerewetaking?Wouldwenecessarily
recede into the fabric of general law once we had accomplished our professional
teaching,researchandadvocacyoncurrentlawandagingissues?
Wehad,bynomeans, analyzed everylawandpolicy,advocatedeveryneeded
reform or ensured the respect and sensitive application in the practice of existing
lawbutCanadianElderLawhadcertainlycomeofagewithinthespaceof10years.
National and provincial professional legal associations of the CBA had been
established across Canada and in its territories within its first year and continuing
educationconferencesonsubstantivelawandprofessionalpracticesubjectstookto
the national stage in 2003; research institutes on law and aging have existed in
BritishColumbiaandQuebecsince2003and2004,respectively.CoursesinElder
LawandLawandAgingarenowtaughtatseveraluniversitiesinfacultiesoflaw,
socialworkandgerontologyatthebaccalaureateandMasterslevels;thepioneering
communitylegalaidclinicopenedin1985toserveTorontoseniors,theAdvocacy
CenterfortheElderly,hasbeenfollowedbyprobonoclinicsinQuebecin2007,in
British Columbia in 2008 and at Queens University Faculty of Law, Kingston,
Ontario in 2010 to provide research, direct client services, public education and
advocacy within these provinces. Members of the National Elder Law Section
work, on behalf of the CBA and in their own right, with provincial and federal
governmentsonamyriadofissuesofagingfromhealthcare,toend-of-lifeissues,
abuseandexploitationlegislationandpolicystrategies,uniformlawdevelopment,
financial literacy, housing and care options, pensions and benefits and informal
caregiverbenefits.
WehadlearnedmuchfromlegalwritersandacademicsintheUnitedStatesand
from the Commission, in particular. The Commission had opened in 1979 to
research, educate and advocate the legal problems of older Americans and those
serving them, particularly lawyers in the public sector. The ABA had taken an
1Soden(2005).
Foreword ix
unprecedented leadership role in addressing legal issues and professional practice
inamultidisciplinaryandintegratedwayandlaidthefoundationforthecreationof
theNationalAcademyofElderLawAttorneys(NAELA)whichwasestablishedin
1988. Together with the ABA, NAELA developed a certification program for
privatepractitionersservingolderadults.Planningandeligibilityforpublicmedi-
cal services and long-term care benefits had given rise to vibrant, creative law
practices,whichfirstdefinedthemultidisciplinaryandholisticapproachesofElder
Law.
ItishardtopredictwhereLawandAgingandthepracticeofElderLawwillbe
in10oreven30yearsinCanada,theUnitedStatesandbeyond.Specializedlegal
practitioners serving the legal and planning issues of older adults, advocating
procedural fairness in the determination of incapacity, legal representation and
other protective measures, and providing skilled approaches to prevention and
resolution of family disputes and transitional issues in aging will continue to be
indemandbyanever-expandingagingpopulation.
Thesubstantivelawareasthatmanyofthesepractitionersconcentrateonwithin
the Elder Law field vary from Wills and Estates Law, to Family Law and Health
Law.ThereisalsotheholisticpracticemodeloftheElderLawpractitioneroffering
legalplanning,laterlifeandcareplanningandconflictresolution.ThisElderLaw
practitionertouchesonalloftheserelatedfieldsandothersincludingsuchdiverse
areas as Housing (Real Estate) Law, Criminal Law, Tax Law, Labor Law and
AdministrativeLaw.Giventheirextensiveskillssetandunderstandingsofmedical
andsocialissuesnewdirectionsfortheElderLawpractitionerbeyondthepractice
ofElderLawincludeDisabilityLaw,specialneedstrustsworkaswellasworkfor
adultchildrenofolderclientswhoactascaregiversandlegalrepresentatives.
In time all practitioners in fields as diverse as Banking and Business Law will
developspecialknowledgeandskillstosensitivelydealwithissuesaffectingtheir
olderclients.Aspractitionersbecomeattunedtotheseissuesthespeculationisthat
we will move beyond Elder Law and that its identity will disappear into the
landscapeofgenerallaw.
DespitethesubstantialgroundlaidintheUnitedStateswithinprivateandpublic
sectorsofpracticeofElderLawthereislittleevidenceofanydiminishingrelevance
ofthefield.TheCommission reportedonitsthirtiethanniversaryin2009thatthe
field will, for the foreseeable future, continue to be “exciting and evolving for
lawyersmovedbygoalsofautonomy,dignityandqualityoflifeforagingmembers
ofsociety...ofanyage.”2
QuestionsstillariseastowhetherElderLawismorethanapracticearea.Itisby
nomeansuniversallyrecognizedasadiscreteareaoflawineithertheUnitedStates
or Canada. Many educators, researchers and advocates within the field, however,
believethatitis,albeitdifficulttodefine.MuchlikethefieldofInternationalLaw
whichexaminesinternationalissuesacrossvariousfieldsoflaw,ElderLaworLaw
andAgingexamineslawandpracticethroughthelensofaging.CharlieSabatinoof
2Bifocal(2009),atp.109.