Attorneys who work with elderly clients or those with disabilities may need to counsel those clients on challenging life and death issues. One such issue is the decision to stop eating and drinking when the client is facing an irreversible medical condition. This may not be a decision attorneys feel prepared to handle, but as Michael Gilfix and Myra Gerson Gilfix point out in their article, “Decision to Stop Eating and Drinking,” p. 44, attorneys must understand what’s involved in reaching this decision and tread carefully when explaining this option to their clients.
Another issue that attorneys and trustees may need to handle, for which they may feel unprepared, is paying individuals providing services in a client’s home (for example, paying a caregiver from a trust for an elderly client). As Rachel M. Green and Cheryl C. Severson note in their article, “Paying Employees Directly From a Trust,” p. 33, the trustee is responsible for thoroughly and effectively managing these employment duties to fulfill the trust’s legal obligations as an “employer.”
Our Elder Care/Special Needs Committee Report also includes an article on the “unwinding” of state public health emergency rules that were enacted pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to help individuals on Medicaid from being disenrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if you’re interested in recent case law about elder law/special needs issues, including the rules regarding nursing homes, check out “Special Needs and Elder Law Update,” p. 39, by Amy C. O’Hara.
This month’s issue also includes our Committee Report: Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families & Family Offices, with articles on family governance, how the Corporate Transparency Act affects family offices, the backlash against environmental, social and governance investing, considerations for advisors serving multi-national family offices and private equity in a changing environment.