Beyond Elder Law: New Directions in Law and Aging PDF
Preview Beyond Elder Law: New Directions in Law and Aging
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 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialis concerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting, reproductiononmicrofilmorinanyotherway,andstorageindatabanks.Duplicationofthispublication orpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheGermanCopyrightLawofSeptember9, 1965,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer.Violationsare liabletoprosecutionundertheGermanCopyrightLaw. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnot imply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotec- tivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) 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.
The list of books you might like
