The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Elder Law presents paralegal students with a comprehensive theoretical and practical overview of the main areas of elder law, one of the fastest growing areas in the legal field. Elder Law is a fairly new innovation in law, with the first statutes written in the 1960’s. Both the black letter law and the judicial decisions interpreting the law are studied. The various areas of the law that are crucial to elder law practice are studied in the context of an elder law practice: wills, estate planning, guardianship, real estate, health law, elder abuse and more. Important forms, crucial in the actual practice of elder law, are presented to the student for review and analysis.

Reading Assignments:

Reading assignments are given weekly from the provided textbooks.  Reading is also assigned from the supplementary course documents as listed below.

Supplementary Course Documents:

Students have continuous access to these course materials via the online classroom.

• New Statute Protects Elder Clients from Financial Scams
• Elder Law Major Issues as Reported in the News
• Overview of SSI
• Overview of Estate Planning
• Grandparents’ Rights: Visitation, Gifts and Trusts
• Long Term Health Care Issues and Resources
• Overview of Medicaid
• Medicaid Planning
• Medical Directives
• Medicare
• Nursing Homes
• Retirement Living
• Retirement Planning
• Overview of Social Security
• Veterans
• Westlaw Guide

Discussion Topics

Discussions are a mandatory part of the course and make up 15% of the total grade given.  They are broken down by week as listed below.

• Getting to Know Each Other
• The Modern Roots of Elder Law
• Why Study Elder Law?
• Medicare
• The HMO
• Age Discrimination in Employment
• Social Security
• Catch-22
• Explain the Benefits of the IRA
• ERISA
• Assistance with Home Ownership
• Incompetency and Guardianship
• The Unethical Guardian
• Different Types of Life Insurance
• The Wealthy Client and Estate Planning

Practical Assignment (required):

The Practical Assignment is posted at the beginning of Week Three and due by the end of that week.

Quizzes and Tests

All students are required to take a final test during the final week of the course. Tests are administered in the online classroom, and all answers must be submitted by the last day of class.

Grading:

Grading is calculated as follows:

Course Topics:

WEEK ONE

• What is Elder Law?
• Psychological and Social Aspects of an Aging Society
• Ethical Considerations of Elder Law
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized
• Health Care and the Elderly
• Health Care Decision Making
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Health Insurance
• Nursing Homes
• Financing Health Care
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized 

WEEK TWO

• Employment and Income Issues
• Age Discrimination
• Income Maintenance
• Veterans' Benefits
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Private Pension Plans
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized
• Housing
• Renting
• Rent Assistance
• Shared Housing
• Owning
• American with Disabilities Act
• Retirement Communities
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized
• Guardianship and Disabled Children
• Guardianship
• The Disabled Child
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized 

WEEK THREE

• Estate Planning
• Estate Planning Need
• Insurance
• Property Transfers and Gifts
• Introduction to Wills and Trusts
• Wills
• Trusts
• Estate Taxes
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized
• Elder Abuse
• Elder Abuse Defined
• Causes of Abuse
• Legislative Response to Elder Abuse
• Elderly Crime Victims
• Elderly Criminals
• Protective Services
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized

WEEK FOUR

• Assistance for the Elderly
• Federal and State Assistance
• The Older Americans Act
• Organizations and Resources
• Ethical Considerations
• Landmark Judicial Decisions Summarized
  Review and Quiz