Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.

Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before the start time.

Wednesday September 25, 2024
8:30 am – 3:30 pm MDT

 

Presented by: Lisa T.C. Blattner, Jack Roth, and Catherine Anne Seal

Introduction to Elder Law

  • What is elder law?
  • Relevant law both to Federal and State
  • Elder law is about seniors (but can also involve disability and minors)
  • Elder law is a growth field
  • Issues of aging clients
  • Specialization
  • Finding an elder law attorney
  • Access to justice: problems your clients face at home, in your office, and in court

Handling Ethical Issues in Representation of the Elderly

  • Identifying the client
  • Advising fiduciaries
  • Preventing conflict of interest
  • Determining capacity
  • Maintaining client confidentiality
  • Professional referrals – know your experts (evaluators)
  • Red flags re: elder abuse and neglect

Overview of Guardianships and Conservatorships

  • Defining
  • Interested persons and court appointments (GAL, CAC, court visitor)
  • Court process
  • Roles in court appointment: court visitor, attorney, GAL
  • After court appointment of guardian/conservator
  • Other considerations: elderly, minors, mental health

Estate Planning for the Elderly or Disabled Client

  • Will vs. revocable trust
  • Powers of attorney
  • Alternatives to powers of attorney: medical proxy, supportive decision-making
  • Living wills
  • First and third-party special needs trusts
  • Planning for unmarried couples

Financial Planning for the Elderly and Disabled: Asset Protections – What it Is and What It Isn’t

  • Medicare vs. Medicaid
  • Asset protection estate planning considerations

Decedent’s Assets: Where Did They Go, Can They Be Clawed Back, and Strategies for Recovering Assets for Aggrieved Creditors and Beneficiaries

  • Rights of creditors, beneficiaries, personal representative to “claw back” certain assets into a decedent’s estate when they were transferred by the decedent prior to death, with or without fraud
  • Terms of divorce never finalized prior to death
  • Retirement assets
  • Life insurance assets
  • Elder law resources

 

Webinar Instructions

All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.

GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)

Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled.

Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps       Hardware: 2GB RAM or more

For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com

Credits

Accountants
7.2 CPE Credits

NASBA - National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
7.2 CPE Credits

Attorneys
7.0 CLE Credits (Includes 1.2 Ethics Credits)

 

Continuing Education Credit Information

This webinar is open to the public and offers accountants 7.2 CPE credits (based on 50-minute hours). This course is an intermediate-level, group internet based activity in the area of specialized knowledge. Knowledge of elder law and issues is beneficial, and no advance preparation is recommended. NASBA Sponsor No. 103015.

HalfMoon Education Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.NASBARegistry.org.

HalfMoon Education will provide financial hardship assistance to accountants who wish to attend this event. Contact Frank Chapman at fchapman@halfmoonseminars.org for details and to apply.

This webinar has been approved by the Colorado Supreme Court for 7.0 general CLE credits and 1.2 ethics CLE credits. Colorado attorneys and judges are individually responsible for reporting credits directly to their online transcript.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

On-Demand Credits

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format is not pre-approved by any licensing boards and does not qualify for the CPE credits; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.

Speakers

Lisa T.C. Blattner, Esq.

Blattner Law Firm, LLC

Ms. Blattner is an attorney in private practice. She brings considerable skills, passion, and excellence in the areas of probate litigation, probate administration, and Guardianships/Conservatorships. Ms. Blattner represents clients in all different capacities, assists with the Courts as a Guardian ad Litem, and collaborates with fellow counsel. She is an active member of the Colorado Bar Association, including the Elder Law Section as a legislative liaison, as well as the El Paso County Bar Association – Probate Section. Ms. Blattner is also a member of the National Guardianship Association and serves as a Board of Director of the Pikes Peak Elder Justice Center. She has been actively involved in the general and legal community throughout her legal career and has received a number of awards and accolades for her community involvement. Through the Civic and Community Affairs Subcommittee, she began serving as the Managing Editor of the Senior Law Handbook in 2023, a joint publication of the Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Legal Education in Colorado, Inc. Ms. Blattner has presented to the community and other legal professionals on a variety of topics over the years, including Domestic Relations Cases, Guardianships/Conservatorships, NGA Standards of Practice for professional Guardians and Conservators, basic estate planning, and probate administration. She grew up in Lakewood, Colorado, and attended the University of Colorado at Denver where she received her B.S. in Business Management, cum laude, and then her Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver – Sturm College of Law in 2009. Ms. Blattner strongly feels that a person’s rights are not determined by their age or level of capacity. She strives to use collaborative approaches to find solutions for families during all stages of life.

Jack Roth

The Gasper Law Group

Mr. Roth is the Managing Partner of the Probate & Estate Planning Division of Gasper Law Group. He joined the Gasper Law Group in 2017 after twenty years as a prosecutor. Mr. Roth started as an intern in the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, trying numerous misdemeanors and DUI’s while still in law school. Upon graduation, Mr. Roth joined the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, progressing through the specialty units of Economic Crime, Gang Prosecution, Vehicular Homicide, Special Victims Unit and eventually homicide cases in El Paso and Teller Counties. He then joined the Violent Crimes Assistance Team at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Special Prosecution Unit where he traveled the state, assisting and trying complex homicide and death penalty cases. Mr. Roth has also taught search and seizure, courtroom testimony, and officer involved shooting classes at several police academies, the Central Mountain Training Foundation for detectives and at Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (“COVA”) conferences. In addition to his prosecutorial experience, he was a reserve officer for the Parker Police department for thirteen years where he worked as a patrol officer, seeing both sides of law enforcement. He brings his vast experience in the courtroom to The Gasper Law Group where he represents clients in the areas of Probate and Estate Planning. Mr. Roth earned his Law Degree from the University of Denver in 1999 and his undergraduate degree, a self-constructed criminal justice major with a minor in business administration, in the scenic setting of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Before law school, he also played football for the semi-pro team, Colorado Springs Hornets. In any remaining spare time, the fifth generation Coloradoan enjoys researching the history of Colorado’s historic ghost towns and mining towns, taking his German Shepherd on hikes, and yelling in frustration at Broncos, Avalanche or Rockies games.

Catherine Anne Seal

Of Counsel at The Gasper Law Group

Ms. Seal is of counsel at Gasper Law Group in Colorado Springs. She is the Public Administrator for the Fourth Judicial District of Colorado, serving El Paso and Teller Counties. Ms. Seal is the first person ever awarded an LL.M. Degree in Elder Law from the Stetson University College of Law, graduating with honors. She is a past chair of the National Guardianship Network. Ms. Seal is a member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trusts and Estate Law Section where she is a past chair of the Surrogate Decision-Making Committee and a member of the Senior Lawyers Division. She serves as an ABA advisor to the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. Ms. Seal is a former President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is past-chair of the Guardianship Section and is a Fellow of the Academy. She is one of only seven attorneys in Colorado designated a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Ms. Seal is the author of Colorado Elder Law, published by Thompson West Publishing as part of their Colorado Practice Series. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of elder law, protective proceedings, probate, financial exploitation of the elderly, and related matters.