Archive for January 2011
Sun Health – A Great Community Resource
Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Gina Ore, Vice President and Chief Development Officer of the Sun Health Foundation (www.SunHealthFoundation.org). While Sun Health has become part of the Banner Health System, which gives it access to all of the resources Banner can provide, the foundation has remained independent, so that it can support the specific needs of the NW Maricopa County community. I was especially interested to learn about research in cardiology, neuroscience and orthopedics for the older patient, all of which have great potential to improve the qualify of life for us and our families.
As an attorney, I tend to be focused (some would say brutally so) on anticipating worst-case scenarios. Although the purpose of this is to prevent or minimize my clients’ risk, it was a good reminder of what is positive to spend time with someone whose goal it is to make everyone’s worst case better.
The benefits of weight training
Shortly after my 50th birthday, I met Irene Stillwell, the Executive Director of Arizona Senior Olympics (http://seniorgames.org.) I shared the flyer she gave me with my personal trainer, an elite power lifter, who convinced me to give competition a try. After the excitement of the first meet, and the obvious, positive changes to my middle-aged body, I was hooked, and have since moved on to competing in with the World Association of Benchers and Dead Lifters (http://wabdl.org), setting Arizona records for my age and weight class (a weight class, which, I’m proud to say, is than when I started competing!).
As noted in a post in the New Old Age blog (http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com), we older adults lose about 3 percent of their lean body mass, mostly muscle, each year. This incremental loss of strength, called sarcopenia, is a stealth danger, increasing the risk of hospitalization and death as the years go by.
The loss of muscle is difficult to detect partly because caregivers and physicians tend to focus on total weight as a measure of an elderly person’s health. Even when weight loss is desirable, however, it can be accompanied by hidden muscle loss. Researchers note that one warning sign that muscle, not fat, is disappearing is the dreaded sagging of skin over areas of normal muscle, such as arms. ( Frankly, since I live in Arizona where sleeveless attire is unavoidable, those sagging arms were one of the first motivating forces to get involved in weight training!) Based on my own experience, I agree with Dr. David Heber, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, when he says that “Resistance exercise like weight lifting and increased protein are the best tools to adjust to the loss of muscle with aging,” Exercise combined with adequate protein intake can lead to increases in muscle mass and performance, even in the very old.”
Adults of any age should consult with a doctor before undertaking a fitness routine. If your doctor gives you the go ahead, I can tell you from my personal experience that you will look better, feel better and meet some wonderful people along the way.
Beware the “new and improved” Grandparent scam!
Many people now know to be careful of the telephone that’s been around since 2008. That’s the one where a grandparent gets a call from someone claiming to be a grandchild who has had an accident or gotten into some kind of trouble, and needs the grandparent to wire emergency cash. Would-be victims have been educated to ask personal questions that only certain people could answer, such as the name of a childhood pet, their nickname, or the college they attended, to make sure the caller really is their grandchild.
Now that more grandparents are on Facebook, the scammers have started using that tool. The Better Business Bureau in California has reported that grandmother received a call from a young woman who claimed to be her granddaughter. The woman asked several questions to confirm her identity, but since the scammer was looking at the real granddaughter’s Facebook page, she was able to answer them.
Facebook and other social media are wonderful tools to keep families in touch with each other. Unfortunately, the bad actors have figured out how to use them, too. Please tell your friends and family to make sure your Facebook privacy settings are high enough, so personal information can’t be viewed by everyone, and especially by those who will abuse it.
Make sure you write it down!
I’ve written about the importance of wills and powers of attorney before, but almost every week there’s something in the news that reminds me again why you should get your intentions down on paper. Just this morning, I read about a recently-deceased attorney (whom you would think would have known better) in a Philadelphia law firm whose parents and same-sex partner are fighting over her profit-sharing account.
The owners of profit-sharing accounts, IRAs, 401(ks), brokerage accounts and similar financial instruments can simply designate a beneficiary, and a contingent beneficiary, by signing the forms provided by the holder of the account. You don’t need a notary, a witness, or an attorney to help you do this, and you don’t even have to tell the beneficiary (or the person you are not choosing) if you think that would be a difficult subject. If you don’t, the account holder may look to the person’s will – if she had one – or they may follow their own, internal policy for how such funds will be distributed upon the owner’s death.
The attorney in this article was under the age of 40, so we can understand why she may not have been thinking about what would happen after she died. Unfortunately, we don’t have to look too far to realize that accidents and illnesses can befall anyone, at any age. Give yourself the peace of mind of knowing that the loved ones that you choose will not only inherit your legacy, but will do so without an argument.
End-of-Life Planning is a Good Thing
President Obama has decided to exclude references to advance care planning as part of annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, (see NY Times article 1/5/11, “US Alters Rule to Pay for End-of-Life Planning”). This should not keep anyone from having these important discussions with their physicians, however. Knowledge is power. Having further discussions about what we would want when we become seriously or terminally ill or disabled, and knowing what options are available, simply ensures that we are making our own decisions and that our wishes will be respected and carried out at end of life.
What is Legal Competency?
The law uses different definitions of “competency” to decide who is capable of making their own decisions in different areas. For example, for a person to be considered competent to sign a will, he only needs to have “testamentary capacity.” This means that he knows “the natural objects of his bounty” (in other words, he understands that he has children or charities to whom he wants to leave his property); that he has a general understanding of the scope and nature of his property; and that he can comprehend the relationship between the two so he can make a rational plan to leave his property to those beneficiaries. Since this standard does not require the person to be capable of managing his financial affairs or handling day-to-day business transactions, it is possible that someone who needs to have an attorney-in-fact or a fiduciary handle these matters still has capacity to execute a will.
As if this isn’t confusing enough, the mental health community uses different definitions and has different standards for competency.
The American Bar Association, in conjunction with The American Psychological Association, published An Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Lawyers. Despite the title, this guide is very readible, and helpful to any professional struggling with the rules and ethical considerations of working with someone whose capacity is declining.
The Power of Presence
Following a death or difficult circumstances, how often have we wanted to offer condolences but are at a loss for what to say? How often do we say, “I know how you feel” without really understanding how that other person has been impacted by their loss? Can we ever really walk in someone’s shoes? Sometimes just being there is the “right thing to say.” An article in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2010, “The Power of Presence,” by Jefri Ann Franks, M.S. very effectively illustrates just that.
Being present means being comfortable with silence and not having the need to “fix” it with words. It creates a sense of sharing in the moment. It can be the most profound intervention we can employ to help people in their grief or through life’s transitions.
