Legal Issues Affecting Seniors

By Alicia Benjamin

Seniors face a specific set of challenges that may involve legal issues. Various concerns such as how to plan for the distribution of portions of an estate, when and how family members should seek legal guardianship of senior loved ones, who receives social security benefits (including a person’s family members), and fraud and identity theft concerns. Here are a few issues with legal considerations that affect seniors:

Estate planning

Seniors should seek the help of an attorney that specializes in estate planning. An estate lawyer will help seniors create a plan that will ensure their estate will be distributed in an orderly manner after their death. Estate attorneys will collect the necessary financial information from seniors to formulate a plan that meets their goals. Tools an estate attorney may use to help develop a plan include wills, healthcare directives, trusts and powers of attorney. The attorneys will also review potential tax considerations and how to easily transfer assets, according to GetLegal.com.

Legal guardianship

Family members of seniors may need guardianship if they lose a significant amount of their mental and/or physical abilities. If an aging loved one hasn’t named a power of attorney before they have diminished thinking or physical abilities, family members may face some legal challenges if their senior family member hasn’t named a power of attorney beforehand, according to AgingCare. com. A power of attorney is a written authorization that gives someone the legal right to represent another person in legal or financial matters. AgingCare.com states, “Guardianship is an option in cases where an older adult has not appointed a power of attorney for health care or finances and is incapacitated due to advancing age, illness or disability.” The person seeking guardianship of an individual must go to court and have that person “declared incompetent based on expert findings.”

Social security retirement benefits

Seniors can choose to claim social security retirement benefits early at 62, but this may result in a reduction of up to 30 percent of the amount they could receive if they wait until their full retirement age (currently 66 years old and 2 months). If seniors wait to retire at age 70, they will accrue delayed retirement credits that could result in them receiving up to 132 percent of their full retirement benefits. If seniors plan to continue working after they begin collecting social security retirement benefits, the social security administration (SSA) may reduce their benefit amount depending on when they retire and how much they earn, according to the SSA. When a family member dies, their survivor and their children may receive benefits depending on the circumstances. But keep in mind, “While the Social Security Act (federal law) governs an applicant's right to benefits, state substantive law governs some of the family relationship issues that may bear on that right such as the validity of a marriage,” according to the Social Security page of the Cornell Law School website (law.cornell.edu/wex/social_security). Visit ssa.gov to find out more about social security benefits regulations.

Fraud and identity theft

According to Equifax, senior citizens may be more vulnerable to identity theft and fraud than other populations because they typically have more savings and good credit scores. Seniors may not report the crime because they may not know where they can seek help, or they may also feel ashamed and not want family members to know they’ve been exploited. Some common fraud attempts aimed at seniors are telemarketing fraud, investment scams, reverse mortgage fraud and fraudulent charity schemes, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Foundation. Visit the AMAC Foundation’s website, amacfoundation.org, for more information on common financial scams against seniors.

Also, the Senior Law Project operates a toll-free helpline for North Carolina seniors, 60 or older. Call 877-579-7562. P