Sixty Seconds Newsletter 
A Monthly Update from Senior Resources of West Michigan  
An Area Agency on Aging Serving Muskegon, Oceana & Ottawa counties
In This Issue
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National Area Agencies on Aging
 

 
Medicare open enrollment begins

It's the time of year for Medicare open enrollment.

Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP) office will only be taking appointments; no walk-in visits are accommodated. 

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 231-733-3572. 

 


Speak up! Anytime day or night. Report abuse and neglect.
855-444-3911

Senior Resources' Elder Care Specialists are available to assist with Options for Long Term Care
Call: 231-733-3585
or Toll Free:  1-800-442-0054. In Oceana - 231-559-0331.
October 2017
Who Should You Trust? State Bar offers free estate planning seminar in Muskegon

The State Bar of Michigan seminar, "A Living Trust Education Initiative:  Who Should You Trust? Avoiding Estate Planning Mistakes" provides essential estate planning information and the warning signs of deceptive annuity sales practices that could potentially jeopardize your economic stability.  Attend the State Bar of Michigan's free seminar on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 3 p.m., hosted by Senior Resources at Tanglewood Park, 560 Seminole Road, Muskegon, to gain empowerment in making estate planning decisions. 

During the presentation, you will learn how to identify and avoid "trust mill" scams.   These scams tout the benefits of a "trust-based" estate plan irrespective of specific needs and make exaggerated statements about the probate administration process to create a seemingly convincing story on why a "trust" and an annuity are the only good estate planning choices.  The annuity's long-term investment requirements, the hefty penalty for early withdrawals, and the salesperson's commission are typically buried in the paperwork.  The percentage-based commission provides substantial incentive for the annuity salesperson to quickly close the deal.  These aggressive annuity sales tactics have also been effectively used against veterans applying for Veteran Affairs benefits.  Come to this seminar to become aware of these sales tactics used to gain access to you and your hard earned savings. 

It is important to make sure that the person giving you estate planning advice is a licensed lawyer concerned about your best interests and last wishes and not about making a commission on a sale.  If you already have an estate plan in place, this seminar will help you to gain peace of mind that you can ignore solicitation from non-lawyers suggesting that something more is needed.  Attend the seminar to avoid becoming an unsuspecting victim and receive a specially-designed folder containing essential estate planning information and easy-to-remember reminders of the warning signs of trust-based estate planning and annuity scams. 

For more information, contact State Bar of Michigan Professional Standards Division Paralegal Amy Emmons at (517) 346-6343 or email at [email protected]. 

Legislative update
In Lansing...Legislators are continuing to introduce bills to address issues that affect Michigan's senior citizens, especially elder abuse.  Representative Robert Kosowski (D-16th District, Westland) recently introduced two bills, House Bills 4994 and 4995, which would require public education about elder abuse and data collection on incidence of such abuse.  The bills have been referred to the House Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors.

House Bill 4994 would require the Aging and Adult Services Agency, subject to appropriation, to conduct a public education campaign emphasizing zero tolerance for elder abuse. The campaign would have to include information about the signs and symptoms of elder abuse, potential causes, resources available to help prevent elder abuse, locations for reporting elder abuse, and contact information for programs offering services to victims of elder abuse. The campaign would have to include, but would not be limited to printed educational and informational materials; audio, video, electronic, and other media; and public service announcements or advertisements.

House Bill 4995 would require the Aging and Adult Services Agency (AASA) to collect data on elder abuse possessed by state and local agencies to identify the incidence of elder abuse. AASA would have to create an interagency reporting system that contained a uniform set of standards to collect and analyze the data. Further, AASA would have define elder abuse and the minimum age of an older person so it could accurately compare similar data from different state and local agencies.  In defining elder abuse AASA could incorporate the different types of physical, sexual, and emotion abuse, active and passive neglect and financial exploitation.

County and city human services agencies, adult protective services agencies, and other community organizations that provide services to older persons would have to report incidences of elder abuse to AASA, including the number of referrals, investigations, and substantiated cases and demographic information on victims and perpetrators.

Biennially, AASA would have to report to the governor and legislative leadership the agency's recommendations for defining "elder abuse" in statute, the types of reporting requirements to be instituted to prevent the incidence of elder abuse and the programs available to prevent abuse and to provide services to victims of abuse.


Reprinted with permission of Area Agencies on Aging Association in Michigan.
Senior Resources of West Michigan Inc