Is a Facebook Page Part of an Estate?

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Ameena Sultan

BBC News has reported about an attempt by Nebraska lawmakers to authorize executors to access electronic information, including email accounts, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts of deceased persons. The legislation seeks to allow personal representatives to take steps to close down online accounts that live on, often persistently, after a person has died. Legislators report that they have waited for social media companies to find a solution to the problem, but none has been provided. The legislation aims to assist family members with dealing with the loss of a loved one without having to constantly be reminded of the death.

Similar legislation has already been passed in Oklahoma. Some concerns have been raised about privacy especially in respect of third parties who had communicated with the deceased. However it seems reasonable to allow executors to deal with a deceased’s online material and accounts, in much the same way an executor can deal with a deceased’s mail and bank and other accounts.

It would be interesting to see how the issue is resolved in Canadian jurisdictions.

Click here to read the BBC story, “Living online after death faces Nebraska legal battle”

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Toronto Police Service and Youth: Raising Awareness about Elder Abuse

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Ameena Sultan

The Toronto Police Service Community Mobilization Unit and Youth in Policing students have together produced a set of videos to raise public awareness on issues of child abuse, relationship violence and elder abuse.  The videos are posted on Youtube.

One of the public service announcements, “Youth Speaking Up Against Elder Abuse” shows a young boy watching a police officer intervene to support a vulnerable senior.  The video, produced by and for youth, encourages young people to be aware of elder abuse and to report it when they see it.

As elder abuse usually occurs in the privacy of the home, and targets those who are already isolated, it is often a challenge to protect seniors at risk.  The public service announcement helps to raise awareness not just of the problem of elder abuse, but the fact that reporting is essential.

Link to the Toronto Police Service release

Link to the Public Service Announcement, Youth Speaking Up Against Elder Abuse

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Laura Watts Announces Launch of Elder Concepts

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Whaley Estate Litigation

Congratulations to to Laura Watts, LLB, on the launch of Elder Concepts (elderconcepts.com).

Elder Concepts: Who We Are and What We Do

Consulting, training, education, tools and strategy development for issues related to older adults.

Elder Concepts can help your organization or group understand the implications of the coming “age wave” and will work
with you to create specific recommendations on your issues. Elder Concepts will also help provide the needed training, education, tool development and implementation of strategies for working with older adults.

We work with non-profit organizations, governments, inter-disciplinary professionals, financial institutions, health agencies and private industry to ensure that our country and our services support and serve older adults effectively. We will work to help you create a risk management and system strategy and ensure that your organization knows what to do in cases of concern regarding abuse or mental capacity issues of older adults.

Elder Concepts will work with you to ensure that all work done is tailored to your needs and to your audience. We work locally, nationally and internationally with facility in English and French on long-term engagements, major projects and small contracts.

We provide:

  • Legal elder abuse prevention and elder law research
  • Research on aging issues
  • Report writing
  • Law reform work, policy and protocol development
  • Expert reports on elder abuse or risk analysis
  • Support and assistance on elder and guardianship mediations
  • Strategic advice on elder abuse and neglect cases or investigations
  • Expertise on legal capacity, substitute decision-making and guardianship issues
  • Elder-Friendly Audits or organizations
  • Teaching, education and training to community, students and professionals
  • Content and tool development
  • Project development and management
  • Presentations
  • Knowledge mobilization and exchange
  • Grant writing
  • Event support / forum development
  • Government relations
  • Media support for elder abuse and elder law issues

Website: elderconcepts.com

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British Columbia Law Institute Report on Elder and Guardianship Mediation

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Whaley Estate Litigation

The British Columbia Law Institute (“BCLI”) has released today a masterful report on Elder and Guardianship Mediation.

Follow this link to the full report:: http://www.bcli.org/sites/default/files/EGM_Report_Jan_2012.pdf

Peter Ramsay, Q.C., says on this report the following by way of background to the initiative:

“The Elder and Guardianship Mediation Project arose from a recognition that the reform of adult guardianship and substitute decision-making legislation contained in the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (commonly referred to as “Bill 29”) would impact significantly on mediation practices involving older participants which is already a new and growing area of practice. The time was right to embark on a research initiative. Ethical and practice issues unique to working with older clients, a review of guardianship mediation pilot projects previously explored in other jurisdictions, and collecting the wisdom of experts working in elder and guardianship mediation across North America all needs to be addressed.

The Elder and Guardianship Mediation Report is the culmination of three years of research and consultation on the complex and overlapping areas of elder mediation and guardianship mediation. This comprehensive report brings together material that will support mediation practitioners as well as leaders in elder and guardianship mediation working in policy and education. The report provides expert guidance in support of changes that need to be made in the province of BC when the existing adult guardianship mediation provisions are proclaimed.

Many leaders in elder law, elder mediation and guardianship have contributed their expertise to this project. We are most grateful to everyone who generously donated his or her time, and to the Law Foundation of British, which generously funded this project. The Law Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the work of the BCLI and the CCEL.”

Thank you to Laura Watts, LLB, Principal, Elder Concepts and Former National Director, CCEL for sharing this important piece of work with us.

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A Good Thing About an Aging Population: Murder Rates are Down

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Ameena Sultan

This week the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its annual report on deaths. For the first time in decades, homicide was not on the list of the top fifteen causes of death in the United States.

Although several factors are cited for the drop in homicide as a cause of death, including police and social service involvement in domestic violence, an important factor is the aging population. As murders are more likely committed by younger people, the fact that the largest portion of the population is fifty and over, means that those who are prone to murder make up a smaller part of the population. As James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist quoted in the Globe and Mail on January 11 states: “The risk of homicide declines with age, and the risk of death by disease increases.”

And so, an interesting outcome of society’s shifting demographics is that today people are more likely to die of illness and disease, than violence. As the population continues to age, it seems safe to conclude that violence will be an even less likely cause of death in years to come.

Click to read The Globe and Mail article on the CDC Annual Report

Click to read the CDC Annual Report on Deaths in 2010

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CARP’S Controversial Poll Report on End of Life Decisions and Elder Abuse

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Amy Cull

For those who have not heard of “CARP,” CARP is a Canadian non-profit organization self-avowedly committed to promoting and protecting the interests, rights and quality of life for aging Canadians. It offers a number of programs and services, geared primarily at seniors. More information can be found online at: http://www.carp.ca/about-carp/.

CARP recently released a somewhat controversial report, entitled “End Of Life/Elder Abuse Poll Report.”1 As its title indicates, the Report is focused on two main issues: autonomous end of life decision-making and elder abuse.

Controversially, in a survey conducted of CARP members, it was found that, both this year and last, seven-in-ten members agree with legalized physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill, a position that remains steadfast in spite of whether or not Canada has an effective, comprehensive and compassionate system of palliative and end of life care.2

According to a summary of the report prepared by CARP,3 members are in agreement that both patient and doctor should together make the decision about physician-assisted suicide, however, they expect it to be, on average, almost a decade before the procedure is legal in Canada. That said, at least one half of the group surveyed agreed that there might be less interest in legalized physician-assisted suicide if palliative and end of life care in Canada were better.

On the issue of elder abuse, CARP noted with concern the fact that cases of elder abuse may be severely underreported. CARP noted that, in most cases, the abuse is financial. However, verbal elder abuse is also prominent. And, unfortunately, in more cases than not, the perpetrator is someone close to the victim, and tends to be a family member.

According to CARP, solutions to elder financial abuse would include the following:

  • Stiffer penalties for fraud;
  • Adding age as an exacerbating factor in sentencing;
  • The development of a national hot line to report suspicious pitches to police;
  • The development of a national home care strategy;
  • The development of special investigator/prosecutor teams; and
  • More public awareness of the problem.

–
1. http://www.carp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/End-Of-Life-Report.pdf
2. and 3. http://www.carp.ca/2011/12/21/end-of-lifeelder-abuse-poll-report/

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