Holiday Stress Busters

The holiday season is usually the most joyful time of the year, it brings together family, friends,

and food in celebration of various religious and cultural holidays, but it can also bring with it a

great deal of stress. Although, the stress that is associated with planning vacations, arranging

schedules and coming up with the finances to purchase gifts seems to be inevitable, with the

appropriate amount of planning and creativity you can make it through this holiday season

without the usual stress that accompanies it. In planning for a less stressful holiday there are

several key areas that should be addressed in order to successfully navigate through the sea-

son: 1) Dealing with work schedules 2) Budgeting for holiday spending and 3) Dividing time

with in-laws and ex-spouses. Although, there are definitely other issues that can cause holiday

related stress these are the one’s that cause the greatest amount of stress and are the one’s

that can be managed with the proper planning.

All of these areas create a great deal of stress and anxiety on their own but when coupled to-

gether the holiday’s can quickly become a dreaded occasion. In order to plan for them effec-

tively it is important to address them before issues arise. Following are some suggestions on

how to manage these areas effectively so your holiday season is a joyful occasion and not a

stressful one. (Cont’d on page 3)

Family Issue

Holiday Stress Busters P.1 Alzheimer’s & Elder Abuse: P.2

Paralegal Volunteerism P.3 Upcoming Events P.4

FAMILY LAW NEWS

Family Conflict: Can I Sue my Spouse

for Injuring Me

Elder Law Notes: Medicare open

enrollment offers opportunity for

beneficial changes

San Francisco Family Law Attorneys

of Heath Newton LLP Offer

Important Tips on Grandparents

Visitation Rights

Paralegal Rainmakers News

Registration is now open for the

winter session for Rainmakers

Virtual College. Access career

resources, network, and earn CLE

credits on-line by attending live

webinars on the following topics:

Tax & Accounting Essentials

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for more information.

Paralegal Rainmakers Digest Monthly Newsletter of Paralegal Rainmakers

November 2012 Volume 1 Issue 3

Elder Abuse: Protecting the Vulnerable After October ends and National Domestic

Violence Awareness month is over the issues

surrounding abuse and those that it effects

may be forgotten. As our country embarks

on Alzheimer’s Awareness month it is im-

portant to keep this issue at the forefront

because of those that may go unrecognized

because of their mental impairment and age.

Elder Abuse can take many forms from the

typical physical violence that usually accom-

panies abuse, but it can also take the form

of financial and emotional abuse by family

members and caregivers that may be frus-

trated with the responsibility of taking care

of an ailing parent or the deteriorating men-

tal faculties of the person they are caring for.

Elder Abuse can go undetected because of

the inability of the person to seek out assis-

tance and their dependence on the family

member or caregiver.

Legal Professionals are in a unique position

to detect elder abuse when drawing up wills,

trusts, power of attorneys and other legal

documents. Elder Abuse in legal matters

usually takes the form of a caregiver or fami-

ly member being adamant on deeming the

elderly person incompetent in order to be

given a power of attorney to take control of

the finances of the person that they are

providing care for. Elder Abuse is a serious

issue and may seem to be undetectable but

there are red flags that legal professionals

should take the responsibility of detecting.

Avoiding an Invalid Will

Alzheimer’s Resources &

Fact Sheets

Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet

Connect with a Social Worker

Alzheimer’s Caregiving tips

Federal government resources

Legal & Financial Resource List

Assisting employees with Alzhei-

mer’s

How to Contest a Will Due to Alzhei-

mer’s

Alzheimer’s and Medicare:

What’s Covered

1. Inpatient hospital care

2. Some doctors fees and other

medical items

3. Up to 100 days of skilled nursing

home care in certain circum-

stances

4. In home hospice care, nursing

facility, or inpatient hospice

facility for people with demen-

tia who have been determined

to be at the end of their lives by

a doctor.

When one creates a will the assumption may be made that upon their passing their

assets will be distributed based on their wishes spelled out in their will, but this is not

always the case. An unsatisfied family member may contest a will on the following

grounds:

1. Mental capacity

2. Coercion

3. Fraud

4. Improper Execution

To ensure that a will is not determined to be invalid it is important to refer to the appli-

cable state laws and ensure that the person creating the will is not being coerced by

being cognizant of the warning signs of elder abuse and other issues.

Paralegal Volunteerism

This month’s paralegal spotlight is dedicated to all the paralegals that work as CASA volunteers. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. A person does not have to be an attorney or a social worker to become a CASA volun-teer. A CASA volunteer works with children during court proceedings who have been abused or neglect-ed. CASA is a national organization that provides volunteers to chil-dren that have been removed from their homes due to abuse and ne-glect. According to CASA there are approximately 600,000 children that go through the foster care system in the United States. Alt-hough, there are numerous individ-uals that sacrifice their time and skills to assist these children there still is a need for more volunteers.

To become a CASA volunteer a per-son will need to meet the following criteria:

1. Be at least 21 years old

2. Pass a background check

3. Complete 30 hours of training

4. Be available for court appear-ances

5. Commit to the CASA program until their fist case is closed

If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer please visit their website www.casaforchildren.org or call 800-628-3233.

In the corporate world employees demon-

strate their commitment to the community

by getting involved in organizations and

causes that have a need for volunteers.

Lawyers also demonstrate their commitment

to the community and legal profession by

volunteering or getting involved with what

the legal field has termed pro bono work.

Although, attorneys in some states do this in

order to stay in compliance with the require-

ments of their state bar some do so because

they want to provide their legal expertise to

those that would otherwise go without the

assistance of an attorney. Since paralegals

do no report to a regulating body and law

firms are not usually judged by how socially

responsible they are paralegals may over-

look this important area of their careers.

Some paralegals may also not be aware that

there are areas that they can provide their

legal expertise in without violating their ethi-

cal obligations of not giving legal advice.

According to the National Federation of

Paralegal Associations (NFPA) “Paralegals

can benefit the community, the private bar,

the judiciary, and the paralegal profession by

volunteering of their time, abilities, and skills

as trained legal professionals”. The NFPA

asks that members commit to a minimum

amount of pro bono activities annually.

Although, the National Association of Legal

Assistants (NALA) does not require their

members to commit to a minimum amount

of pro bono work they encourage their

members to participate in pro bono activities

in order to assist low-income and under-

served individuals. A commitment to the

legal field goes beyond becoming an expert

in a given field but also includes a commit-

ment to the legal community as a whole.

Participating in pro bono activities is a great

way to demonstrate this commitment.

Holiday Stress Busters

(Cont’d from page 1)

We all look forward to taking time off from

work during the holidays to spend time with

friends and family, but we don’t look for-

ward to the emails, mail, and other matters

that are waiting when the holiday festivities

end. In order, to avoid this situation it is

important to deal with work schedules in

advance whether that means requesting

time off, determining who will handle cer-

tain tasks while you are away from the

office, swapping schedules with another co-

worker, or working ahead so that when you

return to the office you’re not swamped

with a back load of work.

Another way to reduce holiday stress is cre-

ating and sticking to a holiday budget. This

may be one of the most difficult areas to

deal with especially if you have children, but

is one that can cause the greatest amount of

stress because of the after effects of dealing

with debt and other financial issues.

Dividing time with in-laws and ex-spouses

can also cause a great deal of stress. It is

especially difficult when you and your in-

laws, your spouse and your parents, or you

and your ex are not on favorable terms. The

first inclination in this situation may be to

avoid or spend the least amount of time

with them, but this usually leads to disagree-

ments with a spouse or children. One solu-

tion to this situation is to focus on some-

thing positive. For example, focusing on the

great pie or cake your mother in-law makes

or seeing the cheer in your spouse’s or

child’s face when they spend time with their

parent(s). Eliminating all holiday stress is

impossible but managing it is doable and can

bring the joy back to the holiday season.

Lending a Helping Hand

Paralegal Rainmakers Spotlight

CASA Volunteers

Various Dates: Walk to End Alzheimer’s

More information available: http://act.alz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_homepage

Alzheimer’s Association

December 4, 2012 Medicaid & Elder Law: Representing Clients in a New Legal Landscape

More information available: http://www.lorman.com/seminars/390458

Lorman Education Services

November 21, 2012 Effective Communication for Legal Professionals

More information available http://www.prainmakers.com/Training-Topics.html

Paralegal Rainmakers

Upcoming Events

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