Minutes of ESCOTA General Meetings

Minutes from the October 8, 2009 General Membership Meeting

Date of Meeting: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Presentation: 10 Things That You Should Know About the New Power of Attorney Statute
Speaker: Robert M. Freedman, Mazur Carp Rubin & Schulman PC

Reeva Mager called the meeting to order at 3:30pm and welcomed the group.

Anne Foerg, Director, Project SCOPE at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, hosted the ESCOTA meeting and described the variety of programs LHNH offers seniors. Programs include the Senior Center at 70th Street, the Senior Center at St. Peter’s Church, the CARE adult day program, Case Management Services, the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House legal team and their new program “Seniors in Motion,” which is an adult day program for physically frail seniors for which LHNH staff are doing community outreach. Contact Anne Foerg at 212-744-5022 x1222 for more information.

Announcements:

The 92nd Street Y is hosting a Medicare Part D event, Thursday, November 12. Contact Jo Brown for details at 212-415-5633.

VOICES 60+ (HSS) is looking to hire a part time (14 hours/week) bicultural/bilingual (Spanish) Program Associate. The role of the associate will specifically be to work on our community service plan initiatives including outreach to community agencies, participation in community meetings and administrative tasks (computer proficiency). The posting is on the HSS website and Monster.com. http://www.hss.edu/careers.asp Contact: Juliette Kleinman, LCSW, ACSW. 212-774-2737.

Health Outreach is offering various programs for caregivers. All programs take place at Health Outreach, 420 East 76th Street (between First and York). Registration is required for these programs: call Sarah Waxse, LCSW, at 212-746-4365:

• An ongoing support group for caregivers of older adults (60 years old and above) is facilitated by Sarah Waxse on Tuesday evenings, 6-7:30 pm (starting on 10/20/09).
• “Time to Breathe: Stress Management Tips and Techniques” being held on Thursday, October 29th, 2:30-4pm
• “Celebrating the Caregiver” being held on Wed, November 18, 2:30-3:30pm.

LiftVest products: Stylish vest with attached webbing harness for transferring, and ambulating the mobility impaired. Prevents staff and family caregiver back injuries and will also avoid patient injuries while ensuring comfortable and dignified transfers. Takes less then 2 minutes to teach. Newproduct: the BATHPONCHO. Contact: JoeCohen at 800-300-5671 http://www.liftvest.com.

Full-day conference: “Addressing the Spiritual Journey of Jews Beyond Midlife” is presented by UJA-Federation of New York’s Caring Commission and Hiddur: The Center for Aging and Judaism of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Thursday, November 19, 8am-4:30pm. UJA-Federation, 130 East 59th St, NYC. For more information, contact Jodi Ellenbogen at 212-836-1473 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Register on-line.

Presentation:

10 Things That You Should Know About the New Power of Attorney Statute with Robert M. Freedman, Mazur Carp Rubin & Schulman PC (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

There is a new law which drastically changes the use of the Power of Attorney. All Powers of Attorney executed after September 1, 2009 must comply with the new law.

POA is used to authorize an agency to handle legal and financial matters on behalf of the principal. There was concern that some agents were taking advantage of seniors and getting control of their assets by having the senior execute POA. This lead to total revision of the POA form and now it is essential to consult an attorney when executing a POA. Fees now will likely be substantial.

POAs executed before September 1, 2009 remain valid. Execution of any new POA revokes all prior POA unless the principle provides otherwise in the document.

Some of the new requirements include:

• The Statutory Short Form must now be on the new form including the exact wording of the statute in type no less that 12 pt size.
• Both the principal and the agent must sign, and signatures must be notarized.
• There is a separate Statutory Major Gifts Rider. Without this specific authority, the agent cannot make gifts exceeding $500 per year.
• Agents must sign as “agent for the principal.”
• Agents must agree to certain duties and acknowledge that he/she is liable for acting in violation of his/her authority.
• The POA has a specific provision to fix compensation for the agent.
• Third parties, such as banks and financial institutions, cannot unreasonably refuse to honor the POA.

There are numerous problems with the new statute, and there are likely to be technical corrections to the law in the Spring.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00pm.

Next Meeting:

Date: November 12, 2009
Location: Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center, Inc.
Presentation: Mental Health Services for Older Adults
Speaker: Michael Friedman, LMSW

Respectfully submitted by Amy Stern, Secretary

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