Resources

Legal Issues Affecting Older Adults

Family Relations & Guardianship

Guardianship

• NM Developmental Disabilities Planning Council Office of Guardianship  provides a statewide, publicly funded guardianship services program for guardians of “last resort” to incapacitated income and resource eligible adults and Mental Health Treatment Guardians for appointment by the courts.
• New Mexico Guardianship Association website 
• NMGA Handbook for Guardians and Alternatives to Guardianship

Divorce

• NM Courts website, includes a link to family law, includes basic divorce forms and information
• NM Supreme Court website; has a link to family law forms
• Generations United – website for grandparents rights

Consumer Fraud, Exploitation and Protection Information

Credit Reports

• Equifax
• Experian 
• Transunion

Other

• National Association of Consumer Advocates – website provides a resource center, legal articles, legal briefs and sample pleadings.

• New Mexico Senior Safety and Scams

• NM Adult Protective Services Division Recourse  for seniors who may be abused, exploited or neglected.
• The Federal Trade Commission created this website to help tackle some money issues head-on, scams, schemes and rip offs.
• Federal Trade Commission Health Page  with information to spot health scams, like fake cancer cures and bogus weight loss products, or get the facts on different health products and services, like generic drugs, Lasik eye surgery, and dietary supplements.
• The National Consumer Law Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization that seeks to build economic security and family wealth for low-income and other economically disadvantaged Americans.
• The National Crime Prevention produces tools that communities can use to learn crime prevention strategies, engage community members, and coordinate with local agencies.
• National Fraud Information Center & Internet Fraud Watch operated by the National Consumers League, mission is to give consumers the information they need to avoid becoming victims of telemarketing and Internet fraud and to help them get their complaints to law enforcement agencies quickly and easily.
• Also Fraud Schemes
• Empower consumers to take action to control their own personal information by providing practical tips on privacy protection and identity theft

Elder Abuse and Neglect

• National Council for Aging Care provides laws and legislation on elder abuse. Also statistics, research, and resources related to elder abuse.
• Elder Abuse. American Bar Association .ABA Groups .Commission on Law and Aging. Resources & Research

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Aging In Place

Former American Association of Housing and Services for the Aging

Maintaining Independence at Home

New Mexico Human Services Department Income Support Division – New Mexico State financial assistance that can help with everything from energy bills to food to general assistance for qualified people.

Housing and Services to Remain at Home

• The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority - the state’s official housing agency, MFA administers more than 35 programs that finance housing for the homeless, develop new affordable housing, and help families become first-time homeowners. MFA partners with lenders, realtors, non-profit, local governments and developers throughout the state to make its programs available to all eligible New Mexicans.
• HUD New Mexico housing official website
• Albuquerque City Government website – From services for active and healthy seniors to services for frail, homebound elderly, the Department of Senior Affairs provides activities and opportunities to involve you in our community and to promote active, healthy aging, as well as a continuum of care especially designed to meet individual needs throughout the aging spectrum.
• Bernalillo County website – has link to housing information
• Senior Services from City of Santa Fe 
• Santa Fe County Senior Services
• Senior Services from City of Las Cruces
• The National Housing Law Project

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Other Resources

Internet Resources -- Miscellaneous

• Bifocal (Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly, American Bar Association)
• NY Times - The New Age Series
• NY Times- The Vanishing Mind Series
• ABA Commission on Law and Aging
• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
• Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity
• ElderLawAnswers.com
• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
• Annuity - information guide on the use of annuities for seniors
• What is Elder Abuse?

Courts:

Access to most courts:

• United States Courts – District of New Mexico
• New Mexico Courts

Specific Courts:

• Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
• Second Judicial District Court
• Bernalillo County Probate Court
• New Mexico Court of Appeals
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of New Mexico
• New Mexico Supreme Court

General Legal Resources

• American Bar Association: ABA Commission on Law and Aging Resources .
• NM Supreme Court Law Library
• The New Mexico Compilation Commission publishes official court opinions which are collectively known as the New Mexico Appellate Reports. The New Mexico Compilation Commission is responsible for publishing the official, annotated compilation of the New Mexico statutes, including court rules governing practice and procedure in the state courts.
• ACTEC Engagement Letters: A Guide For Practitioners, Second Edition 2007 developed by the Professional Responsibility Committee of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
• ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct , Fourth Edition 2006
• Elder Law Prof Blog

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Estate and Legal Financial Issues

Estate Planning

Life planning in New Mexico: Guide to state law on powers of attorney, right to die, nursing home benefits, wills, trusts, and probate / by Merri Rudd

From Senior Citizens Law office:   

• Important Estate Planning Documents
• Should I Have a Will
• Transfer on Death Deeds
• Organizing Important Information
• Putting a Child's Name on Your Bank Account
• Should You Put Your Child's Name on Your Primary Residence

Durable Power of Attorney

• New Mexico Form Statutory Power of Attorney
• Uniform Power Of Attorney Act Commentaries

 

Bankruptcy

• American Bankruptcy Institute website includes court opinions, legislative news and updates, and an online library.
• The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico maintains an excellent website with general bankruptcy information and links to other resources about bankruptcy.

Taxes

• Tax information for New Mexico
• Where to Get Help in Completing Tax Forms through CNM and the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program
• Tax Counseling for the Elderly -IRS-certified volunteers provide free tax assistance for older taxpayers and people with limited incomes

Health Care and End of Life Decisions

• Advance Health Care Directive explanation
• New Mexico Statutory Advance Health Care directive form in Spanish
• New Mexico Statutory Advance Health Care directive form in Vietnamese
• New Mexico Statutory Advance Health Care directive form in English
• New Mexico Statutory Advanced Directive for Mental Health Treatment
• Values History Form - (UNM Health Science Center Institute for Ethics) The Values History Form recognizes that medical decisions we make for ourselves are based on those beliefs, preferences and values that matter most to us: How do we feel about our overall health? What personal relationships in our lives are important to us? How do we feel about independence or dependence? About pain, illness, dying and death? What are our goals for the future?
• Values History Form in Spanish  - (UNM Health Science Center Institute for Ethics)
• Includes the five wishes questionnaire for end of life care.
• Consumer’s Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning - The tool kit does not create a formal advance directive. Instead, it helps in discovering, clarifying, and communicating what is important in the face of serious illness.
• Senior Health: Successful Aging - articles on senior health

Advanced Directives Statutes:

• New Mexico Uniform Health Care Decisions Act
• Federal Patient Self-Determination Act
• Mental Health Care Treatment Decisions Act

EMS DNR
Website for EMS DNR forms Website for EMS DNR forms - A DNR form should be signed by the caregiver or doctor or nurse. The original order should put in a spot where it could be found easily by the EMTs if called. The EMT's are trained to look on the fridge, night stand, above the bed. Also, a copy can be placed with the patient’s doctor. This Order applies only to resuscitation attempts by health care providers in the prehospital setting i.e.in patients’ homes, in a long-term care facility, during transport to or from a health care facility, or in other locations outside acute care hospitals. The NMMOST is a document designed to help healthcare providers honor the treatment wishes of their patients during serious or life-limiting illness.

Organ and Anatomical Donation

• New Mexico Lions Eye Bank for patients, surgeons and hospitals
• New Mexico Organ and Tissue Donor Registry - Donor Services is committed to saving and improving lives, connecting one life to another through donation and transplantation.

Probate

• New Mexico Probate Forms
• Probate Judges Manual - A Guide for New Mexico Probate Judges by former Judge Merri Rudd with assistance from Lori Frank 2013 Edition

Legal Assistance Programs

• Senior Citizens Law Office serves seniors age 60 and older in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia Counties, New Mexico, with a wide range of free legal services.
• Legal Resources for the Elderly Program- a program of the New Mexico State Bar that provides legal information, advice, brief services, and referrals to all New Mexico residents 55 years of age and older.
• Law Access New Mexico provides legal advice, brief service and referrals to eligible low-income New Mexicans over the telephone and help remove barriers to the justice system.
• New Mexico LawHelp - A guide to legal information and free civil legal services for low-income persons and seniors. Provides information on how to contact programs offering legal assistance in New Mexico.
• NM State Judiciary Self-Help Website - New Mexico District Court Self-Help Guide provides general information about how to represent yourself.

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Programs, Services and Resources for Older Adults

Social Security Benefits

• The official website of the Social Security Administration
• The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare acts in the best interests of its members through advocacy, education, services, grassroots efforts
• Social Security Administration’s Programs Operations Manual System (POMS)

Medicare

• The official U.S. Government Site for Medicare
• General news and information about Medicare
• The official website of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid — General information about Medicare Rights, legislative updates and other news affecting Medicare beneficiaries
• The Center for Medicare Advocacy includes a wide variety of information: summary of Medicare issues, appeals, litigation, and a link to order Medicare informational materials.
• New Mexico Medical Review Association – Medicare quality improvement organization reviews concerns from Medicare patients regarding quality of care, early discharge

From Senior Citizens Law Office:

Medicare
•    Medicare–Preventives
•    ALERT Medicare’s annual, three month, “General Enrollment Period”
•    Conditional Applications For Medicare–2016
•    Medicare–General Overview–2015
•    Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and Scams
•    Medicare Beneficiaries
•    Got Medicare – Help w Costs
•    MedR Elig–HIE–Medicaid
•    Medicare Savings Programs and Pickle Amendment PP
•    Medicare A Basic Introduction
•    Home Health Care
Power of Attorney
•    Power of Attorney – Frequently Asked Questions
•    Health Decisions Incapacitated Person
Nursing Facility Issues
•    tips for choosing a nursing home
•    Institutional-Medicaid-Fact-Sheet-2016
•    Spanish Inst. Med. Fact Sheet 2016
•    Income Diversion Trusts Overview
•    Nursing home transfer and discharge
Medicaid
•    Medicaid for seniors–2016
•    Conditional Applications For Medicare–2015
•    Centennial Care Fact Sheet - Home & Community Based Waiver Services
•    Centennial Care Fact Sheet
•    MedR Elig–HIE–Medicaid
•    2015 Updated Medicaid Pickle Amendment handout
Disabilities and Health Care
•    Health Decisions Incapacitated Person_updated
•    Hearing aid brochure

Medicaid

• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Studies — Professional and technical information on Medicaid
• New Mexico Human Services Department — State agency in charge of managing the NM Medicaid program
• The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department is dedicated to promoting the independence and dignity of elders and individuals living with a disability.
• The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department Resource Center  provides information and assistance regarding Medicaid and other public benefit programs.

Veterans Benefits

• Official Veterans Administration website
• Specific link to VA health benefits
• VA Burial and Memorial Benefits

Government Programs and Financial Assistance

• An official government website that offers assistance with finding government benefits programs, BenefitsCheckUp asks a series of questions to help identify benefits that could save you money and cover the costs of everyday expenses.

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Long Term Care Facilities

Nursing Homes

• National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – includes a wide variety of nursing home information, including government policy, information on current bills and legislation, and links to state websites. Also includes a link to ombudsmen.
• Medicare Nursing home information  and inspection reports.
• NM Long-Term Care Ombudsman Bureau

Assisted Living, Board and Care and Continuing Care Communities

• Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living
• New Mexico Association for Home & Hospice Care is a resource that serves its membership by facilitating advocacy, networking, education and communication to promote success and best practices in home and hospice care and related support services.
• New Mexico Association for Continuity of Care's Facebook page is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the concept that continuity of care is an essential component of the health care delivery system.

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Other Health Care Programs

Prescription Assistance

• Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association  patient assistance program – includes info on low cost or no cost prescription medications for patients who can’t afford to buy them.
• NeedyMeds is a 501(c)(3) non-profit information resource devoted to helping people in need find assistance programs to help them afford their medications and costs related to health care.
• The Medicine Program is a patient advocacy organization helping individuals and families all across America get access to up to 2,500 prescription medications available today for free or nearly free of charge through Patient Assistance Programs.
• Offers discounts on prescription drugs for all New Mexicans.

Dental/Vision/Hearing

• Albuquerque Speech, Language, and Hearing Center - Provides info on available services.
• The Starkey Hearing Foundation provides info on receiving free hearing aids for income eligible people.
• Eye Care America – comprehensive eye care for senior citizens at no cost.
• An education and information resource for anyone who helps an older spouse, parent, relative, friend, or neighbor.
• The New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition promotes family and professional direct care workers, supporting their professional development and advancing issues of importance to the field of long-term and direct care.

Healthcare Information

• National Library of Medicine website. A good site for medical research
  The National Institutes of Health website contains a wide variety of medical information.
• The Centers for Disease Control contains wide variety of information on medical conditions.
• Consumer website for medical information
• Website of the American Cancer Society
• Website of the American Heart Association
• Website of the Patient Advocate Foundation

Dementia

• The National Institute on Aging website - Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center
• New Mexico Alzheimer's Association website dedicated to research and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and education for caregivers, family and friends