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The Covid-19 Pandemic has changed the world in many ways. One thing that has not changed, and has become more important, is the need to have legal planning in place if you get sick or worse. So, Powers of Attorney to have a trusted person in place to pay your bills and handle your finances; Health Care Proxies to have a someone in place to make medical decisions if you can’t make them for yourself; and estate planning documents like Wills and Trusts are even more important now than ever.

Covid-19 also has put limits on how you can put these documents in place. Seniors can’t easily or safely meet in my office as before Covid-19 to discuss planning and to sign the documents, many of which need to be signed in the presence of witnesses and a notary public.

Fortunately, we humans are a resourceful species and some solutions have been put into place so that you can get these important documents in place; such as:

-a computer, tablet or smartphone, using video conferencing software (ZOOM and similar), can allow meetings to take place between your lawyer and you remotely.

-if your lawyer and you are comfortable with you coming in to the office, many offices now have protective shields and air purifiers in place so that you can see and hear your lawyer in person safely with masks.

-meetings to execute documents can take place in many ways. There are three options my office has been using:

1. Meet in person with the protective safeguards (shields, masks and air purifiers) with witnesses and the notary keeping social distance but still being in your presence to meet legal requirements.
2. When the documents are finalized, meet through a video conference with the lawyer to confirm the choices you have made in the documents. Then follow up with a “drive in” document signing in the office parking lot where the notary and witnesses provide the documents through the car window and watch as they are executed (and no, you can’t get fries with that).
3. Massachusetts passed a remote notarization law that allows documents to be witnessed and notarized remotely using a computer or smart-phone (not easy or simple, but it works).

If you haven’t done legal planning before or need to make changes to your plan, the Pandemic should not be an excuse not to do it now.

We all need to think about what would happen in a worst case scenario.

If you have a family member sick at home and at risk of being hospitalized: have an emergency go bag for the hospital. Visitors are not being allowed in now. Things you should have in the bag:

1. Written UPDATED accurate list of medications: name, dose, frequency. Initials after name of medication are important too such as: XL, XR, LA, IR, ER, SR
2. Cell phone charger! Patients always have phones without battery! You can be in the emergency room for 6 to 48 hours!
3. List of emergency contacts and phone numbers on paper! If the patient is unconscious and phone is locked or battery out..
4. Good toothbrush and hair brush. Hospital toiletries are cheap. This isn’t the Hilton.
5. 3 pairs of underwear. Can vary depending on the condition of the patient, but if I were hospitalized in non critical condition I would want my own underwear.
6. Primary Care Doctor. Full name, phone number, office address.
7. Book or something to read. I have yet to find a hospital with decent Wi-Fi.
8. Copy of legal paperwork such as health care proxy, advance directive, or MOLST
9. If patient has a pacemaker or defibrillator: a copy of the pocket information card that states the brand, model number, MRI compatibility.
10. If the patient has asthma or COPD, bring the inhalers. Hospitals are running out.
11. Extra batteries for hearing aid or other medical devices.

I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST LEAVING A COPY OF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROXY / EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION / HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION ATTACHED TO THE SIDE OF YOUR REFRIGERATOR WITH A MAGNET.  EMT’S ARE TRAINED TO LOOK FOR EMERGENCY INFORMATION THERE IN THE EVENT THAT YOU NEED TO CONTACT 911 BUT CANNOT SPEAK.

In these trying times in order to help maintain public safety our office is closed. But we are happy to discuss your Estate Planning, Estate Administration, or Elder Law needs with you by phone or email.  To set up a phone consultation please call us at (617) 332-7021. To contact us by email please send your email to information@Lofflaw.com. We are working on ways to coordinate our communications by other media means and to find options to office meetings in order to execute documents requiring witnesses and/or notarization. Please Stay Safe!

Attorney Timothy Lofff will be a featured speaker at the 20th Annual Elder & Disability Law Conference 2019.  Teaming up with licensed insurance adviser Tobe Gerard, Attorney Loff will be presenting on “Fitting Long Term Care Insurance into the Estate Plan.”

More Info:

https://www.mcle.org/product/catalog/code/2190279P01

On September 26, 2018 Elder Law Attorney Clarence Richardson joined other members of the West Suburban Area Alzheimer’s Partnership in becoming Dementia Friends. Beth Soltzberg, Director of Alzheimer’s/Related Disorders Family Support Program at Jewish Family & Children’s Services led the one hour training session at Waterstone at the Circle, a senior living community in Chestnut Hill.

Dementia Friends is a global movement that is changing the way people think, act, and talk about dementia. By helping everyone in a community understand what dementia is and how it affects people, each of us can make a difference for people who are living with dementia and the people who care about them. Attorney Richardson plans to complete his training and become a Dementia Friends Champion within the next year.

Developed by the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom, Dementia Friends is spreading across the globe, and is now available in the United States. For more information, please visit Dementia Friends of Massachusetts.

On Wednesday August 22nd The Law Offices of Timothy Loff bade a fond farewell to our 2018 summer intern, Noah Richardson.

Noah came to LOTL via the Waltham Partnership for Youth and their Summer Internship Program which connects students with paid internships in a wide range of fields. Over a six week period, Noah worked primarily with Attorney Clarence Richardson, assisting with archiving documents, phone coverage and visiting a number of the area’s probate courts. Additionally he worked independently on a project investigating Massachusetts coastal land rights.

Noah headed back to school to complete his senior year at Waltham High at the end of August with current plans to pursue a career in Law.

Thanks for all your help Noah!

The 2018 Wicked Local Readers Choice Awards have been announced!

In the Newton Local Services category Elder Law Attorney Timothy Loff, with offices in Newton Center, was voted Best Attorney/Lawyer by readers of the Newton Tab.

Attorney Loff was very surprised to hear of the award as he was completely unaware of his nomination.

“A friend called me from Wellesley and said, “Congratulations on your award.”  I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Loff related.

“He finally texted me a photo of the page from the Wellesley Townsman as proof!”

As noted in a May 29th article in Wicked Local Arlington, Elder Law Attorney Timothy Loff spoke to an audience of approximately 100 members at the Retired Men’s Club of Arlington on the topic of, “How to protect yourself and help your loved ones during your Golden Years.”

The presentation covered Wills, Trusts, Health Care Proxies, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Medical Privacy Forms, Burial Directives, and discussed how these documents work and why you need them.

Attorney Loff’s thirty year practice is focused on Probate matters, and representing individuals and families on Estate and Healthcare planning.  If you are interested in having Attorney Loff speak to your group on Elder Law issues, please contact his Newton office.

Attorneys Tim Loff and Clarence Richardson with WPY Executive Director Kaytie Dowcett

Attorneys Timothy Loff and Clarence Richardson spent an inspirational morning at the Waltham Partnership for Youth Linking Education & Business Breakfast. Each year, WPY brings nearly 200 people together from Waltham’s business and education communities to celebrate partnerships and explore ways to work together to increase opportunities and outcomes for all Waltham youth.  The Law Offices of Timothy Loff were pleased to be an event sponsor.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Melodie Knowlton

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Melodie Knowlton, heads the Thomas M. Menino Vertex Learning Lab, a 3,000sq. ft. classroom and laboratory space at Vertex’s corporate headquarters in Boston. The Learning Lab’s mission is to inspire and equip under-resourced youth to become the next generation of scientific leaders and health care professionals.

The Waltham Partnership for Youth gave its Good Neighbor Award to Brandeis University, especially noting the contributions of Marya Levenson, Director of the Education Department at Brandeis, Lucas Malo, Director of Community Service at Brandeis, and Anique Olivier Mason, Director of Education, Outreach and Diversity at the Brandeis Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.

The Law Offices Of Timothy Loff is also pleased to announce our participation in Waltham Partnership for Youth’s Summer Internship program.   For the second year in a row Loff Law will host a paid intern from Waltham High School and introduce them to the legal field.

Learn more:

• Waltham Partnership for Youth
• Dr. Melodie Knowlton
• WPY Good Neighbor Award

We all knew it was coming-rate hikes for Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) in Massachusetts. Increases from 10 percent to 40 percent, with increases greater than 10 percent phased in over multiple years have been announced by the Division of Insurance.

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance has been holding off the companies for several years, but something had to give. So either rate hikes, or companies get in financial trouble and/or leave the Commonwealth. But there are some very important things to keep in mind when considering your options if you are faced with a premium increase:

1. If you purchased an LTCI policy before March 15, 1999, that paid at least $50 per day of nursing home benefits, for at least two (2) years, your home may be protected if you need Medicaid (MassHealth in Massachusetts) to pay for your care.
2. If you purchased an LTCI policy after March 15, 1999 that paid at that paid at least $125 per day of nursing home benefits, for at least two (2) years, your home may be protected if you need Medicaid (MassHealth in Massachusetts) to pay for your care.
3. You may be able to drop some benefits in your policy (like inflation riders) to keep the premiums the same, but still maintain the Medicaid protection.

Massachusetts is the only state in the country that has this protection for your home if you have purchased the right amount of LTCI. Before you throw up your hands and give up this valuable protection, talk to your attorney. You may be able to make adjustments to keep the policy affordable, and if you can’t, maybe your children can help. After all, they might be the ones to ultimately benefit from the protection you are paying for.