The Legal Issues for Older Adults handbook is designed to help identify some of the common legal questions people may have as they age.
This handbook is not legal advice. But it will alert you to issues you should think about, and it will give you basic ideas and definitions you can use to decide if you need legal advice. You can find contact information for any government, social service or community program referenced in this hand book in the resources section (Chapter 8).
This edition was updated in January 2017. The law can change at any time though, so some information may not be accurate later. Look for more current information from the websites and contact information in each chapter.
Purchase a copy for $10 in our Online Bookstore. You may also download the entire document, available below in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, or Vietnamese., The table of contents with topics covered in each chapter is also available below.
1-1 Social Security
1-2 Railroad Retirement Annuities
1-3 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Based on Age
1-4 Employee Pensions
1-5 Disability-based Benefi ts: Social Security Disability
1-6 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based on Disability
1-7 Railroad Disability Benefi ts
1-8 Veterans’ Disability Benefi ts
1-9 Benefi ts Overpayments
1-10 Earnings from Work
1-11 Age and Disability Discrimination in the Workplace
1-12 Other Income Sources for Seniors
1-13 State Financial Programs
1-14 Additional Programs for Seniors
2-1 Medicare Overview
2-2 Medicare Eligibility
2-3 Medicare Enrollment
2-4 What Medicare Covers
2-5 How Medicare Pays
2-6 Medicare Claims
2-7 Medicare Denials and Appeals
2-8 “Medigap,” the Supplemental Health Insurance for Medicare
2-9 Help in Making Medicare Health Plan Decisions
2-10 HIPAA Release Forms
2-11 The Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid)
2-12 How to Apply
2-13 How OHP Medicaid Pays
2-14 Problems with Managed Care under the Oregon Health Plan
2-15 Oregon Health Plan Denials and Appeals
2-16 Getting Long-term Care
2-17 Paying for Long-term Care
2-18 Veterans’ Health Care Benefits
2-19 VA Health Care Denials and Appeals
2-20 Affordable Care Act Coverage
2-21 Making Health Care Decisions
2-22 Doctors’ Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
2-23 Oregon’s Death with Dignity Law
3-1 Overview
3-2 Staying in Your Own Home
3-3 Deferring Your Property Taxes
3-4 Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption
3-5 Living in Your Rented Home or Condominium
3-6 Fair Housing Rights
3-7 Assisted Living
3-8 Adult Care Homes
3-9 Continuum of Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
3-10 Residential Care Facility
3-11 Memory Care (Dementia) Facilities
3-12 Nursing Facilitiesi
3-13 Choosing a Senior Community74
3-14 The Residents’ Bill of Rights
3-15 Skilled Nursing Home Residents’ Rights
3-16 Complaining about Problems Where You Live
4-1 Direct Deposit
4-2 Automatic Bill Payment
4-3 Joint Bank Accounts
4-4 Powers of Attorney
4-5 Representative Payee
4-6 Conservatorship
4-7 Managing Your Well-Being
4-8 Guardianship
5-1 Overview
5-2 Dying without a Will
5-3 Wills
5-4 Probate
5-5 Alternatives to Wills
5-6 Estate Transfer Taxes
5-7 General advice
6-1 In the First Few Days
6-2 In the First Few Weeks
6-3 Probating the Estate
7-1 Marrying in Later Life
7-2 Ending a Marriage or Domestic Partnership
7-3 Grandparents’ Rights
7-4 Violence in the Home
7-5 Elder Abuse
8-1 Social Services
8-2 Help with Legal Issues
8-3 Federal Benefi ts
8-4 Tax Issues
8-5 Housing Issues
8-6 Employment Discrimination
8-7 Resources for Veterans
8-8 Protection from Abuse
8-9 Health Care Planning
8-10 Help with Medicare and Other Insurance
Glossary of Terms
