Why pro bono? Hear from long-time volunteer attorney Benjamin S. Cranston, Esq., Senior Associate at Phillips Lytle, on what has motivated him to volunteer with CELJ for half a decade: How did you become interested in volunteering with the Center for Elder Law & Justice, and specifically, the Surrogate's Court Help Center? My mentor advised me that the Surrogate’s Court Help Center would be a great opportunity to meet with clients and learn more about Surrogate’s Court practice. Prior to 2020, I volunteered at the Surrogate’s Court to assist in-person Help Center clients. As a young attor ..read more

The Center for Elder Law and Justice Recognizes Social Work Month Written By: Isabelle Hogan, Columbia University SSW MSW ‘25 Edited By: Corey Haertel, University at Buffalo SSW MSW ‘25   The Center for Elder Law and Justice joins many organizations across the nation in recognizing March as National Social Work Month to honor the invaluable contributions of social workers. Experiencing challenging life events, such as the loss of stable housing, the loss of work or income or escaping domestic and family violence, often brings individuals in contact with both legal and social service profe ..read more

As summer continues, Center for Elder Law and Justice has noticed a spike of home improvement scams, or contractor scams. What do these scams look like, and how can you protect yourself and your equity? What is a home improvement scam? A home improvement scam is when a victim hires a contractor to do work on their home, but the work is either never done or done poorly. The victim not only loses money, but the full use of their home which may have been damaged or just never repaired in the first place. Contractors may go door-to-door soliciting work, they may approach you after a particularly d ..read more

Topics in this Blog What was the old rule? What were the side effects of this old rule? What procedures are now covered by Medicaid? Why did the rule change?  What was the old rule? Medicaid is a federal program that is managed by the states, so it is different in every state. Several states including New York did not cover dental health care. Legally, New York was still required to cover medically necessary dental care. The list of what was medically necessary for dental care was very limited. For years, under New York Medicaid coverage rules, the State prioritized procedures t ..read more

According to the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), landlords and tenants have specific rights and requirements when participating in Section 8 housing. 24 CF.R. § 982 is the governing federal law for Section 8 tenant-based assistance. § 982.309 of the C.F.R. details the terms of assisted tenancy and what Section 8 participants are responsible for to remain within the program. If the Section 8 participant terminates their lease, they must notify the property owner and the Public Housing Agency (P.H.A.) at the same time. This notice must come before the Section 8 participant moves out of the ..read more

Kinship Caregivers, defined as the full-time nurturing or care of a child by a relative or other adult with a kinship bond, are faced with a variety of custody and permanency options. The goal of family court is always “return to parent,” meaning that the family court system is committed to helping parents gain the skills and resources they need to properly care for their children. Although the goal is “return to parent,” there are other options available when “return to parent” is not a possibility. This article focuses on the following permanency options available for Kinship Caregivers: ·&n ..read more

Topics in this Blog What is BENES 1.0? What is BENES 2.0? Why are these being discussed? What are the penalties for late enrollment? How do I avoid IRMAA premiums? What is the next step? What can I do? What is BENES 1.0? BENES stands for the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act. The BENES Act is a bipartisan bill that was sponsored by Bob Casey (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN). This proposed law enacts small changes to Medicare.  Advanced Notice of Medicare: BENES would require the federal government to provide advanced notice to people approa ..read more

The internet is a technological miracle, connecting billions of people around the world with one another. You can look up anything on the internet; recipes for corn bread, events near you, lyrics to that song you can’t get out of your head, even where George Clooney’s house is. But the internet, like life, is full of dangers. Conmen and –women take advantage of people online at an alarming rate. Older adults are targeted because they tend to be more trusting, are thought to have ‘nest eggs’ and guaranteed income, and are believed to be less technologically inclined. If you have a social media ..read more

Staff Attorney Erin Killian and I had the pleasure of attending the 47th Annual Conference of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care October 31-November 1 in Baltimore, Maryland. This conference brings together long-term care ombudsmen, persons living in nursing homes, family and other advocates from across the country to connect, learn best practices and gain new skills to utilize in our collective goal to ensure every older adult and person with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity and have access to quality long term services and supports. I had the pleasure of ..read more

By: Amanda Warner, Esq. & Iliana Lukasik, Law Clerk The 2023 National Celebration of Pro Bono, with the theme “Voices of Democracy: Ensuring Justice for All,” will be held October 22-28. Pro bono, whose English translation of the Latin phrase is “for the public good,” refers to professional services that are provided at no or very low cost.[1]   The American Bar Association launched the National Celebration of Pro Bono in 2009 in response to the increased need for pro bono services during harsh economic times, and the unprecedented response of private attorneys to meet this demand. Every ..read more