This book provides a comprehensive foundation of the underlying social, economic, political, and legal aspects of some of the issues facing senior citizens. Articles and essays touch on the areas of healthcare, mental capacity, pensions, Social Security reform, elder abuse, long-term care, and legal representation

Mulcahy, Jane

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Book Review: Aging in the Law: An Interdisciplinary Reader

Marquette University Law School

Marquette Elder's AdvisorVolume 1Issue 2 Fall Article 17Book Review: Aging in the Law: AnInterdisciplinary ReaderJane MulcahyFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/eldersPart of the Elder Law CommonsThis Bookshelf is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion inMarquette Elder's Advisor by an authorized administrator of Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contactmegan.obrien@marquette.edu.Repository CitationMulcahy, Jane (1999) "Book Review: Aging in the Law: An Interdisciplinary Reader ," Marquette Elder's Advisor: Vol. 1: Iss. 2, Article17.Available at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/elders/vol1/iss2/17BOOKSHEL FAging and the Law: AnInterdisciplinary Reader;Senior LivingCommunitiesBy Jane MulcahyJane Mulcahy practices law atBrusky & Sjostrom SC inWauwatosa, Wisconsin. Her prac-tice focuses on elder law and estateplanning.Aging and the Law: AnInterdisciplinary Reader,edited by Lawrence A. Frolik(Temple University Press1999)As promised in itspreface, Aging andthe Law: An Inter-disciplinary Readerprovides the profes-sional in elder law with a com-prehensive foundation of infor-mation regarding agingAmericans. Through a collectionof articles, essays, and bookexcerpts, Lawrence Frolik pre-sents his readers with social,political, economic, and legalcommentary on the issues facingolder Americans. The bookoffers several topical segments,each addressing a unique aspectof elder law, including an intro-duction to the field of elder law;issues of employment, income,and wealth; housing; mentalcapacity; health care decisionmaking; long-term care; the spe-cial problems facing the elderlyin financing their health care;family and social issues; thedilemma of elder abuse and thetreatment of elderly criminals;and the special ethical and legalconsiderations facing attorneyswho represent the elderly.To introduce his readers toelder law, Frolik has collected aseries of articles that address thequestions: What is elder law?Why is it treated as a separatecategory of the law? Who exact-ly are the "old"? Do the elderlyhave equal access to justice?Selections also address the socialand ethnic differences in atti-tudes toward the aging in minor-ity groups.Frolik first approaches theissues of employment, income,and wealth through an article onwhy people retire. Then suchtopics as age discrimination inemployment, pensions, andSocial Security are proffered.Finally, the wide-ranging aspectsof Social Security reform-including the implications of pri-vatization of the fund and theaffects of feminism on policy-are discussed.The housing options andchallenges facing the elderly arepresented through readings thatexplore the special housing needsand the appropriateness of exist-8182 Elder's Advisoring housing options. Specialhousing alternatives such as con-tinuing care communities, boardand care homes, and assisted liv-ing environments are reviewed.Additionally, an excerpt from aSpecial Committee on Aging andSelect Committee on Aging JointHearing report details the prob-lems of board and care facilitiesthat oftentimes fail to providequality care to the elderly.Mental capacity issues areexamined through articles thatdiscuss the different perspectiveson the psychological and med-ical evaluation of mental capaci-ty and legal standards of inca-pacity. The reader can delve intocommentary on guardianshipprocedures and alternatives, aswell as the need for continuingreform in the area. In addition,the issue of autonomy for theelder is explored.Health care decision makingencompasses such topics as thedoctrine of informed consent,the right to die, the viability ofhealth care decisions made by anincapacitated individual, and thecontroversy surrounding assistedsuicide as an option for the ter-minally ill. The reader is present-ed with a strong foundation ofthe sometimes sticky issues sur-rounding a person's right to self-determination when faced withlife-and-death decisions.Issues of long-term care arehighlighted, including the long-term care options available, thefinancing of such care, the regu-lation of the caretakers, and thepitfalls of certain types ofoptions. Also included is aninteresting profile of the charac-teristics of elders who are at riskfor nursing home admission.Financing of the elder'shealth care in general is exploredthrough a discussion ofMedicare-its history, its experi-mentation with HMOs, and itsneed for reform. The notion ofhealth care rationing is also pre-sented through an insightful arti-cle examining prejudices againstolder persons and their moralclaim to increasingly scarcehealth care resources. Also dis-cussed is the idea of imposing fil-ial responsibility upon adultchildren for their impoverishedparents.Frolik offers a collection ofinterdisciplinary commentary onthe elder's marriage and family,spiritual, and social issues.Special social issues include theproblems of alcohol abuse, sui-cide, loneliness, and mental ill-ness in the aging population.Elder abuse, neglect, victimiza-tion, and crime are proposed asspecial problems for the elderly.Also explored is the institutionalmistreatment and special sen-tencing problems that face elder-ly criminals.Finally, the unique issues thatarise from legally representingolder clients are explored. Someof the professional and ethicalconsiderations facing attorneysare the competency of a clientand the ethical management ofthe client's assets.What is most striking aboutFrolik's book is the sheer varietyof its contents. While one articledescribes the nuts and bolts of atechnical topic, the next address-es the psychological or culturalimpact of decisions or situations.The book arms its reader withbackground information fromevery aspect of elder law.Senior Living Communities:Operations Managementand Marketing for AssistedLiving, Congregate, andContinuing-Care RetirementCommunities, by BenjaminW. Pearce (Johns HopkinsUniversity Press 1998)Senior Living Communities byBenjamin W Pearce is a special-ty publication that is likely to aidthe attorney in several differentsituations, including as coun-selor to a client who is assessingsenior living options, as corpo-rate counsel to a senior livingcommunity, or even as advisor toan entrepreneur ready to openhis or her own facility. The bookis geared toward the senior liv-ing community administratorand provides the reader with aworkbook that includes clearpractical guidelines and usefulchecklists and appendices. Themain topics addressed in thebook are senior living adminis-tration, resident services, andmarketing.Pearce begins the book withan introduction to, and explana-tion of, the various senior livingoptions available, namely theindependent living facility, theassisted living facility, the con-gregate senior housing option,and the continuing care retire-ment community. Relying oncurrent trends in the aging popu-lation and legislative policy, it isconcluded that senior livingcommunities have a brightfuture.A very technical financialsection is included that addressessuch topics as types of owner-ship, budgets, capitalization,accounting, financial ratios, andfinancial statements. A manage-83COLUMN Bookshelfment and human resource sec-tion follows with discussion ofsuch issues as hiring, evaluating,managing, and compensatingstaff. Additionally, the reader isbriefed on how to manage expo-sure to liability in the seniorcommunity setting. Included arehelpful tables, charts, and step-by-step "how-tos" to facilitatean understanding of the materi-al.A lengthy portion of thebook is devoted to resident ser-vices, including everything fromthe use of a concierge to person-al care services to housekeeping.Again, as a workbook, the bookoffers practical approaches toproviding these services withdetails as explicit as the handlingof complaints and the staffingand duties of the security office.Finally, a detailed plan for themarketing and sales of living ser-vices is outlined. With samplemarket surveys, forecasts, andadvertising, the reader is providedwith the tools to effectively mar-ket a senior living community.The special issue of marketing toa group that is "aging in place" isaddressed in terms of offeringgraduated services so that residentturnover, which is likely toincrease as residents need addi-tional services, is stabilized.The appendices include "50Questions Frequently Asked byResidents and Families," anoperations audit form that couldbe a very useful quality assurancetool, a chart offering alternativesto financing senior livingoptions, and a step-by-step "crit-ical path" to opening a senior liv-ing community (chronicling 180steps to "success"). The informa-tion is equally enlighteningwhether the reader is creating aquality environment or assessingthe "success" of a prospectiveresidential community. An addedbenefit of the book is its "FurtherReading" section that links itsreaders to a compilation of addi-tional sources.Senior Living Communitiesis a specialty book with a defi-nite audience niche. It offers anattorney the inside track withrespect to advising corporateclients interested in breakinginto, or remaining competitivein, the business of senior livingoptions. The book is also anexcellent resource for evaluatingsenior living options for clientswho are unsure of the market.COLUMN BookshelfvisorPUBLICATIONPOLICIES ANDGUIDELINESFOR AUTHORSTHE JOURNALOF ELDER LAWAND PosT-RETIREMENTPLANNINGElder's Advisor is a practice-oriented publication providing substantive information on the legal, tax,health, welfare, and financial planning issues of the elderly. Our readership includes elder law attorneys,general practice attorneys, financial planners, CPAs, and other professionals whose practices focus on olderclients. The journal encourages submission of manuscripts from experts in the field on all relevant topics,including health care planning, pensions, taxation, trusts and estates, Medicare, guardianship, and long-term care insurance.Elder's Advisor emphasizes quality and clarity of exposition. Reviewers consider the following criteria inassessing potential contributions: the value of the information to the journal's audience, the substantivecontribution to the broadly defined field of elder law and retirement planning, and the overall quality ofthe manuscript. The decision to publish a given manuscript is made by the editors, relying on the recom-mendations of reviewers.Submission of a manuscript clearly implies commitment to publish in Elder's Advisor. Previously publishedpapers and papers under review by other journals are unacceptable except in very rare cases. Articlesadapted from book-length works in progress will be considered for prior publication with attention givento the necessary copyright arrangements.Manuscript Specifications. Manuscripts submitted for consideration generally should not exceed 30 type-written pages. All material should be double-spaced, on one side only of 81/2-by-11-inch white paper.Bibliographical references should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the text on a separate pageheaded "References." Citations and footnotes should follow Bluebook style and should be placed at theend of the text on a separate page headed "Endnotes." All references and citations must be complete.Improperly prepared manuscripts will be returned to the authors for re-preparation.Within the article, use headings and subheadings to break up text and emphasize points; type them flushleft. Number all pages of text. Each table or figure should be positioned on a separate page at the end ofthe article. The point of insertion of the table or figure should be indicated at the proper place in the text(e.g., "Table 2 about here"). Any artwork must be provided in camera-ready form or on disk; tabularmaterial as well as the text, however, will be typeset.Personal Information. Contributors should attach a cover sheet giving title, author's name as it shouldappear in print, author's title or position, firm or company affiliation, a brief biographical sketch, currentmail and e-mail addresses, and telephone and fax numbers.Routing and Handling Submissions. One clean copy of the manuscript should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief at the address below.Acceptance; Disk Specifications. Once an article has been formally accepted by the Editor-in-Chief, theauthor must submit the article to the publisher in two formats: one clean, double-spaced manuscript copyand a 31/2 inch disk that contains the article in a Microsoft Word 7.0 or any earlier version, WordPerfect5.0, 5.1, 6.0, or ASCII file. Each disk must be labeled with program version, author name, and journaltitle. File name should be the author's last name.Copies and Copyright. Copyright will be retained by the publisher, and articles are subject to editorialrevision. There is no payment for articles; authors will receive ten copies of the issue in which the articleis published.Manuscripts not accepted for publication will not be returned. Authors are advised to keep the originalcopies of their manuscripts for their files.Manuscripts submitted for publication and inquiries about the suitability of a manuscript should beaddressed to the Editor-in-Chief:Elder's Advisor journalAlison BarnesMarquette University Law SchoolP.O. Box 1881Milwaukee, WI 53202Tel.: (414) 288-5368Fax:(414) 288-5914E-mail: Alison.Barnes@marquette.eduFor business and production matters, contact.Dana BlandJournals EditorPanel Publishers1185 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10036Tel.: (212) 597-0297Fax: (212) 597-0332

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Book Review: Aging in the Law: An Interdisciplinary Reader

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