Lyons Estate Planning Blog

Where To Find Me

2011-05-25T16:49:13Z

6529 Riverside Avenue, Suite 132

RIverside, CA 92506

Telephone: (951) 781-1960

Email: maureen@moynihanlyons.com

Moynihan Lyons is an estate planning, elder law and estate administration law firm in Riverside, California. Our team of experienced attorneys and probate and trust administration specialists work to secure our clients’ futures.

Estate Planning

Wills - Trusts - Powers of Attorney - Special Needs Trusts

Elder Law

Probate

Conservatorships

Trust Administration

Maureen Lyons - THE MOYNIHAN LAW FIRM - Riverside, CA (951) 781-1960

2009-11-23T07:32:07Z

I have just celebrated my 1 year anniversary at THE MOYNIHAN LAW FIRM in
Riverside.

THE MOYNIHAN LAW FIRM
7871 Riverside Avenue
Suite 132
Riverside, CA 92506
Telephone: (951) 781-1960
Email: maureen@moynihanlawfirm.com
Web: www.moynihanlawfirm.com

Hello, Mary Lou!

2009-11-17T06:31:10Z

The Moynihan Law Firm is pleased to announce that Mary Lou Marquez, BSW, has
joined the firm as our new Geriatric Care Coordinator.

Mary Lou is a graduate of California State University at Los Angeles and
holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work with a minor in Gerontology.

Mary Lou has extensive experience with the geriatric care community. She
coordinates services for our clients and promotes their emotional and
physical health, well-being and safety. In addition Mary Lou performs
community outreach for the firm.

Test

2009-11-17T06:16:34Z

Does this still work?

Medicare Nursing Home Ratings - Flawed, But a Start

2008-12-20T02:17:11Z

Yesterday, the government released a nationwide evaluation of nursing home
usi

Thanking A Servicemember at Christmastime

2008-12-14T03:10:46Z

Here's a nice offer from Xerox Corporation. Go to
http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html to send a free postcard saying
"thank you" to a servicemeber serving overseas.

National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month

2008-11-12T20:54:20Z

Have you noticed more people wearing purple wristbands? They are wearing
them to help promote awareness of Alzheimer's Disease.

This month is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. Alzheimer's
disease is a progressive brain disease that is ultimately fatal. The
Alzheimer's Association estimates that approximately 5 million American's
are currently living with Alzheimer's disease. Please visit their great
website, www.alz.org for more information.

While you are there, please consider signing the e-petition urging
President-elect Obama to make Alzheimer's disease a national priority.

Additionally, please consider donating either online or by mail to:

Alzheimer's Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17
Chicago, Ill. 60601-7633

For readers in the Riverside area, our closest office is the Inland Empire
Regional Office in Upland, CA.

Their contact information is:

Inland Empire Regional Office
1365 West Foothill Blvd., Ste. 3
Upland, CA 91786
909.931.1580

Closing My Solo Practice; Joining The Moynihan Law Firm

2008-10-31T16:55:46Z

Greetings All -

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining The Moynihan Law Firm in Riverside, California where I will continue practicing Elder Law and Estate Planning.

This change is effective as of November 3, 2008.

Consequently, I am closing my Long Beach practice and will be transitioning this website in the near future.

To my clients, colleagues, friends and family, thank you for your support. It has been a privilege working with you and serving the Long Beach community.

Here is my new contact information:

The Moynihan Law Firm
6529 Riverside Avenue, Suite 132
Riverside, CA 92506
Telephone: (951) 781-1960
Facsimile: (951) 682-5348
Temporary Email: MLyons (at) LyonsLegal.com

Dangers of "Elderspeak"

2008-10-23T14:16:34Z

Dangers of "Elderspeak"

"The New Old Age" is the name = of a blog appearing in the New York Times written by Jane Gross. Topics covered have ranged from things to know about assisted living to caring for caregivers to geriatric care management.

One particularly interesting article addressed "Elderspeak" - the sometimes insulting & demeaning words used when talking to to or about seniors. Words like "Dear" and "Sweetie". Of course, even words such as Elder, Senior, etc. can inflict unintended wounds when we aren't sensitive to the people we are talking to.

Even "innocent" attempts at warmth might not be perceived that way. Instead, they might suggest that the speaker thinks the senior is incompetent.

Worse yet, was imagining the impact of = being on the receiving end of the question, "Who did you used to be?"

I encourage readers to visit the blog at http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/

Governor Signs SB 483

2008-09-29T02:34:39Z

Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 483 into law this weekend. See previous post for a discussion of the changes to Medi-Cal Long-Term Care eligibility and what that means to you. I will post more on this topic soon.

Governor Signs California Budget

2008-09-23T19:12:56Z

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ended the 85 day budget stalemate today when he
signed a $103.4 billion general-fund spending plan.

This came after vetoing $510 million in line-item expenditures.

Nursing homes, community colleges and state vendors will again be for
services

Low-income elderly, blind and disabled, as well as welfare recipients, will
receive no state cost-of-living increases.

The wealthy and those required to file quarterly income tax will pay more
taxes in the first half of the next year and less in the second half.

As I mentioned in the previous post, and in my presentations, the Governor was holding off signing the bill containing the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care changes until he signed the new budget. Thus, expect SB 483 to be signed soon.

Once signed, Medi-Cal Long-Term Care laws will go into effect as soon as state regulations are
implemented and filed with the Secretary of State. This will take place
over the course of 2009.

California Law Affecting Medi-Cal (Medicaid) Eligibility for Long-Term Care About to Get A Lot Tougher

2008-09-22T19:15:00Z

California's laws affecting Medi-Cal (Medicaid) eligibility for long-term are about to get a lot tougher.

SB 483 which implements the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was passed by the Senate at the end of August and is awaiting the Governor's signature. These changes were required if California wanted to continue receiving federal funding. Full implementation of the new laws should be phased in starting January 2009. Once implemented, many of the current strategies availble for Medi-Cal planning will become useless.

Included among the pending harsh new realities of Medi-Cal eligibiilty:

1. Extension of the "look back" period during which the government will examine all asset transfers from the current 30 month period to 60 months (5 years). Any transfers made for less than fair market value, including any gifts to children, grandchildren, tuition payments, etc, will be used to calculate a period of ineligibility.

2. Penalty period of ineligibility will begin at the time of application for Medi-Cal benefits rather than from the time the transfer of assets occurred.

3. Penalties for individual transfer will no longer be permitted to run concurrently.

4. Exemption for home equity which is currently unlimited will be capped at home equity of $750,000.

Saturday July 12 - "A Place To Live" - dcoumentary on Senior Housing for the LGBT Community

2008-07-11T05:30:35Z

For those able to get to the Fairfax Cinema (Los Angles) Saturday July 12,
2008, "A Place To Live" debuts at Outfest 2008. This documentary tells the
story of 7 gay and lesbian seniors who are hoping to be selected in the
lottery for an apartment in Triangle Square in Hollywood

Triangle Square is our country's first affordable housing facility serving
LGBT seniors.

I have only seen the trailer which I have linked to below but hope to see
the whole film very soon. It is a very powerful story and a very important
step for seniors.

A Place to Live (trailer)

Here are the particulars for Saturday.

"A Place to Live"
Fairfax Cinema
7907 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Noon (70 minutes)
Tickets $12

More Information:
Outfest 2008 - www.outfest.org
Telephone: 213.480.7065

For more information on Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing in Los Angeles, please visit

Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing at gleh.org
You can also reach them at 323.957.7200

Special Olympics in Long Beach this Weekend at CSULB

2008-06-13T15:46:00Z

Following a Torch Run from the Port to the Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach, Opening Ceremonies for the Special Olympics Summer Games 2008 are scheduled to begin at 7:45 tonight.

Fifteen hundred athletes will be competing over the weekend (June 13-15) in Aquatics, Basketball, Bocce, Golf, Gymnastics, & Tennis.

The event & parking is free to the public and everyone is invited to attend the athletic events and visit Sports Expo Park featuring entertainment, games and music from 9 a.m to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit the Special Olympics Southern California website at: http://www.sosc.org/2008SummerGames.html

Inspirational - Two LA Greats - Vin Scully & John Wooden

2008-05-22T19:09:00Z

My brother Bob, an avid Dodger fan & loyal Bruin, would argue that these two men represent two of the best "things" about growing up in California. While I definitely favor the Trojans, I'll gladly celebrate John Wooden's contributions to UCLA basketball and beyond!

Watch videos of Vin Scully (age 80) and John Wooden (97!) taken Wednesday at the Los Angeles Coliseum during the ceremony unveiling a plaque honoring Wooden at Kevin Roderick's LA Observed website. (Not sure why it was at the Coliseum.) My guess is that Wooden's already been honored at most other likely venues.

Sadly, I was at the Sports Arena the same day for the California State Science Fair & saw the preparations for the ceremony but had no inkling what was going on. Since nonparticipants weren't allowed on the floor during the judging, I had tons of free time. It would have be great to see Wooden & Scully togethe

DON'T FALL FOR THIS! PHONY IRS REFUND EMAIL

2008-05-22T18:20:02Z

Below is a sample of someone's online scam that I received today.

I KNOW that is not office IRS correspondence because:

1. The IRS is not going to contact me via email.
2. The return address (see From: below) is not the an IRS address.
Notice that it doesn't have the .gov extension that government agencies
typically have.

If you receive this message or something similar, don't click on any of the
links or buttons. Just delete it.

Note, I deleted the actual links contained in the body of the email.

-----Original Message-----
From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto: info @ regard-irs.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:51 AM
Subject: Tax refund - Online form
Importance: High

[DELETED]

A Secure Way to Receive Your Tax Return

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $620.50.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order to
process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here [DELETED]

Note: For security reasons, we will record your ip-address, the date and
time.
Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicated.

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

Copyright 2008, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

CA SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS THE BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

2008-05-16T18:52:31Z

The California Supreme Court yesterday declared the ban on gay marriage
instituted with the passage of Proposition 22 in 2000 unconstitional.

Registered Domestic Partners in California already enjoy almost all of the
same rights as married couples in California. However, the court noted that
the different names given to the relationships gave the appearance that
same-sex couples are "second-class citizens".

This decision has no effect on the application of federal law where DOMA
(Defense of Marriage Act) defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
And other states are not required to recognize California same-sex
marriages, either.

There will be a 30-day delay before the first same-sex marriages can take
place in California.

UPDATE

2008-05-09T10:26:52Z

My website redesign has run into a couple of snags. Please bear with me
while I work them out. And please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Maureen A. Lyons
Attorney at Law
Elder Law - Estate Planning - Medi-Cal/LTC Planning - Special Needs Planning
9 Loma Avenue, #4
Long Beach, CA 90803-2673
Telephone: 562.621.0950
Facsimile: 562.735.4013
Email: MLyons@LyonsLegal.com
Website: www.LyonsLegal.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: Because the sender is an attorney, the information
in this e-mail (including any attachments) is confidential and may be
legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
read, use, or disseminate this information. If you received this e-mail in
error, please call the sender immediately and notify the sender via e-mail
that you have received the e-mail in error and are deleting it. The sender
disclaims any responsibility for any loss or damages arising from any virus
or defect associated with this e-mail.

Circular 230 Disclosure: Unless otherwise expressly indicated, any federal
tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and
enclosures, is not intended or written to be used, and may not be used, for
the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue
Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any
tax-related matters addressed herein.

Alzheimer's Hope on The Horizon - Dr Mosqueda at Cal State Long Beach

2008-03-18T04:09:00Z

Dr. Mosqueda's Community Lecture on Alzheimer's Disease was excellent. She used just the perfect blend of fact expertise, humor and compassion to educate almost 300 of us on Alzheimer's, its effect on those with the disease and on those who love & care for them.

Highlights:

She pointed out that all dementias are not the same. For example, vascular dementia which is caused by a narrowing or blockage of a blood vessel in the brain leads to problems retrieving information while other types of dementia affect the ability to store the information (memory) in the first place. She warned us to avoid suggesting that someone is just not trying hard enough to remember because it is quite possible that memory never got stored in the first place.

It was also interesting to hear Dr. Mosqueda express her reluctance to treat most of the symptoms with drugs due to the harshness of the side effects of the drugs, i.e., nausea, diarrhea, etc. with little obvious benefit. She believes that many people with Alzheimer's would be better off getting involved with Adult Day Care instead of relying on drugs to alleviate their symptoms.

She also emphasized that the we should pay attention to the "emotional context" of what the person with Alzheimer's is saying. Getting wrapped up in the "verbal context" will often be unproductive and lead to frustration, confusion, and anger.

You can learn more about UC Irvine's Geriatric Medicine Program by clicking on the link.

Dr. Mosqueda is also part of the multidisciplinary team that forms the
Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect located at UCI's School of Medicine Program in Geriatrics.

Free Community Lecture on Alzheimer's Disease (Long Beach)

2008-03-13T17:04:00Z

>
Anyone in the vicinity of Long Beach tonight should consider attending the free lecture at Cal State Long Beach on Alzheimer’s prevention, treatment, caregiver issues, etc.
The speaker is Laura Mosqueda, MD, who is the Director of Geriatrics at UCI.
See you there!

For those who can’t attend, I’ll write about this event in the next day or two.

Location: The Pyramid at CSULB

Time: 6:00pm

Cost: FREE
>