Family Matters in an Elder Law Practice
![handle is hein.journals/jaaml29 and id is 121 raw text is:
Vol. 29, 2016 Family Matters in an Elder Law Practice 109
Family Matters in an Elder Law
Practice
by
Rebecca C. Morgan*
Introduction
The title to this essay has multiple meanings, depending on
your view of the practice of elder law. Am I saying family mat-
ters? Or, am I saying family matters? Or, perhaps, I am saying
both. I intended the title to be somewhat cryptic, because it is
true in an elder law practice that often family matters, and some-
times the subject of the representation is about a family's matters.
In this piece, I endeavor to briefly examine the role of family
(especially as caregivers), ethical issues, family dynamics and the
implications on the representation of the client when a family is
involved in the client's life, along with a few thoughts and recom-
mendations. With this volume of the Journal of the American
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers devoted to elder law, I
thought it an appropriate topic for attorneys who practice family
law as well as those who practice elder law. Part I looks briefly at
the role of family, especially caregivers. Part II discusses family
dynamics. Part III offers a number of suggestions for handling
the various issues that occur. Part IV, the conclusion, answers the
question I opened with, family matters.
I. The Role of Family with the Elder Law Client
Those who have practiced elder law for some time know that
it is not that unusual for a family member to be involved with the
client in some way.1 Often the elder client is being helped by a
* Boston Asset Management Chair in Elder Law, Professor of Law, Co-
Director Center for Excellence in Elder Law, Stetson University College of
Law. @2016 All rights reserved. My thanks to Professors Brooke Bowman,
Roberta Flowers and Lou Virelli, librarian Ashley Chase and attorney Erin
Okuno for their input.
1 See Aspirational Standards for the Practice of Elder Law With Com-
mentaries, 2 NAELA J. 5, 7 (2005), https://www.naela.org/AppThemes/Public/
PDF/Media/AspirationalStandards.pdf [hereinafter Aspirational Standards]](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jaaml29&div=9&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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