Elder Law of Chelsea | Chelsea Estate Planning | William A. Lamb, PLC - Elder Law of Chelsea Blog

Elder Law of Chelsea In-Person Meetings Policy Update: Vaccinated Persons Need to Wear a Mask Please

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:12:58 GMT

Recent CDC findings indicate that COVID-19 vaccinated persons can pass the COVID-19 virus to others. As of August 6, 2021, Elder Law of Chelsea will meet in-person with vaccinated people if they also wear a mask.

Previously Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidance said masks are not necessary indoors for people who have received the COVID-19 vaccination.

March 23, 2020 Update (Archive Blog Post)

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 18:19:58 GMT

Effective immediately we are ceasing in person legal business at our office through at least April 13, 2020. We take this step to comply with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-20.

In addition, we have designated members of our staff as critical infrastructure workers as required by Executive Order 2020-20 and as defined by guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As attorneys working with vulnerable elderly and special needs persons our work takes us to the critical areas of healthcare, public safety, and financial services. Click to read more at today's blog post. The names of the designated workers are Madeleine Lamb and William Lamb. We will interpret the need for our workers to meet others in person based upon the requirements of the order.

Persons who seek legal advice should contact us by telephone and we can apply the requirements of the order to their particular situation.

Today’s executive order broadly directs Michigan businesses to cease in person operations. That said, it also allows Michigan residents to receive needed legal services. We provide legal help to people in the identified critical infrastructure services areas of Public Safety, Healthcare, and Financial Services.

To restate, nothing in the governor’s order prevents a person from getting necessary legal help for themself or another person. Call our office at (734) 476-4820 you have a question.

Stay home and stay safe.

- Bill Lamb

Executive Order Allows Attorneys to Perform Remote Notary Acknowledgment and Witnessing of Documents (April 8, 2020 Archive)

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 17:54:24 GMT

Last night (April 8th) Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order that suspends current laws until May and allows me to notarize and witness estate planning documents via video conferencing.

You can safely create a will, a health care advance directive, and more. And you can do it now.

Call (734) 475-2100, or write to me to schedule a video consultation and get started.

-Bill

Video Estate Planning Conferences - Procedures

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 21:55:32 GMT

As we continue to operate under the executive order limiting our face-to-face meetings to emergencies, we thought it might be helpful share our procedure for conducting regular business.

First, we are meeting our potential clients via video conference to begin the planning process. (telephone conference as a back-up). In short, we need to learn about you, about your assets and how you own them, how you’d like to use your assets now and in retirement, and how you’d like to distribute things after you pass away. During this first meeting we also discuss our fees and payment options.

Second, we will draft documents that address your planning objectives. We then send these to you in PDF via email so you can review them and comment on them.

Third, we will revise your plan documents as needed.

Fourth, we will conduct your signing conference. Under Michigan law, this is the only part of the process that must be done in person. Our current in-person signing options are:

Office Conference. Conduct the signing conference at our office using social distancing practices (click link for details);
Drive-Up Signing. Conduct a drive-up signing outside our office (which I don’t recommend for a complete set of plans such as you will need); or
Postpone Conference. Delay the signing of documents until we are cleared to resume non-emergency work.

Please call us at (734) 475-2100 to arrange a video conference to discuss your planning needs.

3/31/2020 archive

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

We continue to follow Governor Whitmer's executive order limiting face-to-face meetings at our office. Learn more by reading our updates or current office policy.

We will make on-site visits for emergency legal work.

We are holding video conferences for regular work.

Please contact us at (734) 475-2100 if you have a question about setting a meeting or appointment.

Here is a good source of information: Within our federal government, the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control, has a helpful FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions section.

Among other things, the CDC's FAQ section explains the name COVID-19. This could help you explain the facts to someone who tries to call the pandemic "Wuhan Virus" or the like. Click here.

Stay Home and Stay Safe.

Bill Lamb,
Chelsea, Mich.

Elder Law Attorneys Are Critical Infrastructure Workers

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 17:53:40 GMT

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued Executive Order 2020-20, which requires, among other steps, that employers cease in person non-essential business through April 13, 2020.

We posted an update to our office policies that addresses today's order. You can read that here.

The executive order allows critical infrastructure workers to continue to provide services necessary to life. The order defines the critical infrastructure workers as those defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These federal guidelines list critical infrastructure workers by sectors.

How are elder care law attorneys part of the critical infrastructure workforce?

We provide legal services that require us to assist clients in the following sectors identified as critical infrastructure of our nation.

In the Healthcare sector, we:

Assist our clients in gaining admission or discharge from hospitals, mental health facilities, and nursing homes; and

Assist our clients with putting in place, interpreting, and removing medical advance directives, DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDERS, and Physicians’ Orders for Scope of Treatment (MI-POST or POST).

In the Public Safety sector, we:

Assist clients who are subject to law enforcement or other government actions that might limit our clients’ freedom of movement due to their cognitive function or mental health condition.

In the Financial Services sector, we:

Assist clients in accessing money and other assets;

Assist clients in avoiding or defending themselves from fraud and other crimes against vulnerable persons.

As we continue to do our work, we know that some legal services and court hearings can be safely postponed until the corona pandemic abates. We can even provide certain necessary services by phone, video conference, and email. But be assured that when needed, we will continue to deliver legal services to our clients in person.

Please comment with your questions.

Bill Lamb,
Chelsea, Michigan
Washtenaw County
March 23, 2020

March 16, 2020 Update - Office Appointments; Nursing Home Visit Guidelines; Courts and Deeds Office closed. (Archive)

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Scheduled Office Appointments

We are continuing to hold scheduled appointments with clients. If you would prefer, we can hold 'virtual' meeting with you via Skype or telephone.

To review, a number of factors informed our decision to keep our office open.

First, beginning last week we upgraded our cleaning and disinfecting procedures in the office. In addition, given the relatively low frequency of client visits, we feel it is appropriate to hold meetings as needed.

Our staff and families are practicing social distancing. No one within our group has symptoms that are consistent with the coronavirus.

Executive Order Restricting Nursing Home and Care Facility Visits

Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order this past Saturday, March 14, 2020 restricting visits to nursing homes, assisted living homes, congregate care facilities for developmentally disabled. As an attorney, I can make a visit if it is necessary to carry out the client's legal business. For the full text, click here. You can also read a slightly shorter version here on our website.

The CMS Has Revised its Coronavirus policy for Nursing Home Entry

Click here to read the guideline from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Courts and Register of Deeds Closed

Our courts and county register of deeds (where we record real estate transactions connected with our estate planning and asset protection work) have announced closures.

The Washtenaw County courts are closed today, March 16th. We are waiting for word about schedule changes beyond today. We have learned that 'non-essential county offices are closed through April 5th. Click here to read the county administrator's announcement. At this writing we still need to learn more about which parts of our court work will be considered essential.

The Wayne County Probate Court is closed through March 27th except for emergency filings. Click here for details.

The Washtenaw County Register of Deeds has closed its public counter effective today. That means we will not be able to do in-person recording of deeds.

Nursing and Assisted Living Visits

We will visit clients as needed. Legal meetings are, of course, important. That said, we will limit visits to those that are necessary. If you have a question or concern, please call us and we will discuss the situation and evaluate whether we can handle your legal issue with other than an in-person visit.

Please call us if you have questions

We will continue to update you. Please be safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing, and purchase the toilet paper you need .

Please contact us at (734) 475-2100 if you have any questions.

COVID-19 UPDATE Coronavirus March 12, 2020 (Archived Blog Post)

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

March 12, 2020

Our older clients and their families are among the two groups at highest risk for the COVID-19 illness, according to the CDC. We are posting this message to keep you informed about what we are doing to protect our clients, families, employees, and neighbors.

We are maintaining our scheduled client appointments.

If you have an upcoming meeting and you would prefer to re-schedule it, please call us. We will be happy to set a future meeting date.

Public health officials recommend limiting access to buildings and gatherings of more than 100 people. Our office is located in a building with limited exposure to the public. There are usually fewer than 15 people in our building at any time.

Our work is important to our clients. Long-term care facilities are beginning to limit access from visitors. As attorneys, we have authority to visit our clients in nursing homes. QSO-20-14-NH-03/09/2020. Click here to read the full text of the rule.

We have instructed our staff to stay home if they feel sick, to self-quarantine if they experience symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.

We are doing extra cleaning between appointments and any time we have visitors in the office.

Finally, we are monitoring the news from our public officials - Washtenaw County Community Health Department, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the federal Center for Disease Control (CDC). We will revise our office policies and client visit procedures as our public officials advise us to do.

-- Bill Lamb
Chelsea, Mich.
March 12, 2020

COVID-19 Office Procedures and Information

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Today we posted information about COVID-19 to our website. Rather than repeat what’s already been written, our site provides links to local, state, and federal resources for our clients and their families.

Here are two key take-aways from us at Elder Law of Chelsea --

First, we are continuing to maintain our client appointment schedule. This is consistent with Governor Whitmer's current guidelines.

Second, as nursing homes begin to limit access to their residents, remember that as attorneys our client visits are expressly allowed under federal rules. Click here to learn more.

Long-Term Care Insurance - Watch Out

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:49:41 GMT

Prudential Insurance has made a change to its existing long-term care insurance policies. According to some experts, many policy-holders are unaware that the company is about to institute automatic price increases for inflation coverage. Read the Los Angeles Times article here, to learn more.

If you have questions about long-term care insurance and whether it is right for you, we can offer expert independent advice. Call us at (734) 475-2100.