Attorney's Guide to Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care: Medicaid Planning, Patient Claims, Litigation

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Medicaid Nursing Home Coverage Eligibility Criteria
   10:00 - 10:45, James L. Koewler
2. Medicaid Planning
   10:45 - 11:45, Thomas J. Murphy
   1. Countable vs. Non-Countable Assets
   2. Qualifying Asset Transfers and Prepayment of Expenses
   3. Lookback Planning
   4. Annuities and Trusts
   5. Spousal Protections
   6. Fair Hearings and Appeals
   7. Crisis Planning
3. Long-Term Care Contracts and Disputes
   12:00 - 1:00, James L. Koewler
   1. In-Home/Personal Care
   2. Family Caregiver
   3. Assisted Living Facility Contracts
   4. Nursing Home Placement
   5. "Medicaid Pending" Nursing Home Issues
4. Nursing Home Patient Rights and Standard of Care
   1:30 - 2:15, Victoria A. Schall
5. Litigating Neglect and Abuse Claims
   2:30 - 4:00, Dennis F. O'Brien
6. Legal Ethics
   4:00 - 5:00, Dennis F. O'Brien
   1. Engagement Agreements and Scope of Representation
   2. Client Capacity
   3. Conflicts of Interest
   4. Guarding Confidentiality

Accreditation Details:

James L. Koewler is the founder of The Koewler Law Firm, where his main areas of practice include elder law, special needs and Medicaid planning, and Veterans disability. He is a member of the Ohio State, American, Cleveland Metropolitan, and Akron bar associations. Mr. Koewler is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He earned his B.S. degree from Purdue University and his J.D. degree from Indiana University.

Thomas J. Murphy is an attorney located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix. His practice emphasizes estate planning, elder law (including nursing home issues), all probate matters (including contested matters and guardianships), and tax controversies. Mr. Murphy has regularly appeared before the Arizona Court of Appeals, litigating many of the cutting-edge appellate cases in probate law. He has successfully litigated cases in the U.S. Tax Court, the Arizona Tax Court, and the Arizona Board of Tax Appeals. Mr. Murphy is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the State Bar of Arizona (Tax Law, Probate and Trust Law, Mental Health and Elder Law sections), and the Arizona Medicaid Planning Council. He serves on the advisory board of the Phoenix Tax Workshop and the editorial board of NAELA News. Mr. Murphy graduated from Tufts University, with honors, and earned his J.D. degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Dennis F. O'Brien is a sole proprietor at the law office of Dennis F. O'Brien, P.A., where his full-time civil litigation practice focuses on serious personal injury, product liability, including drug and medical devices, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, appellate work, and general civil litigation. Mr. O'Brien is a member of the Maryland State, Harford County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City bar associations; and the American Association for Justice. He is admitted to the U.S. District Court, District of Maryland; U.S. Court of Appeals (Fourth Circuit); and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the co-author and author of a variety of articles and is currently working on a book, Accident Reconstruction for Lawyers, to be nationally published by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). Mr. O'Brien earned his B.S. degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the Baltimore School of Law.

Victoria A. Schall is an attorney with Locks Law Firm in the firm’s New Jersey office, where she concentrates her practice on civil litigation claims for nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, and personal injury. She earned her B.A. degree from Loyola College in Maryland and her J.D. degree from Appalachian School of Law. Ms. Schall is a member of the American Association for Justice, New Jersey Association for Justice, New Jersey State Bar Association, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Burlington County Bar Association, Camden County Bar Association, and the NCCNHR/The Consumer Voice. She is admitted to practice in U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia and Virginia.