March 13, 2025 Hybrid Dinner Meeting

Hybrid Dinner Meeting

Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 5:00PM

Wingate of Needham, 235 Gould St, Needham, MA 02494

Registration 5:00 - 6:00PM

Dinner 6:00 - 7:00PM

Program: 7:00PM

***In-person registration limited to 40. However, this program will be streamed live and recorded.

When Trust is Broken:

Red Flags and Remedies for Financial Abuse of Older Persons

You are sitting across from your client, an 82-year-old widow, who is seeking help with updating her estate plan, when you notice her hands tremble slightly as she speaks about her grandson. She tells you that he had recently moved in to “help with the bills.” When reviewing her finances, you see several large, unexplained withdrawals from her bank accounts - amounts far exceeding her usual expenses. She hesitates when you ask about these expenses, then murmurs that her grandson needed money for “some investments,” but he assured her that it was fine. Tears well in her eyes as she admits she didn’t fully understand where her money was going and felt guilty questioning her grandson. Would you see the red flags? Would you know what you should do next? If not, you should join us for an engaging and insightful discussion that will explore the legal, ethical, and practical challenges in addressing financial abuse of older persons. This program will feature two compelling case studies to guide the conversation and provide real-world insights on the following:     

Don’t miss this vital opportunity to protect your clients and their legacies.  Register to attend today!

Presenters

Attorney Faith E. Delaney runs her elder law practice in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where she works with individuals and families in the areas of estate planning, Medicaid planning, MassHealth (Medicaid) applications for nursing home placements, guardianships and conservatorships, probate administration, and special needs trusts.

Faith Delaney also serves as trustee of special needs trusts, and as guardian and durable power of attorney for elderly and disabled persons who need assistance and serves as guardian ad litem for various probate matters.

Attorney Faith E. Delaney is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She is a graduate of Northeastern Law School. Faith is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts, and is a board member for the New Hampshire Chapter of NAELA, and member of the Massachusetts Bar Association. She also volunteers for the Immaculate Conception Parish in Newburyport, MA and is secretary of the North Shore Cycling Group.

Attorney Anne Grenier is an Officer of the firm and is an accomplished family law attorney with a background in social work. Her practice areas include guardianships, conservatorships, special needs planning and advocacy, DDSA Fair Hearings, and probate litigation. She passionately represents client interests working diligently to meet client needs minimizing risk to propel positive results to complex legal matters.

Following her graduation from the College of the Holy Cross in 1988 with a degree in Psychology, Anne began working as an Elder Home Care Manager assessing the physical and mental disabilities of clients, monitoring service plan effectiveness to enable seniors with disabilities to maintain independence in the community.

Anne then completed her Master of Social Work, majoring in Policy and Planning in 1992 from the University of Connecticut. During her internships, Anne has written grants for her community providing funding for the creation of the Donahue Rowing Center and Shrewsbury Youth Services Program. Anne was the research assistant for Rosalie S. Wolfe, PhD, who spear-headed the Institute on Aging located on UMass Memorial Campus.

As a Licensed Independent Social Worker, Anne began her career working in nursing homes assessing patients for admission, managing resident’s Medicare A and B benefits, assisting families in applying for MassHealth benefits and facilitating transition to residential living. Anne then transitioned into Healthcare Management and participated in two start-up nursing facilities writing policy and procedures to comply with state regulation and supervising social work staff and nurse discharge planners. Of note, Anne participated in development of a subacute level of care for University Commons as a step down unit for UMass Hospital and also provided a subacute level of care in the home setting as a member of a unique healthcare team for Pathways. Anne worked as a social service team leader for Health Alliance with Physicians, Inc supervising social work and discharge planners for two nursing homes, an acute care rehabilitation unit and an inpatient mental health unit. In this role, Anne participated as a member of the utilization review board working with physicians to establish effective patient protocols to avoid hospital readmission, identifying at-risk populations and training staff to identify mental health issues which affect health care outcomes. Anne was a Tufts Health Care Case Manager managing patient’s healthcare benefits and authorizing skilled services for patients in the facilities which she managed and in the community.

Subsequently, Anne made the important decision to transition her career to the field of law and, specifically, to legally advocate for families protecting those who cannot safeguard themselves. Years spent gaining insight and familiarity with the unmet health, behavioral, financial and social requirements of seniors and persons with disabilities, and their families, provided the catalyst for this transition of career direction.

Laura LeBlanc is the Protective Services Program Manager at Elder Services of Worcester Area, Inc.  Her unit is responsible for investigating abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults 60 years of age or older. Laura has been with the Protective Services Unit since 2005 as an investigator, trainer, supervisor, and finally Program Manager. Prior to that she worked with Child Protective Services in both New York State and rural North Carolina.  She holds a BA in psychology from Hofstra University. Laura lives in Shrewsbury and also works part time at the Shrewsbury Public Library.