Updated guides on a wide range of legal and financial issues that affect seniors and their families are now available online. The guide – “Elder Law Q&A: An Introduction to Aging Issues and Planning for the Future” is available in English and Spanish.

Topics covered in the guides include wills and trusts; powers of attorney; long-term care insurance; health care planning; taxes; how to preserve assets; and elder abuse, among others. Also included are samples of documents that may be needed, such as the Medicaid application form.

The 164-page, user-friendly guide is a publication of the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in collaboration with the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services and the Pace Women’s Justice Center at Pace Law School in White Plains.

Just a few of the changes included in the new 2013 editions are:

• Updates of the “Taxes” section to reflect the ongoing evolution of U.S. and N.Y. State estate planning tax law.
• A new section relating to the 2012 New York state ruling that requires adults receiving or applying for long-term care in the community to enroll in a managed long-term care plan.
• Adjustments to checklists in the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) section, which guides seniors and their families about eligibility for this order.

The “Elder Law Q&A” was written by attorney Steven A. Schurkman, a partner at Keane & Beane, PC, in White Plains. Schurkman is chairman of the annual Senior Law Day in Westchester, which takes place every October at the County Center and is sponsored by the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services and the Ninth Judicial District of the New York State Office of Court Administration.

Schurkman also heads up the senior law education programs that take place at locations throughout Westchester during the year.

“I wrote the ‘Elder Law Q&A’ so there would be a plain-language guide for the consumer concerning estate planning and elder law,” Schurkman said. “Over my 32 years of practice, I have gotten many requests from clients wanting an understandable resource they can refer to in this complex field.”

“In the ‘Elder Law Q&A’ I have particularly tried to answer the questions my clients have asked me most frequently,” Schurkman continued.

Commissioner Mae Carpenter of Westchester County’s Department of Senior Programs and Services said that the elder law guide is an invaluable empowerment tool for seniors.

“This is a superb guide to help older adults and their families benefit from the expertise of top elder law attorneys about issues that directly impact their lives,” Carpenter said.  “It also helps them to ask the right questions when they meet with lawyers and other professionals. Seniors must make informed decisions, and the ‘Elder Law Q&A’ will help them to do just that.”