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Attorney Elizabeth Hurwitz provides practical, real life assistance and counseling on all aspects of elder law issues. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ms. Hurwitz brings her real life knowledge and her personal experience (drawn from assisting several family members with long-term illnesses) to benefit her firm. Her compassion, coupled with her professionalism, allows her to offer clients appropriate solutions for various legal issues.
Recent News
August 30, 2009
Celluloid Empathy: Aging at the Movies
Some days when the grind of handling caregiver challenges, the inevitability of change and passages (here’s a tip of the hat to you, Ted Kennedy, for all your contributions to this country) or simply the new ache in your left knee when you arose this morning, you need a break! As counter-intuitive as it may seem, you can refresh your spirits by watching films that depict old age. Not that this is a sure cure to eliminate your troubles. But the beauty of cinema is its ability to shift your focus and transport you from the small scene called “my problems” to the larger screen of “we are all in this together.”
About one year ago, in her blog “The New Old Age” Jane Gross posted a list of movies that in her words, “thoughtfully depicted old age”. See http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com She got her inspiration from Dr. Dennis McCullough’s book, “My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing “Slow Medicine”, the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved Ones”. In his book, Dr. McCullough provided his readers with his own original list of favorites films related to aging. For more about Dr. McCullough and the “Slow Medicine” movement, check out his website, www.mymotheryourmother.com
Here’s the combined list, from Ms. Gross and Dr. McCullough. Many of these titles are now available on DVD. Enjoy!
Umberto D. (1952, Dir. Vittorio De Sica)
Wild Strawberries (1957, Ingmar Bergman)
On Golden Pond (1981, Mark Rydell)
The Trip to Bountiful (1985, Peter Masterson)
Foxfire (1987, Jud Taylor)
The Whales of August (1987, Lindsay Anderson)
Everybody’s Fine (1990, Giuseppe Tornatore)
The Company of Strangers (1991, Cynthia Scott)
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993, Randa Haines)
To Dance With the White Dog (1994, Glenn Jordan)
Buena Vista Social Club (1998, Wim Wenders)
The Straight Story (1999, David Lynch)
Innocence (2000, Paul Cox)
Iris (2001, Richard Eyre)
About Schmidt (2002, Alexander Payne)
Secondhand Lions (2003, Tim McCanlies)
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005, Dan Ireland)
Aurora Borealis (2004, James Burke)
The Savages (2007, Tamara Jenkins)
Away From Her (2006, Sarah Polley)
I Never Sang for My Father (1970, Gilbert Cates)
Antonia’s Line (1995, Marleen Gorris)
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937, Leo McCarey)
Madadayo (1993, Akira Kurosawa)
Tokyo Story (1953, Yasujiro Ozu)
Saraband (2003, Ingmar Bergman)
The Notebook (2004, Nick Cassavetes)
Calendar Girls (2003, Nigel Cole)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989, Bruce Beresford)
Elsa and Fred (2005, Marcos Carnevale)
Harry and Tonto (1974, Paul Mazursky)
Safe House (1998, Eric Steven Stahl)
Tatie Danielle (1991, Etienne Chatiliez
The Shameless Old Lady (1965, Rene Allio)
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007, Mike Newell)
The Memory of a Killer (2003, Erik Van Looy)
Evening (2007, Lajos Koltai)
Boynton Beach Club (2005, Susan Seidelman)
Cocoon (1985, Ron Howard)
Venus (2006, Roger Michell)
Nobody’s Fool (1994, Robert Benton)
The Battle of Narayama (1983, Shohei Imamura)
The Gin Game (2003, Aaron Brown)
Harold and Maude (1971, Hal Ashby)
The Bucket List (2007, Rob Reiner)
Starting Out in the Evening (2007, Andrew Wagner)
Kotch (1971, Jack Lemmon)
The Lion in Winter (1968, Anthony Harvey)
A Thousand Acres (1997, Jocelyn Moorhouse)
The Sunshine Boys (1975, Herbert Ross)
Dad (1989, Gary David Goldberg)
Tell Me A Riddle (1980, Lee Grant)
Grumpy Old Men (1993, Donald Petri)
Being There (1979, Hal Ashby)
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975, Sam O’Steen)
August 29, 2009
You Got the Power --- Or Do You?
Earlier this week, a dear friend called with the news that her brother had passed on from an unexpected and serious illness. Following his shocking diagnosis last month, he’d asked for some general (and free) advice about setting up a power of attorney. Always an independent (and stubborn) individual, he (and my friend) ultimately decided to save some money and use a “power of attorney” print out form they’d found on-line (there are dozens of these). End result? They executed this “power of attorney” form without an attorney’s oversight. I haven’t seen the form they created together so I can’t comment on whether it was effectively executed.
But it’s hard to discern the law from a sample formbook. It turns out my friend had a misperception about what a power of attorney can accomplish. She mistakenly thought that this document would allow her, as her brother’s designated power of attorney, to close out his bank accounts after his death. She had planned on presenting this “power of attorney” document to his bank as soon as possible. She fully expected that the financial institution would either add her as a signatory to her brother’s account or allow her to withdraw the funds in that account. It was a difficult task to tell her she was mistaken.
What’s the real situation here? Unfortunately, a power of attorney is a power that stops working once the person for whom you hold that power, passes on. In other words, when her brother stopped living, the power of attorney also died at that same moment.
Similarly, a durable power of attorney for medical decisions does not survive the death of the person granting the power of attorney to another individual. (I have no idea if they had even executed that type of document.)
Now, my friend has even more to handle that she had anticipated. In addition to grieving the loss of a dear loved one, she has some unexpectedly complicated issues to resolve regarding the belongings and property her brother left behind after his death. We’ll check back in with her periodically to see how she is handling these issues.
Conclusion? I strongly recommend you DO NOT execute a power of attorney without a lawyer. There’s no substitute for an attorney’s independent judgment, drafting and research in this area of law.
As always, please note that this Blog doesn’t constitute legal advice in any way, shape or form and is not intended to create a client attorney relationship between any individual or company or not-for-profit and this law office.
August 29, 2009
We're in the midst of changes in our website with a slight redesign in motion. The links on the left-side of the website should be fully functional soon. Please excuse our short construction phase.
August 27th, 2009
Some good news for veterans and their families surfaced with today’s announcement of proposed new regulations to make it easier to obtain compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder. The Veterans Administration is moving ahead to with a proposed rule to eliminate the current requirement that the vet supply documentation of what’s called the “triggering events”. Currently a vet must show the connection between the “triggering events” and the onset of the post traumatic stress disorder she or he is suffering from. To read the actual press release issued by the VA, click here:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1751
The proposed rules will make it easier for noncombat troops such as truck drivers and supply clerks, who have had contact with aspects of combat and suffered the loss of friends, to succeed in obtaining disability compensation. Currently, such service men and women have problems receiving disability benefits, even tho they have been diagnosed with PTSD. The summary article appears in the 8-27-09 edition of the NYT: See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/us/26vets.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
But all veteran advocates are reassured by the VA’s new proposed rule. For further, in depth discussion of what qualifying hurdles may still remain for vets suffering from PTSD, see Larry Scott’s blog, www.vawatchdog.org
Workshop Update
June 20th, 2009
Thanks to all the folks who turned out for my free workshop, “Legal Issues for Caregivers” at the community bookstore Crazy Wisdom, here in Ann Arbor last month. ( www.crazywisdom.net ) Crazy Wisdom is a jewel of resources for everyone in southeastern Michigan. Over the years, Owners Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Shecker have shown a deep appreciation for folks in the care giving role and in the “sandwich” generation—those individuals who are helping both the elder and youth generations simultaneously. Ruth and Bill always have a wide selection of books and can order almost any publication you request.
The response was so positive that I’ll be repeating the free seminar, this fall—again at Crazy Wisdom. I’ll be focusing on the needs and issues of caregivers, especially the boomers among us, with an emphasis on legal concerns. If you would like to reserve your spot at the workshop now, just email me at
And welcome to my website, devoted to the legal needs of the older and wiser.