Legal Services for Elderly lends special hand, for free

When Julie Mallett comes to work in the morning, she is never sure what the day will bring. The staff attorney for Legal Services for the Elderly, Mallett is certain of one thing: She and staff paralegal Eleanor Bruchey will be helping elderly people who often have nowhere else to turn.

“I get so much human contact here,” said Mallett, “much more than I ever did at a law firm. And it’s nice to know we are helping people who may not otherwise have access to an attorney.”

Legal Services for the Elderly, with an office located at Eastern Agency on Aging in Bangor, is a nonprofit, statewide agency providing free legal services to people 60 years of age and older, regardless of income.

Funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, and various other donors, LSE offers a range of services, from giving legal advice over the phone to representing clients in court or at administrative hearings.

It all starts with a call to a central toll-free hot line in Augusta, staffed by several attorneys and a paralegal who give legal advice to seniors.

“The hot line handles a wide variety of legal issues, and the goal is to help everyone who calls, if we can,” Mallett said. Some examples include Medicaid and Medicare advice and counsel, debt collection and consumer issues.

“Sometimes a phone call or a letter is all that is required to solve a problem for a client,” Mallett said. “In the case of debt collection, creditors will often drop their attempts at collection once they are made aware that the person is judgmentproof, and there is simply no money available to pay the debt. This is a great relief to seniors who are sometimes fearful that they could end up in jail.”

If it appears a case will need face-to-face contact between a lawyer and client, or there needs to be extended representation, the individual is referred to a staff attorney.

Located at offices in Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, Bangor and Presque Isle, and housed at Area Agencies on Aging offices, the attorneys accept walk-in clients and referrals from the central hot line.

Staff attorneys handle issues such as financial exploitation, guardianship defense, Medicaid appeals, government benefits and evictions. They also assist clients with financial and medical powers of attorney and living wills, Mallett said.

“Perhaps the most dramatic example of help for the elderly is when LSE is able to get back a person’s home after a relative or friend got it transferred to himself, or pressured an individual to sign it over during an illness,” she said.

“Financial exploitation is a prime concern of LSE,” Bruchey said.

Mallett offers examples of the typical cases LSE handles:

. A 91-year old man who had been living in a nursing home for several years was notified that he longer qualified for Medicaid. He had no money and no relatives who could care for him at home. LSE appealed the denial and represented the client at an administrative hearing. The decision was reversed, and the man was allowed to remain in the nursing home.

. An 80-year-old woman received an eviction notice from her landlord because other tenants complained of the noise coming from her apartment. LSE intervened and requested a reasonable accommodation for the client, who was extremely hard of hearing and unaware of the noise she was creating. The issue was resolved and the client was allowed to remain in her apartment.

There are certain matters that LSE does not handle, including wills, bankruptcies, and real estate transfers. These cases are referred to a panel of private-practice attorneys who work at reduced rates.

“Our clients are so appreciative of any help we can give them,” Mallett said. “It is very rewarding to work in such an environment.”

For more information on Legal Services for the Elderly, call (800) 750-5353.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call the resource and referral department at 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.