Uses a client-centered approach to develop skills in using active listening, dealing with difficult clients, building questioning techniques, developing theories, identifying alternatives and consequences, and engendering client decision-making.

The number of elderly Americans is projected to increase significantly over the next few decades. Life expectancy is still increasing; the economy and job growth are sluggish; millions of Americans lack adequate health insurance; health care costs are rising at a rate far higher than the general inflation rate; and the Administration and state governments are attempting to implement the Affordable Care Act in the face of budgetary constraints and implacable opposition from certain groups.

The course will cover:

1.      Federal pension law under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code;

2.      Social Security and Medicare coverage and benefits, including policy and financial issues; and

3.      The major new rules under the Affordable Care Act relating to access to health care, how health care is provided and financed, patient protections, employer-provided benefits and quality improvement.

​Provides exposure to technical skills needed to represent clients successfully in estate matters. Emphasizes procedural aspects of estate work and precise methodology to present the client's case, as petitioner or objectant.

This course provides an introduction to practical topics in estate, long term care, special needs and financial planning, including advance directives for financial management and health care decisions, guardianship for individuals with developmental disabilities, long term care planning, revocable living trusts, special needs planning and trust administration and retirement plans. This course will also cover federal and New York State entitlement programs that support individuals with disabilities in all ages.

​In lieu of an examination, this course involves pop quizzes throughout the semester and a final project. Students form teams of two and three (though it is permissible to work alone) and prepare a plan for a hypothetical individual or family situation, taking into account all relevant factors as taught throughout the semester. The project consists of preparation of an explanatory cover letter to the hypothetical client addressing all factors raised in the client scenario. This course is designed to provide an experience that is directly transferable to practice.

Prerequisite: Trusts and Estates