The conference includes topics of interest and legislative updates for lawyers, social workers, students, academicians, and those interested in elder care issues. The morning session begins with a presentation on Consumer Protection Issues Affecting the Elderly by Amanda Glover Evans, Esq., who is the Director of the NMRLS Mississippi Taxpayer Assistance Project, a Low Income Taxpayer Assistance Project (LITC). This session provides information on current consumer scams targeting the elderly, including identity theft, payday lending, tax rebate scams, housing scams, and other important information. Next will be a presentation on Ethical Issues In Elder Law, by Barry K. Jones, Esq., LL.M. in Taxation, C.P.A., and Accredited Estate Planner. He practices with the Jackson, Mississippi law firm of Wise Carter Child & Caraway, in the areas of state and federal taxation, business law, employee benefits, estate planning, asset protection planning, health law, and elder law. He has spoken extensively on topics related to his areas of practice. Mr. Jones is a member of many professional and civic organizations, including the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the Mississippi Bar, the State Bar of Georgia, and the Tennessee Bar. The next session, Care Management, Special Needs Planning, and Medicaid Update, will be presented by Richard A. Courtney, Esq., CELA. This session will highlight and explain the increasing use of non-legal care managers to monitor and solve care giving issues, the best estate planning techniques for families of a person of declining capacity, and will review effective planning strategies focused on Medicaid eligibility for nursing home or other care. Mr. Courtney chairs the Elder Law and Special Needs Planning sections of the Jackson law firm of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC. He is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the ABA-accredited National Elder Law Foundation. His practice is limited to elder law, estate planning, trusts and trust administration, special needs planning for persons with disabilities, nursing home and disability rights, guardianship, and probate related litigation. He is a former Assistant Dean and current Adjunct Professor of Elder Law at the Mississippi College School of Law.

The luncheon speaker will be Judge Jacqueline Estes Mask, who is a Chancellor for the First Chancery District of Mississippi. Judge Mask will speak on the topic, "Help, I Need Somebody", giving a perspective from the bench on conservatorships and other areas of elder law. All conferees are invited to hear Judge Mask’s remarks at a luncheon on the first floor of the Law Center.

After lunch the topic, The Mississippi Medicaid Fraud Control Unit: Protecting Vulnerable Adults, will be presented by Juliette Wilson, Esq., Special Assistant, Office of the Mississippi Attorney General. This topic will include a discussion of the Mississippi Vulnerable Adults Act, responsibilities of caregivers, reporting requirements, and prosecutions in cases of Medicaid fraud. Next, a presentation will be made on Insurance Considerations for Seniors, by Stephanie L. Ganucheau, Esq. Special Assistant Attorney General and Joel Jones, Esq., Special Assistant Attorney General for Mississippi representing the Department of Insurance, and Mark Haire, Esq., Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief Counsel to the Mississippi Insurance Department. This topic will include a discussion of various insurance issues and insurance-related products, including annuities, viatical settlements, fraud, Medicare Part C update, flexible premium policies, cancer policies, and prompt pay law. The afternoon session will end with a session on Current Advocacy Issues In Elder Law. This session will include a discussion on Helping Seniors and the Disabled With Housing Issues, by Chereka Witherspoon, Esq., Staff Attorney in the NMRLS Tupelo Office. This topic will include a discussion of loss mitigation and Fair Housing issues. Next, Minnie P. Howard, Esq., Managing Attorney in the Oxford Office of NMRLS, will discuss Grandparents’ Rights in a Changing World. The last topic of the day will be a Public Benefits Checklist for 2008 by Catherine V. Kilgore, Esq., NMRLS Elder Law Project Director.

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