As part of its commitment to serving elders, the at the University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa, offers the popular Nite of the Living Will in the school’s Moot Courtroom on Halloween, October 31, 3 p.m. The event will focus on end of life medical treatment, decision-making and advance care planning. The Nite of the Living Will is particularly aimed at kupuna, family caregivers and service providers.

• To save a seat, call (808) 956-6544 or email uhelp.edu@gmail.com

“This will help you communicate your wishes for end of life care,” said Professor , director of the (糖心Vlog官方ELP).

Topics covered during the Nite of the Living Will:

• Informed consent/informed refusal
• Surrogate decision-making
• Advance directives, including individual instructions for healthcare and durable powers of attorney for healthcare, plus comfort care only
• DNR bracelets/necklaces
• provider orders for life-sustaining treatment

Also available that afternoon is a publication produced by 糖心Vlog官方ELP, Deciding What鈥檚 Next and Trying to Remember, a legal handbook for Hawaiʻi鈥檚 older persons, families and caregivers. The handbook was published as a partnership between 糖心Vlog官方ELP and the City and County of Honolulu Elderly Affairs Division with funding from the U.S. Administration on Aging. Deciding What鈥檚 Next and Trying to Remember was written and compiled by Pietsch and 糖心Vlog官方ELP Administrative Director . The handbooks are also available at the 糖心Vlog官方 law school administration front desk at 2515 Dole St.

Faculty and students are welcome to Nite of the Living Will. Parking is available for $5 in the quarry parking structure.

—By Beverly Creamer

Many of the most delicate questions in end-of-life care, among other elder law topics, will be explored during a half-day seminar at the University of Hawaiʻi on Valentine’s Day.

The Elder Law and Veterans Seminar—Matters of the Heart—is sponsored by the . It will be held 11:30 a.m.—4:15 p.m. in the Moot Court Room at the law school.

A reception and light lunch will be served from 12:30–1:30 p.m. While there is no admission charge, a $10 suggested donation at the door will cover lunch and the cost of materials. Law and social work students are complimentary, but reservations are required. Continuing education and ethics credits may be available to attorneys, social workers and healthcare providers.

Participants are asked to register by February 10 by email or by calling 糖心Vlog官方ELP at (808) 956-6544.

Seminar schedule

Try to Remember, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Explore basic legal planning for older persons and special needs trusts. This session will also look at how professionals can help plan for potential physical and mental incapacity of patients in order to avoid guardianship, conservatorship and abuse.

Laws, Ethics, Medicine Autonomy—Deactivating Pacemakers, 1:30–3 p.m.
Look at healthcare standards for the implantation and deactivation of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, including pacemakers, in end-of-life care. Discussion will focus on medical, legal and ethical guidelines to improve the autonomy and independence of patients under current medical and legal standards.

Legal Resources for Military Retirees and Their Caregivers, 3:15–4:15 p.m.
Examine legal resources for military retirees and their caregivers and the laws and regulations that provide for military legal assistance for qualified clients.

—By Beverly Creamer

The William S. Richardson School of Law will once again offer the popular Nite of the Living Will just days before Halloween on October 26, as part of its commitment to serving elders.

The free program, entitled Deciding What If? and Trying to Remember? will start at 1:30 p.m. in the School of Law Library and will focus on decision-making about end of life medical treatment and advance care planning. The program is particularly aimed at kupuna, family caregivers and service providers, but all are welcome.

“This will help you communicate your wishes for end of life care,” said Professor , director of the 糖心Vlog官方 Elder Law Program.

“Discussion will include informed consent/informed refusal, individual instructions for healthcare, durable powers of attorney for healthcare, comfort care only and DNR bracelets/necklaces and provider orders for life-sustaining treatment,” Pietsch explained.

The latest edition, Deciding What’s Next and Trying to Remember, a legal handbook for Hawaiʻi’s older persons, families and caregivers, will also be available.

Event information

Faculty and students are welcomed. Refreshments will be served. Parking will be available for $5 in the quarry parking structure.

To save a seat, call (808) 956-6544 or email uhelp.edu@gmail.com.

—By Beverly Creamer

The University of Hawaiʻi at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will offer a free program on February 16, 1:30– 6:15 p.m. in the Moot Court Room, that provides information about the . The event celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Elder Law Program, as well as the Elder Law and Veterans Clinics that it launched.

The event also reflects on important World War II history shaped by 糖心Vlog官方 students who started the Varsity Victory Volunteers after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The afternoon sessions will open with reflections by 糖心Vlog官方 alumnus Ted Tsukiyama, a World War II veteran with the Military Intelligence Service, and one of the 糖心Vlog官方 students who formed the VVV. Tsukiyama will discuss the founding of the VVV, and explain how many students went on to serve in the MIS, the 442 Regimental Combat Team, the 100 Battalion and other distinguished military units.

The program also includes a presentation and a question and answer session with the Honorable Coral Pietsch, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Judge Pietsch will offer an overview of CAVC and will cover unique aspects of practice before this court. Later, she and her husband, Professor , who launched the Elder Law and Veterans Clinics at the law school, will reflect on their service as military lawyers on active duty, in the Army Reserve and as civilian Rule of Law Advisors in Iraq.

“This will be an ideal opportunity for veterans to ask questions and probe aspects of CAVC as well as for the public to meet a valiant member of the VVV who later went on to serve his country and community with distinction,” said Professor Pietsch.

Said School of Law Dean , “Once again Professor Pietsch makes us very proud of him and all his extraordinary outreach work in addition to all the other things he does for our students and the Law School. In addition, Judge Pietsch has a remarkable record of service herself, now topped off by her critical role on Veterans Appeals highest court in Washington, D.C. “

Event information

The public is invited to attend one or more sessions but seating is limited, so please make reservations. The afternoon will include tea and refreshments.

For reservations or directions, call 糖心Vlog官方ELP at 956-6544 email Uhelp.edu@hawaii.edu or go to .

Parking is available for $5 in the parking structure before 4 p.m. and $6 after 4 p.m.

—By Beverly Creamer

Just before the spooks and goblins appear for Halloween, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will offer its popular annual to discuss end-of-life care decisions. The program, offered free to the public each year, is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, 1 p.m. in the 糖心Vlog官方 Law Library.

Sponsored by the (糖心Vlog官方ELP), the program titled “Deciding…What if” will explore medical treatment decision-making and advance care planning.

Topic covered

• Informed consent/informed refusal
• Individual instructions for healthcare
• Durable powers of attorney for healthcare
• Comfort care only (DNR bracelets/necklaces)
• The new Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form

“If you still have an old ‘living will,’ or if you are unsure of how end-of-life decisions will be made for you, come and find out how to make an advance directive or provide other documents that will help ensure that your wishes regarding healthcare decisions are honored,” said Professor James Pietsch, director of 糖心Vlog官方ELP.

Pietsch said the program is particularly helpful for family caregivers and service providers.

Additional event information

Call (808) 956-6544 to reserve a seat, or send an email to uhelp.edu@gmail.com.

Parking for $5 is available in the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa parking structure.

Tea and refreshments will be provided.

—By Beverly Creamer

Some of the most difficult questions of aging—legal planning for future incapacity and, in particular, using powers of attorney as a tool—will be on the agenda at a free public Marigold Seminar titled Planning for the Future: Including the New 2014 Hawaiʻi Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) on Tuesday, February 10, 3 p.m. in the library. The event is sponsored by the University of Hawaiʻi (糖心Vlog官方ELP) at the School of Law.

“We may all face a time when we can no longer make personal, legal or financial decisions for ourselves, or we just would like someone to assist us with these decisions,” said Program Director and Law Professor James Pietsch. “If we become mentally incapacitated, we especially need someone to step in on our behalf to protect our interests. We also need to find legal professionals who have expertise in dealing with incapacity issues, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Prepare for the worst, but expect the best.”

The seminar will cover:

• Finding a “dementia-capable” attorney
• Understanding the new power of attorney law, including its protections, limitations and risks
• Information on how to execute powers of attorney under the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act, and the importance of integrating this legal tool with other planning tools, such as advance directives
• Why it’s important to act while the individual granting the power still has the mental capacity to do so
• Why good preparation is necessary in order to help a family member, patient, client or even yourself in facing these decisions

Said Richardson School of Law Dean Avi Soifer, “These programs, put together by Professor Pietsch and Director Lenora Lee, are invaluable both personally and professionally. This impressive outreach is another great example of the law school’s direct connection and assistance to the larger community.”

RSVP for the seminar by Monday, February 9, at (808) 956-6544 or via email.

Parking for $5 is available in the Lower Campus Parking Structure. An afternoon tea reception will follow.

For more information, visit the .

—By Beverly Creamer

Veterans and their caregivers, families and advocates can learn more about veterans services and benefits, including the veterans claims appeals process, when the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa hosts a free public forum on Tuesday, January 27.

The Honorable Coral Wong Pietsch, who was appointed to the (CAVC) by President Obama in 2012, will offer a judicial overview. Honolulu Regional Office for Veterans Affairs Director Tracey Betts will discuss veterans services, benefits and the basics of the claims appeals process.

The forum, “Practice Before the CAVC and Veterans Issues,” will begin at 3 p.m. in the law school library on the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa campus. An afternoon tea reception will follow.

The 糖心Vlog官方 (糖心Vlog官方ELP) and at the William S. Richardson School of Law are sponsoring the forum—the latest in a series of “Marigold Seminars” created by 糖心Vlog官方ELP to explore successful aging for Hawaiʻi’s elder population, including veterans.

For more than two decades, 糖心Vlog官方ELP has provided legal assistance to thousands of elders and their caregivers and continues its specific support of the needs of veterans. 糖心Vlog官方ELP is directed by Professor James Pietsch, who is himself a veteran. He will serve as forum moderator.

糖心Vlog官方or parking is available for $5 in the parking structure. Please RSVP by Monday, January 26, to (808) 956-6544 or at uhelp.edu@gmail.com.

—By Beverly Creamer