ELDER LAW NEWS & NOTES
JANUARY 2010 /NUMBER 66
LAW OFFICE OF WILLIAM J. BRISK
1340 CENTRE STREET, SUITE 205
NEWTON CENTER, MA 02459
TEL: 617-244-4373
FAX: 617-630-1990
WWW.BRISKELDERLAW.COM
MEMBER AND FELLOW OF
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF
ELDER LAW ATTORNEYS
ATTORNEYS:
WILLIAM J. BRISK
ELLEN B. SCULT
CHERYL B. STRUNSKY
DAVID C. VALENTE
CLAIRE A. BARTHOLOME
PARALEGAL:
JENNIFER A. DUHAIME-BAKER
PROBATE ADMINISTRATOR:
LISA C. BILBO
ADMINISTRATIVE:
DEBRA L. BELANGER
IN THIS ISSUE:
Topic Page:
Yoga 1 resume – although, trust me, the pressure builds if you’re
Client Updates 2 answering those questions.
Book Club Rescheduled 2 • selecting pictures and phrases from magazines to construct
Roundtable Event 3 a “vision board” is an extraordinary way to elicit hidden
Literary Alzheimer’s 4 hopes and fears in a way that seems random but really taps
Same-Sex Planning Article 4
This newsletter is not intended
as a substitute for legal counsel.
While every precaution has been
taken to make this newsletter
accurate, we assume no responsibility
for errors or omissions, or for
damages resulting from the use of
the information in this newsletter.
PEGGY CAPPY and YOGA FOR ALL OF US
I celebrated the New Year with family at Kripalu, the yoga center in Lenox,
Massachusetts. Maria and Alejandra spent the week end studying the 7 shakras
before painting poster-size representations. Angelica became grounded in
meditation, enjoying two days of absolute silence. Thomas added considerably
to his yoga skills. Eleven year old Isabela overcame her horror at being placed in
a “children’s program,” but enjoyed the vegetarian meals and quiet.
I had chosen Peggy Cappy’s course, “Stretching into the New Year,” an
introduction to her style of modified yoga poses that she has been refining as the
result of almost two decades working with persons in their 80s and 90s. Ten
year old Amy, whom I met at lunch one day, informed me, correctly, that Peggy is
“famous”, i.e. she is featured in the popular PBS series entitled “Yoga for the
Rest of Us.”
The three day course Peggy ran attracted about 25 people ranging in ages
from the early 20s to over 80. Five teach yoga and many others practice it
regularly. But there were others, like me, who had experienced yoga but never
integrated it into our daily (or monthly, or even annual) practices. Peggy’s
teaching reflects the breadth of her mentors’ talents from the Indian masters to
Vyass Houston, whol tried to teach us Sanskrit (Vyass was originally exposed to
Sanskrit epochs by an old friend of mine, Barbara Stoler Miller) and the author of
the highly successful self-help series “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” Jack Canfield.
The course she led extended well beyond yoga postures. Indeed, most of our
time was spent creating collages (with cut outs from hundreds of magazines) of
our personal, business, and spiritual goals for 2010.
Interspersed with a number of wise comments and practices.
“the most important Yoga position is stepping onto the mat.”
• if you ask a person, repeatedly “who are you?” and follow
that up with ten or twenty rapid-fire repetitions of “what do
you want?” and “what do you not want?” you’ll learn a good
deal more about that person than reviewing his or her
into one’s subconscious.
“ecstacy is available in each mind. It is often lurking behind agony” quoting one
of her yoga teachers, Kofi.
Peggy spends part of each year in New England where she continues guiding
a small group of devotees, now in their 90s, in yoga pursuits. She will be back at
Kripalu on April 3rd kicking off a three day “Yoga for the Rest of Us” followed by a
six day teacher training program. I heartily endorse the latter for those of you in
our network who work directly with elders in assisted living facilities particularly.
Her mission, to extend the benefits of yoga, resulted in her book, YOGA FOR
ALL OF US, which is available at most book stores and features pictures not only
of Peggy but of some of her older students performing postures which not only
extend life but make it more worthwhile.
More information about Peggy and her special programs is available at
Info@PeggyCappy.com. I’d love to hear from our friends about their experiences
with Peggy and her special students.
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 UPDATES WITH CLIENTS GO WELL

The office invited clients who had retained us in the past three years to conduct planning to review
their original plans in the context of changing laws as well as changing circumstances. We chose not to
charge for such a meeting.

The initial updating meetings have gone exceptionally well. They provide a wonderful opportunity to
reestablish ties with old friends, confirm the value of the original plans, and give clients and us the
opportunity to fine tune our original recommendations. The experience has been uplifting for us as well as
for our clients.

Not all professionals take a long term interest in their clients or patients. The result, unfortunately, is
too often that the original bond between client and professional is lost over time. Even if the original
engagement was entirely successful, clients who have undergone the updating process tell us how much
they appreciate our continuing interest in their welfare.

Therefore, if you would like us to review a plan we prepared for you since January 1, 2005 please
call Jennifer Duhaime at 617-244-4373 x 10 to schedule a cost free appointment. Tell Jennifer of any
significant changes that might affect the plan so that we can be well prepared to respond to all of your
questions, and raise some of our own, when we meet with you. In most cases so far, we’re finding little
need to alter documents (other than to refresh Durable Powers of Attorney) or even to alter the plan
substantially. Even if we decide to amend an existing documents that we prepared during the past five
years, we should be able to do so at minimum cost, taking advantage of the fact that, unless the changes
are very substantial, we will be working off of documents we have saved in our computer files.

Updating the planning you have done with us may satisfy one of your New Year resolutions AND it
will be a welcome way for us to satisfy our own resolution of keeping up with our clients.

BOOK CLUB RESCHEDULED

“Book Club” discussion headed by Bill Brisk has been rescheduled:

DATE: Tuesday. January 26th
TIME: 6PM-7:30PM
LOCATION: Standish Village of Lower Mills
ADDRESS: 1190 Adams Street, Dorchester, MA

Tea, Coffee, and Snacks will be served.

All are welcome to attend, just pick up the book!

Please RSVP by January 19th Jennifer @ 617-244-4373 x 10 or via
email:jenniferduhaime@briskelderlaw.com

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 PATIENT ADVOCACY: MAXIMIZING HEALTH CARE
Gail Gazelle, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical
School. She the founder of MD Can Help, P.C., www.MDCanHelp.com, a patient advocacy practice
where she acts as a personal consultant and coach to patients and families.

Dr. Gazelle is board-certified in Internal Medicine as well as in Hospice and Palliative

Medicine. She is a fellow in the American College of Physicians as well as the American
Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has worked as part-time hospice medical
director for over ten years. In her twenty years as a physician, Dr. Gazelle has worked closely
with internists, subspecialists, emergency room staff, hospices, and teams of surgeons. She
understands that many people’s needs are not being met by the healthcare system and she knows
how to get the system to work for people.

Dr. Gazelle is author of patient advocacy booklets “Being Treated for Cancer? A Doctor’s 137 Tips to
Keep Your Life Healthy and Manageable” and “Don’t Leave the Hospital Sicker Than You Went In! A
Doctor’s 106 Tips for a Healthy and Safe Hospital Experience”

Dr. Gazelle has been featured on the National Public Radio show “All Things Considered,” on CNN,
and on Wisconsin and Michigan Public Radio. Her work has been highlighted in such venues as
Business Week, The Baltimore Sun, and American Medical News. Her articles have been published in
such prominent medical journals as The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society, and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Date: Friday, January 22, 2010

Time: 7:45AM - 9:00AM
Location: 1330 Centre Street, Newton Center, Boardroom
Light breakfast served

Please RSVP by 1/15/09 to Jennifer Duhaime-Baker at 617-244-4373 x 10 or via email

jenniferduhaime@briskelderlaw.com

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 LITERARY ALZHEIMER’S

The December 13, 2009 issue of the New York Times Magazine is devoted to the ninth annual
“Years in Ideas” compilation of off-beat but possibly profound studies published in academic journals
during the past year. This year’s findings include “Black Quarterbacks Are Underpaid,” ways to protect
Social Security numbers from fraud, and evidence that marriages last longer if the spouses smile.

Of particular interest to friends and clients is research performed by two professors at the
University of Toronto on “Vocabulary Changes in Agatha Christie’s Mysteries as an Indication of
Dementia.” Most of our readers are aware that Ms. Christie helped popularize not only mystery novels
but plays (her “The Mousetrap ran for over two decades in London and New York) and movies during a
career that ran from age 28 until she reached 82.

Professors Lancashire and Hirst digitized 16 of the mystery master’s novels before comparing
their “vocabulary size and richness,” use of repeated phrases, and reliance on indefinite words like
“anything” or “something.” They found that in Mrs. Christie’s later works, her vocabulary decreased while
her use of vague words and repeated phrases increased “significantly.” For example, her penultimate
novel -- ironically titled “Elephants Can Remember” -- employed only 70% of the vocabulary she had used
in a novel published 18 years earlier.

The authors plan similar studies of the works of P. D. James (who now in her 80s and reportedly
quite healthy) and Ross MacDonald and others authors who were diagnoxed with Alzheimer’s while still
actively writing.

Such research is be of interest, whether we read mystery stories or not. Many of our clients and
colleagues want to understand whether a family member or client’s natural intelligence is increasingly
influenced by dementia. One way, perhaps, to trace the onsight of dementia is to analyze their
vocabulary. Are they repeating phrases? Is their vocabulary diminishing? And, are vague adjectives
replacing meaningful ones? Of course, as I write this I am consciously concerned about my own
vocabulary.

NEW ARTICLE ADDED TO WEBSITE

We try to keep our web site fresh and accurate by adding new articles to www.briskelderlaw.com.
Readers may find the following article particularly useful:

“Estate Planning Services for Same-Sex Couples.” Creating a long-term care and estate plan can be an
overwhelming undertaking for anyone, but same-sex couples face unique challenges. In Massachu-setts,
where married same-sex couples enjoy the full rights and responsibilities of marriage, distinctions
between state and federal laws are confusing, frustrating, and often pose road blocks to the free exercise
of choice in estate planning. This article highlights the ways in which same-sex couples can use long-term
care plans, Wills, Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Health Care Proxies to protect their interests,
now and in the future.
Law Office of William J. Brisk
1340 Centre Street, Suite 205
Newton Center, MA 02459