New Jersey Law Firm Offers Resources for Clients with Alzheimer's

When attorney Fredrick Niemann, co-founded Hanlon Niemann, P.C. in Freehold New Jersey, elder law was still an emerging field.

Since its founding, Niemann said the field has evolved to focus more and more on cases associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

To adapt to that shift, and the complexities of the disease, Niemann’s firm decided to assist its clients both inside and outside the legal realm.

The Alzheimer’s Resource Center was established to offer practical information to the families afflicted by the disease and to get them involved in long-term planning during the early stages of the disease.

“It’s important that people seek legal help early, because you have to get things in place while the patient is still able to participate in the decision-making process,” Niemann said.

“The sooner we get them involved, the more options they have.”

Legal matters that Niemann said are critical to address with Alzheimer’s patients are Medicaid benefits, powers of attorney for both financial and health care matters, estate plans, wills, trusts and titling property.

But there are also many issues outside the legal realm that his clients seek advice on that Niemann said made Alzheimer’s cases some of the most complicated and challenging that he hears.

Over the past few years, Niemann said he saw the number of his clients dealing with issues pertaining to Alzheimer’s grow steadily. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the number of Americans diagnosed with the disease has more than doubled since 1980, to an estimated 4.5 million patients today.

That number is expected to continue to grow as the nation’s population increases in average age. Alzheimer’s afflicts one in 10 people over the age of 65 and nearly five out of 10 over the age of 85. By 2050, the Alzheimer’s Association predicts the number of individuals with Alzheimer’s in the United States could range from 11.3 million to 16 million.

Niemann found that his growing number of clients also had a growing number of needs. They were asking many questions that could not be answered by referring to a court decision.

“At first we were dealing with them from a strictly legal perspective, but as time went on, I could see they needed more than just what we were providing as attorneys,” Niemann said.

“We decided we wanted to take a much more holistic approach.”

Niemann said, he took the approach that no issue was too small or too large.

In the years he has been practicing law pertaining to the elderly, Niemann says he has accumulated substantial literature and information.

The firm’s website also contains article related to elder law and Medicaid planning.

Much of the information and advice is aimed at allowing family members to better understand how to care for Alzheimer’s patients, enabling them to stay at home as long as possible.

Niemann said that is incredibly important for the majority of his clients because they want to maintain their family structure as long as possible. It’s also more affordable - the average cost of care in an area Alzheimer’s unit is about $4,500 a month.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 7 out of 10 people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease live at home where almost 75 percent of their care is provided by family and friends. Even then, the remainder of professional care can cost an average of $20,00 per year which is often paid almost entirely out-of-pocket.

Niemann’s law firm aims to help caregivers explore their options in securing that outside care and also to provide a sense of perspective in when it is time to make the decision to house the patient in a specialized health care facility.

The law firm can help clients in not only selecting a nursing home, but also in planning how to finance that move. It can also teach them how to transition from being a caregiver to what Niemann calls a care advocate.

While recognizing the law can’t offer answers to all the questions that arise, Niemann hopes it can provide counsel in many situations.

“If we have an issue that is medical in nature, we may be able to help because we have house counsel and staff who are a licensed registered nurse, nursing home administrator and social worker or we can refer it out if it’s better for our clients. If we have a very difficult care giving situation, then we might refer that out to a geriatric care manager,” Niemann said.

“But it really became part of the mission of the firm to help families with the day-to-day resources and help them educate themselves on care giving.”

If you have any questions about the contents of this article, please call Fredrick P. Niemann personally at 732-863-9900 or e-mail him at fniemann@hnlawfirm.com.

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