Do you know how to prove you’re a victim of age discrimination in employment? Did you know that you may be entitled to Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse’s work record? And did you know that a continuing care retirement community’s admission fee is essentially a form of long-term care insurance?

These and scores of other critical legal issues related to aging are explained in clear layman’s language in “Everyday Law for Seniors,” a concise new book coauthored by Lawrence A. Frolik, recently retired after serving nine years on The Kendal Corporation Board of Directors.

When asked how he became a nationally recognized expert on elder law, Larry, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, explains that “like a lot things in life, it was sort of serendipitous.”

“I taught estate planning at the law school, and I was asked how to plan estates for people with developmentally disabled children,” he says. “That taught me about Medicaid and a lot of other government programs, like Social Security.”

From there, he notes, “it was just one more step into elder law.”

“I had agreed to teach a course on elder law, but there were no materials, absolutely none. No one was teaching it in the mid-1980s. So I spent a summer really getting up to speed on elder law, and I got a coauthor, and we made those materials into a casebook. It was the first elder law book ever put out for law schools. We’re going to our fifth edition this fall, so it’s been pretty successful.”

He wanted to write a book for non-lawyers, Larry says, to demystify how the law affects important life choices as we age—including decisions about how to manage property and health care, where to live, and how best to use government benefits such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. He and his coauthor—Linda S. Whitton, a professor at Valparaiso University School of Law—wrote the book as a guide for aging baby boomers and their parents.

“We think that these topics are not so mysterious, or so complicated, that an average person can’t understand what the issues are,” Larry says. “We tried to write it in a way that would be very approachable to the layperson, but without insulting their intelligence. We didn’t dumb it down.”

Judging by the reviews the book has received, it’s clear that the coauthors have achieved their objectives. A review posted June 9 on LibraryJournal.com describes the book as a “comprehensive primer on elder law,” adding  that “The authors make their subjects accessible with clear writing and concrete examples and by beginning each discussion with ‘Did You Know’ points that help put the information in context.” 

“The clarity of the explanations in this book sets it apart from others,” says Charles P. Sabatino, director of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, “You will definitely want to share this book with friends and family, and if you work in a helping field, with clients.”

Larry says he was first approached about becoming a Kendal board member by Alan Hunt, one of Kendal’s founders, who also happened to be an elder law expert.

“Alan saw me give a talk at the Pennsylvania Elder Law Institute in which I was very supportive of the concept of CCRCs, and, as a result, Alan suggested my name to the Board Development Committee,” Larry recalls. “I actually didn’t know much about Kendal prior to joining the board because Kendal is not out in western Pennsylvania. But I was certainly impressed when I got to know more about Kendal.”

Larry says he is an advocate of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) because they offer an attractive and comprehensive alternative to the usual means of obtaining long-term care.

“There are three more or less standard ways you can pay for long-term care. You can pay out of your pocket, using your savings. You can get long-term care insurance, which will pay for most, if not all, of it. The third way is Medicaid—but that requires that you spend essentially all of your money before Medicaid kicks in,” Larry says.  

“The fourth way is planning ahead, and that’s the CCRC way. When you move into a CCRC, you’re essentially buying long-term care insurance with your entry fee, thereby assuring yourself that if you ever need assisted living arrangements or skilled nursing care you will get the care without a spike in expenses. In effect, you will have prepaid for your care with your entrance fee no matter how expensive it gets or how long you need it.”

Another advantage of living in a CCRC, he says, is that it assures you where you’re going to receive long-term care, if it’s ever needed.

“The residents of our Kendal communities have decided that their community is a great place to live, and they know that if they have any health problems they will be taken care of where they are,” Larry says. “That’s what so valuable about a CCRC. You’ve taken away the fear of facing enormous, indeterminate costs for care, but perhaps even more importantly you know where you’re going to get the care.”

Knowing in advance where you will receive long-term care, if needed, also is critically important to family members, he notes. “When you reach the point that you need long-term care, you’re not going to be in a very good position to investigate the quality of a nursing home or assisted living housing. Often you’re too sick. It’s a difficult time emotionally and there usually are limitations on how long you, your spouse or your children have to decide where to go for care. Kendal residents have taken that burden away from their spouses and their families.”

Values are another vital consideration in deciding where to retire, Larry says. “It’s extraordinarily important that people recognize how important underlying values are when they are deciding where to live in retirement. It’s not just about the number of chandeliers they might have in the lobby.

“What really is important are the day-to-day interactions with staff and other residents. Kendal’s values don’t just flow through the staff, they are shared by the residents. People who are attracted to the Kendal values are a little different, I think, than the general run of the population. These are people who value the dignity of each individual. And I know from being around residents that those are the kind of values that they try to express in their day-to-day lives.”