Legal Services Developer Program

The Montana Legal Services Developer in the Office on Aging, provides elder law training and resources for older adults, family members and social outreach workers. The program also develops pro bono and local legal services referrals, training materials and provides telephone assistance to older adults on related matters.

If you have questions regarding legal documents or forms, please contact the Legal Services Developer at (800) 332-2272 (Monday - Friday 8 am to 5 pm).

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day - June 15th

Kick-off the month of awareness with a presentation from AARP at the Lewis and Clark County Library. In coordination with the Lewis and Clark Library and the South Central Elder Justice Committee, Nancy Anderson of AARP will present "Fighting Fraud in Montana," focusing on proven resources and tools to help you spot and avoid identity theft and fraud. By taking a few practical steps, you have the power to fight back against fraud. This session will arm you with the latest data on fraud trends and provide tips and resources to protect yourself and your family. See you at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 S Last Chance Gulch, in Helena on June 8th from 2pm to 4pm.

Next, check out this great event for the WEAAD, being held June 15th at the Montana Club in downtown Helena, 5-7pm. Bank of the Rockies, in partnership with the Montana Elder Justice Prosecutor, the Montana Bankers Association, and Montana’s Credit Union, will host this important event to draw attention to elder abuse in Montana and how the state and out banking industry is responding. Members of the media will be in attendance to help spread the word around the state. Please contact richard.heitstuman@mt.gov for more information.

Do you know a local business that would like to show support? Sponsors will have their logos and names displayed on all printed materials and will be recognized at the event. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact richard.heitstuman@mt.gov.

2023 Kelly Moorse Memorial Legal Documents Clinic Schedule

The Montana Aging Services Bureau will be hosting the 2022 Legal Document Clinic Season again this year; the program serves older adults aged 60+ as well as any enrolled tribal members. At the Legal Document Clinics, trained legal professionals assist participants in completing their estate planning documents at no cost to the participant; legal professionals assist older adults draft, review, notarize and copy each document. Free resources and educational materials also available on site.

Clinic documents include:

Transfer On Death Deed
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
Durable Power of Attorney for Financial
Declaration of Living Will / Declaration of Homestead
Simple Will / Indian Wills

*Our services are not designed to handle complex estates or large assets, and we do not handle any trusts.

Space is limited and appointments must be made in advance of the clinic.

To register or learn more, contact Katy Lovell, Legal Service Developer
(406) 444-7787 or 1-800-332-2272.

2023 Working with Older Adults: Capacity, Exploitation, Abuse, Neglect, and Reporting Training Schedule

Please join the Department of Public Health & Human Services/Aging Services to learn more about working with older adults. The presentation focuses on the tricky subject of senior capacity and how to work with older adults who may have limited capacity. It will also focus on the signs of abuse and financial exploitation and what to do if you suspect it. The presentation is intended for anyone who works with older adults; we encourage lawyers, nurses, pharmacists, financial professionals, social workers, barbers and hair stylists, and folks from a wide variety of caring professions to attend. Our training has been approved for CLE, CEU and Nursing Contact Hours.

For information, please contact Richard.heitstuman@mt.gov

Tools for Senior Victims

Legal Forms

Estate planning is important for adults of all ages to allow you to express your wishes for your care and financial management. Estate planning is also an important tool to prevent financial exploitation. Montana has several statutory forms including the Declaration of Living Will, Declaration of Living Will by Appointment, Declaration of Homestead, Transfer on Death Deed and the Financial Power of Attorney. Other forms have been developed and tested through our program, including the Simple Will for Single and Married Individuals. The model form for the Health Care Power of Attorney was developed by a coalition including the MSU Extension Office and the State Alzheimer’s Working Group. Estate planning can be confusing and these simple forms may not be appropriate for all people and all situations. Consulting a licensed legal professional is the best way to ensure your needs are being met. Individuals 60 years old and older and all tribal members may contact the Legal Service Developer Program with questions. Individuals under the age of 60 years old may contact Montana Legal Services Association or the State Bar of Montana.

Legal Services Developer Forms

The Senior Financial Defense Grant

The Senior Defense Grant, or the SDG, is a project funded through the Montana Board of Crime Control that focuses on addressing financial exploitation, abuse, and neglect of seniors in Montana. While we don’t investigate cases, we do assist in referrals to Adult Protective Services, Office of Consumer Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, and many more partner organizations. We also assist victims in accessing various victim services, as well as providing our own victim services via estate planning services for victims. Documents like Wills, Powers of Attorney, Transfer on Death Deeds, and more, can help put an end to abuses as well as legally prevent them in the future.

The SDG trains aging services professionals throughout the state. We do this in a couple of ways, the first being our “Working with Older Adults” trainings that are hosted live throughout the state, in conjunction with our legal documents clinics. These trainings, intended for local aging professionals, go over working with older adults, assessing capacity, looking for signs of exploitation, and reporting to APS. They are accredited for CLE, CEU, and NCH credits.

We also train professionals via our lunchtime training series, hosted most Wednesdays at noon. Trainings cover topics that affect seniors as well as senior advocates and include information on our program and how to report to us. All trainings are recorded and posted on our training page. Contact the Legal Services Developer to sign up for our training series.

The SDG also funds the Kelly Moorse Memorial Documents Clinics. These clinics provide estate planning services to seniors, disabled adults, and enrolled tribal members. More than that though, they are also a vehicle for screening potential victims as well as a safe, secure space for victims to report abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.

To learn more about the Senior Defense Grant or to sign up for our quarterly newsletter, contact the Project Coordinator, Richard Heitstuman, at Richard.heitstuman@mt.gov , 406-417-8648.

Senior Defense Grant and Senior Financial Defense Grant Newsletters

Other Resources

Disclaimer

Our publications are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. Rather, they are designed to help families become better acquainted with some of the devices used in long term planning and to create an awareness of the need for such planning. Future changes in laws cannot be predicted and statements in this narrative are based solely on those laws in force on the date of publication.