Older clients usually can make good decisions. But some clients have deficits we need to understand. Other clients are clearly unable to understand legal options. Some clients are fighting for the right to keep making decisions (both good and bad). And some clients are under pressure from limited options.

LaRita Dingle, Crissy Dixon, Jasmine Pitt, Mario Ramsey, Alina Buccella
Who Can Decide?
Mr. B owns his home with his two adult children. They all live together and share expenses. His choices about a will are clear and freely made.
Who Cannot Decide?
Mrs. S has memory problems, so she lives in the secure wing of an assisted living facility. Her only son needs to sell her home in Virginia. This will involve guardianship laws of North Carolina and Virginia. The house sale is just step one. The next issue will be keeping her eligible for valuable coverage to pay for her care.
Who Wants To Decide?
Mr. T is an eccentric writer who landed in the hospital and wants to return to his mountain home. But the medical staff decided that would not be safe. A court will decide if Mr. T can make a risky choice about where to live.
Who Needs Help With Decisions?
Mrs. R is deaf and recently had a stroke. To accommodate her, the clinic student used a sign-language interpreter and met Mrs. R at her home.
Who May Need Protection?
Ninety-one-year-old Mrs. L has no relatives or close friends. She wants all her medical and financial matters to be handled by the young home health aide from the Medicaid agency. And she wants to leave her property to that nice young lady! Can she? Should she?
The clinic students helped all of these people. They patiently handled challenging communication difficulties and analyzed tricky ethical dilemmas about decision makers. Meeting their clients in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, courtrooms, clinic offices, and community centers, they showed great compassion and intelligence. These clinic students will be superb advocates and caring members of the communities where they practice. Congratulations on a job well done!
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