News Briefs for Nov. 17, 2021

What is the Legal Services Developer Program for Older Montanans?

The Legal Service Developer Program is housed under the Aging Services Bureau of the Department of Public Health and Human Services of Montana.

The program provides legal advice and assistance to older Montanans over the age of 60, their caregivers, family members and professionals with questions about elder law, or legal issues being experienced by an older adult.

Services can also be provided to adults with a disability. Advice can be provided on a wide range of issues including consumer finance, landlord/tenant, probate information and questions on estate planning documents.

The program does not provide advice on family law, medical malpractice or criminal law.

The program focuses on advice and does not provide direct representation.

The Legal Service Developer Program has received several grants through the Montana Board of Crime Control to address financial exploitation among Montanan's older adults. The Senior Financial Defense Grant project focuses on training professionals in aging services, as well as professionals who may encounter older adults.

The project conducts training in communities across the state in partnership with Adult Protective Services that is evidence-based, victim-centered and trauma informed.

This training is accredited for Continuing Legal Education Credits, Nursing Continuing Education Credits, and Continuing Education Credits for social workers and is offered free of charge.

The project funds estate-planning clinics which serve as a vehicle to address current exploitation as well as form relationships with older Montanans across the state.

The Legal Service Developer Program provides estate planning services to older adults. The services are offered both over the phone and in-person. All estate planning services are provided by specially trained legal professionals and volunteers. Documents include: Revocable Transfer on Death Deeds, Declaration of Homesteads, Powers of Attorney for Financial and Health Care, Declaration of Living Wills and Simple Wills.

Other documents can be completed as necessary and include: Affidavits to Terminate Joint Tenancy and Affidavits for Collection of Personal Property. The program has age requirements but not income requirements. In-person Legal Document Clinics were offered in Lewistown, Deer Lodge, Glendive, Miles City, Hamilton and Emigrant in 2021.

Phone Clinics are available year around, to Montanans across the state.

The Legal Service Developer Programs provides various trainings and legal education opportunities throughout the year. Previously recorded trainings are available on the website: (https://dphhs.mt.gov/sltc/aging/legalservicesdeveloper) and include sessions on guardianships, working with adults with limited capacity, working with adults with disabilities, Social Security and many other elder law topics.

The website also contains estate planning forms and relevant information.

For more information, interested parties can contact Katy Lovell, Legal Service Developer at 406-444-7787, [email protected] or, Richard Heitstuman, Senior Financial Defense Project Coordinator at :[email protected].

Help With Heating

Cold weather is coming and heating bills can pile up fast. Are you or someone you know worried about how to pay those bills?

Energy Share of Montana is a private, nonprofit organization whose main purpose is to help Montanans facing energy emergencies. An "energy emergency" usually means someone facing loss of heat or lights in their home due to unforeseen circumstances or issues beyond their control, and who have no resources to pay that bill themselves.

Energy Share helps people from all walks of life: Senior citizens, veterans, unemployed or under-employed, families facing financially-challenging circumstances, and more. One example is "Susan," an elderly woman with multiple medical issues. She wasn't able to keep up with all her bills, so Energy Share helped with her home energy costs.

Energy Share partners with Action for Eastern Montana (AEM) in Glendive to process applications. A local Energy Share Committee, members of which are bound by confidentiality agreements, works with AEM to review applications. Within contractual guidelines from Energy Share they determine who will receive assistance.

Because Energy Share is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations are welcome and are tax-deductible. 100% of your gift is used to help someone in need – none of it goes to administrative expenses. This is possible because electric cooperatives, utility companies and large electric users also support Energy Share. In some cases these corporate donors direct Energy Share to use a percentage of their contribution for overhead costs.

To learn more about Energy Share and where to apply, contact AEM at 406-377-3564 or http://www.aemt.org. You can also visit http://www.energysharemt.com or call 1-888-779-7589 for more details on how to donate.

FPCC Receives First Nations Development Institute Grant Award

Fort Peck Community College recently received a $15,000 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colorado.

This award will support the efforts of Fort Peck Community College's Traditional Food Preservation & Storage project.

The project anticipates working with Fort Peck Community College's Student Senate in assisting with food storage needs, which includes the processing of a Buffalo from the tribal buffalo herd. The grant will fund equipment such as a walk-in refrigerator and commercial dehydrator. The project anticipates working with the local community garden programs in assisting with food storage need in terms of dehydration and for gathering traditional foods. The

project anticipates working with traditional food gathering and preservation experts to document and promote traditional food awareness within the Fort Peck Community College campus community. Project lead, Elijah

Hopkins, will coordinate the project programing.

FPCC serves the people of the Fort Peck Reservation and Northeast Montana by providing quality academic,

vocational, and community based programs, empowering the next generation of workers, leaders and citizens while

being entrusted with the preservation and promotion of Assiniboine and Sioux Culture. For more information about

FPCC visit us at http://www.fpcc.edu