Listing of self-help materials and informational publications.
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Guardianships & Powers of Attorney
Alternatives to Guardianships for Adults 3302EN - When a person has significant problems managing financial affairs or personal care, guardianship may be considered. Guardianship should be viewed as an option of last resort, however, because it can be costly (involves going to court) and it deprives an adult of very significant personal rights. This publication provides general information about alternatives to guardianship.
By: Northwest Justice Project
How to Modify or Remove a Guardianship
(Separate Website)
Under Washington law, anyone can request the court under which the guardianship was established to terminate the guardianship, modify the guardian's duties, or have the guardian removed or replaced with another guardian.
By: Disability Rights Washington
Protecting Elders and Vulnerable Adults from Abuse and Neglect
The law protects frail elders and vulnerable adults. This publication discusses different types of abuse that these individuals are protected from under the law.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Questions and Answers on Guardianship
3300EN - A guardian is a person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of a person who is incapacitated. This publication provides general information about how and when a guardian should be appointed.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Questions and Answers on Powers of Attorney It is often convenient - or even necessary - to have someone else act for you. When you give someone the power to act for you, you give what is called a power of attorney. If you give a power of attorney, you are called the principal and the person you give it to is called the agent or the attorney-in-fact.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Special Needs Trust
(Separate Website)
A Special Needs Trust provides a way for a person with a disability to receive financial support, from for example an inheritance or legal settlement, while remaining eligible for SSI or Medicaid.
By: Disability Rights Washington
Long term care assistance (COPES, nursing homes, in home care)
Aging and Disablity Services Administration Web Site
(Separate Website)
Provides information for people with chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities and their caregivers.
By: DSHS
Applying for Public Assistance
Information about the application process to receive public assistance.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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DSHS Help for People with Disabilities: Necessary Supplemental Accomodations
If you get DSHS benefits, such as TANF, SFA, Disability Lifeline, Medicaid, or food assistance, DSHS must accommodate your disabilities. This means that DSHS must try to make their services and benefits available to you to the same extent that they are available to people without a disability.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Estate Recovery for Medical Services Paid for by the State
The state has many programs that pay for medical services. The Medicaid program is one example. Under some of these programs and with important limitations, the estate recovery law allows the state to recover (to be paid back) the cost of the services it pays for.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Exception to Rule (ETR) DSHS Programs
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is able to give you some types of benefits even if you don't meet all of the requirements. This is called an "exception to a rule" or "ETR". DSHS considers ETR requests on a case-by-case basis and approves requests only in limited circumstances.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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How to Fight a Denial of DSHS Public Assistance
This publication explains your rights if you apply for cash, food stamps, medical, or child care assistance from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and their office denies you benefits.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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How To Fight a Termination or Reduction of DSHS Public Assistance
7102EN - This publication explains your rights if the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) tells you that it will stop or cut back the cash, food stamps, medical, or child care assistance they have been giving you. The most important thing to know is that you must ask for a fair hearing soon, usually within 10 days of being mailed written notice, to keep getting your benefits while you appeal.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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How To Fight an Overpayment of Cash Assistance, Medical Assistance or Food Stamps
An overpayment occurs when you receive benefits you are not eligible for according to DSHS rules. DSHS gets the benefits back by charging you with an overpayment. This publication provides info on the types of overpayments and what you can do if you disagree.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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How to Petition for Superior Court Review
If you disagree with the final fair hearing decision, you may appeal your case to a state Superior Court. The appeal is called a "Petition for Judicial Review of an Administrative Decision." Your appeal can be filed in either the Superior Court of the county where you live or in Thurston County Superior Court in Olympia.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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How to Present an Equitable Estoppel Defense at a DSHS Hearing
If you receive an overpayment notice from DSHS telling you that you owe them money or food stamps because they gave you benefits they should not have given you, and the overpayment was through no fault of yours, you should ask for a fair hearing because there is a legal defense against the overpayment. You must ask for the fair hearing within 90 days of the date of the overpayment notice. The notice will say the overpayment was unintentionally caused and will say you are required to repay it, but will not tell you that there is a legal defense against it. Read this publication to find out about an Equitable Estoppel defense.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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National Senior Citizens Law Center
(Separate Website)
This site provides information about Medicaid, nursing homes and other programs.
Protecting Elders and Vulnerable Adults from Abuse and Neglect
The law protects frail elders and vulnerable adults. This publication discusses different types of abuse that these individuals are protected from under the law.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Questions and Answers on Medicaid for Nursing Home Residents
Medicaid is a government program that pays for medical services including nursing home care. It is administered by DSHS -- the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
To receive Medicaid payment for nursing home care, you must meet the financial eligibility requirements described in this publication. Also, you must need the care provided in a nursing home.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Questions and Answers on the COPES Program
COPES is a program that pays for personal care and other services for people in their own homes. COPES also pays for care in adult family homes, adult residential care facilities, and assisted living facilities. It is designed to help people who, without COPES, would need to be in nursing homes.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Representing Yourself at a Fair Hearing
If you don't agree with any decision, either verbal or written, made by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), you have the right to appeal that decision by asking for a fair hearing.
This publication tells you about 1) the deadline to request a fair hearing, 2) how to make the re-quest, 3) how to prepare for your hearing, and 4) what to expect at your hearing and afterward.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Senior Services Web Site
(Separate Website)
Senior Services can provide information and assistance to seniors on many issues.
By: Senior Services
Understanding Your CARE Tool Assessment
This publication explains how to read the Comprehensive Assessment Reporting Evaluation (CARE) document called Assessment Details. If you have not had an assessment yet this booklet will give you an idea about what to expect. During your assessment a case manager asks you questions about the help you need. That information is used to determine what services you can receive. This includes personal care hours and nursing services.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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What Are My Rights? Dealing with DSHS
This publication lists services available by DSHS and your rights when dealing with this state agency.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Benefits CheckUp
(Separate Website)
BenefitsCheckUp helps thousands every day to find programs for people ages 55 and over that may pay for some of their costs of prescription drugs, health care, utilities, and other essential items or services. Please fill out our simple questionnaire to find programs that can assist you or your loved ones.
By: National Council on the Aging
Estate Recovery for Medical Services Paid for by the State
The state has many programs that pay for medical services. The Medicaid program is one example. Under some of these programs and with important limitations, the estate recovery law allows the state to recover (to be paid back) the cost of the services it pays for.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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QMB, SLMB, QI-1, and QDWI Programs: Help with Medicare Premiums, Deductibles
Some people who get Medicare can qualify for help in paying the premiums and deductibles in the Medicare program. Qualifying for this help depends on your income and resources. If you have low income, you may be a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) or a Special Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB).
By: Northwest Health Law Advocates
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Questions and Answers on Medicaid for Nursing Home Residents
Medicaid is a government program that pays for medical services including nursing home care. It is administered by DSHS -- the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
To receive Medicaid payment for nursing home care, you must meet the financial eligibility requirements described in this publication. Also, you must need the care provided in a nursing home.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Questions and Answers on the COPES Program
COPES is a program that pays for personal care and other services for people in their own homes. COPES also pays for care in adult family homes, adult residential care facilities, and assisted living facilities. It is designed to help people who, without COPES, would need to be in nursing homes.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Special Needs Trust
(Separate Website)
A Special Needs Trust provides a way for a person with a disability to receive financial support, from for example an inheritance or legal settlement, while remaining eligible for SSI or Medicaid.
By: Disability Rights Washington
The Desk.Info - The Medicaid Reference Desk
(Separate Website)
Information about Medicaid for people with cognitive disabilities.
By: The ArcLink
Estate Recovery for Medical Services Paid for by the State
The state has many programs that pay for medical services. The Medicaid program is one example. Under some of these programs and with important limitations, the estate recovery law allows the state to recover (to be paid back) the cost of the services it pays for.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Living Will Registry
(Separate Website)
The Washington State Living Will Registry allows you to store your living will documents in a secure, online database. A living will gives you the power to record your medical decisions in the event you're unable to communicate and gives your physician vital information about your treatment wishes. Only authorized health care providers may access and view your documents in the registry. The registry also stores your emergency contact information so that family and next of kin can be contacted.
By: Department of Health
Mental Health Advance Directives
(Separate Website)
A mental health advance directive (MHAD) is a written document that describes your directions and preferences for treatment and care during times when you are having difficulty communicating and making decisions. It can inform others about what treatment you want or don?t want, and it can identify a person called an
?agent? who you trust to make decisions and act on your behalf.
By: DSHS - Mental Health Division
Mental Health Resource Manual This manual is a source for information about mental health services for seniors in Washington state, providing website links for research.
By: Northwest Justice Project
Questions and Answers on Living Wills A living will is a paper that tells your doctors or others providing your health care when you want them to stop life-sustaining medical treatment and let you die. A health care power of attorney allows someone you appoint to make medical-treatment decisions for you if you are no longer able to make them yourself. This publication contains general information and a Living Will form you may download.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Questions and Answers on Medicaid for Nursing Home Residents
Medicaid is a government program that pays for medical services including nursing home care. It is administered by DSHS -- the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
To receive Medicaid payment for nursing home care, you must meet the financial eligibility requirements described in this publication. Also, you must need the care provided in a nursing home.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Questions and Answers on the COPES Program
COPES is a program that pays for personal care and other services for people in their own homes. COPES also pays for care in adult family homes, adult residential care facilities, and assisted living facilities. It is designed to help people who, without COPES, would need to be in nursing homes.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Understanding Your CARE Tool Assessment
This publication explains how to read the Comprehensive Assessment Reporting Evaluation (CARE) document called Assessment Details. If you have not had an assessment yet this booklet will give you an idea about what to expect. During your assessment a case manager asks you questions about the help you need. That information is used to determine what services you can receive. This includes personal care hours and nursing services.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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A Kinship Caregiver's Guide to Consenting to Health Care A kinship caregiver is a relative who is taking care of a child but is not the child's parent. This guide provides a child's kinship caregiver information about consenting to health care options.
By: Columbia Legal Services
Healthy Ties: The Grandparent's and Other Relatives Guide to Health Insurance for Children
(Separate Website)
What you need to know about Medicaid and The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
By: Children's Defense Fund
Indian Child Welfare Act
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that creates strict standards for state courts to follow in Indian child custody proceedings. The ICWA declares "the policy of this Nation is to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families."
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Options for Grandparents and Other nonparental Caregivers
(Separate Website)
This booklet is available for purchase through the Northwest Women's Law Center for $18. It provides information on adoption, dependency guardianship, nonparental custody and temporary agreements.
By: Legal Voice
Dealing with Death
(Separate Website)
A guide to understanding the problems and processes surrounding a death.
By: Washington State Attorney General
Eldercare Locator
(Separate Website)
The Eldercare Locator is your first step for finding local agencies, in every U.S. community, that can help older persons and their families access home and community-based services like transportation, meals, home care, and caregiver support services.
By: eldercare.gov
Estate Recovery for Medical Services Paid for by the State
The state has many programs that pay for medical services. The Medicaid program is one example. Under some of these programs and with important limitations, the estate recovery law allows the state to recover (to be paid back) the cost of the services it pays for.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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Frequently Asked Questions about Abuse in Later Life
(Separate Website)
Abuse in later life occurs when an older person is subjected to a pattern of coercive behaviors used to gain & maintain power and control perpetrated by a family member or someone with whom the elder has an ongoing relationship. It is the intersection between elder abuse and domestic violence.
By: National Clearinghouse on Abuse Later in Life
Property Tax Exemptions for Senior Citizens and Disabled People
The property tax exemption is a way to lower the property taxes you have to pay by exempting all excess levies (like school construction bonds and other levies passed by voters) and sometimes part of regular levies on your home. The program does not apply to property where you do not live a majority of the time, or to more than one acre surrounding your home.
By: Northwest Justice Project
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Protecting Elders and Vulnerable Adults from Abuse and Neglect
The law protects frail elders and vulnerable adults. This publication discusses different types of abuse that these individuals are protected from under the law.
By: Northwest Justice Project
Other Formats:
PDF File
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Questions and Answers on Living Wills A living will is a paper that tells your doctors or others providing your health care when you want them to stop life-sustaining medical treatment and let you die. A health care power of attorney allows someone you appoint to make medical-treatment decisions for you if you are no longer able to make them yourself. This publication contains general information and a Living Will form you may download.
By: Columbia Legal Services
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