17th Judicial District event aimed at legal needs of aging, elderly

Broomfield Enterprise (CO)

May 03--Senior citizens and caregivers are invited to a Senior Law Day, which will be held for the first time specifically for residents of Adams and Broomfield counties.

It will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 2 at the Waymire Dome at the Adams County Fairgrounds, 9755 Henderson Road, in Brighton.

The goal is to provide much needed-legal information to senior citizens, their family members, caregivers and service providers. The event will include nine workshops on legal issues that most senior citizens will face or should consider, including estate planning, advance directives, Medicare, Social Security, fraud prevention and financial exploitation.

Seniors citizens are the largest population in the district, District Attorney Dave Young said, and unfortunately they're vulnerable to crime. He believes his office does a good job of educating people on crime prevention, but there is "so much more" people need to know.

"We decided to put on something more formal on an annual basis to educate seniors not only on crime prevention, but matter-of-fact things they'll deal with going forward like probate court," Young said.

The event is coordinated by the District Attorney's Office and 17th Judicial District, Tolison & Williams elder law attorneys, Adams County Aging Network (ACAN), and representatives from municipalities and senior centers in the district.

Young said he is confident that a lot of the population do not have wills or an estate set up, and hopefully this event can connect residents to attorneys who specialize in elder law.

The event will feature informational booths from service providers and agencies, and an Ask-A-Lawyer program where attendees may have a free 15-minute consultation with an elder law attorney.

Casey Williams, a local elder law attorney who practices in Brighton and chairwoman of the event, said people who already have registered will get preference for a lawyer consultation.

Williams said she has worked on a similar Denver event for almost 10 years, and attended other Senior Law Days around the metro region and is excited to get the support to host one in Adams County.

The issues covered at the event aren't comfortable topics to talk about, Young said, but that's just another reason organizers wanted to push this forward.

"We just want to get out and be a voice for some of the seniors in our community," he said.

There is a $10 suggested donation, which can be made online or at the door, for each person who attends.

Each attendee will receive breakfast, lunch and the Colorado Bar Association's Senior Law Handbook -- a 500-plus page resource manual with chapters on 34 legal issues concerning seniors.

The event will open at 8 a.m., with seminars running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Williams said organizers are looking for about 50 volunteers to help put on the event. As far as seniors, their target audience is Adams and Broomfield counties, but it's not exclusive to those residents.

"Our goal is really just to get good information out there and good resources," she said.

Jennifer Rios: 303-473-1361, riosj@broomfieldenterprise.com or Twitter.com/Jennifer_Rios

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