The last vestige of independence for many elders is the loss of their ability to drive.  The efforts to take the automobile away to protect the elder and other drivers on the road can be met with tremendous resistance.  A physician can assist in notifying DMV of a patient’s inability to use an automobile so the driver’s license is revoked.  The fact remains, when the automobile is physically removed, battle lines are drawn between the elder and the caregiver and/or family members carrying out this task.
A suggestion given by a caregiver was one I personally considered might be worth pursuing when having to stop an elder from continuing to drive, but not wanting to take the automobile away.  She informed us that if you took the car and the car key to the dealer, they could make a duplicate key, which will turn when placed in the ignition, but will not engage the motor.   In her case, her husband would go out to the garage for an extended period of time trying to get the car started with this dummy key, and finally come inside asking her to drive him.  He was too embarrassed to tell her that he could not start the car.  This produced the correct result without having the confrontation that would ensue if the caregiver stated her husband was not allowed to drive the car because of the loss of his license to drive.
As an update on the sunset of estate taxes that is schedule for the year 2010, it appears there may be a proposal to back a one-year extension of the present estate tax levels.  This means Congress would be proposing the current per-person exemption of 3.5 million would continue into the year 2010.  If Congress did nothing, estate taxes would disappear January 1, 2010 and return with a 1 million per-person exemption in 2011.  This will give Congress the ability to tie in the issue of estate taxes with a broader overhaul of the tax code in 2010.
Ms. MacDonald’s practice is limited to Estate Planning, Probate, Conservatorships, Elder Law & Trust Administration.  Ms. MacDonald maintains her practice in the Santa Clarita Valley at 27013 Langside Avenue, Suite A, Santa Clarita, California.  She can be reached at 661-251-1300.