Know Your Rights: Client Legal Library

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Know Your Rights: Client Legal Library

This page contains some general legal information. Click on a topic of interest or scroll down to see listing of all materials.

If you need help with regard to a specific situation, you should always seek the advice of a lawyer. Please call our Helpline at 1-800-750-5353, and we will try to help you or refer you to someone who can.

You can find much more in our HelpMeLaw library.

CONTENTS
Health Care Decisions	Contractor Issues	Real Estate
Self Determination	Grandparent's Rights	Social Security
Wills and Trusts	Housing	Utilities
Elder Abuse / Financial Exploitation	Long Term Care / MaineCare	Recently Widowed Seniors
Consumer Debt / Financial	Medicare

Health Care Decisions	Taking Charge of Your Health Care (Health Care Advance Directives Q & A)
	Health Care Advance Directives forms
	Facts About Health Care Advance Directives Maine Hospital Association (information and instructions about using the forms)
	Who will tell my doctor my health care choices when I'm too sick to do it?
	More on end of life and advance health care planning

Self Determination	Power of Attorney
	Using Pre-Printed Forms to Make a Power of Attorney
	Who Will Help Me Pay My Bills if Something Happens to Me? Using a Power of Attorney to Manage Your Money
	Who Will Help Me Pay My Bills if Something Happens to Me? Using a Joint Bank Account to Manage Your Money
	The Hidden Dangers of Joint Bank Accounts
	Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship: Questions and Answers Maine Department of Health and Humans Services, Bureau of Elder and Adult Services

Wills and Trusts	Do I Need a Will? Common Questions About Wills
	The Importance of Having a Will (.pdf file)
	Mortuary Trusts (.pdf file)
	More on estate planning

Elder Abuse / Finanacial Exploitation

What You Should Know about Financial Exploitation of Elders

Consumer Debt/Financial	What Happens if I Can't Pay My Bills?
	Debt Collection (.pdf file)
	Reverse Mortgages (.pdf file)
	Identity Theft .pdf brochure from the American Bar Association
	Purchasing Used Cars in Maine (.pdf file)
	Downeaster Guide to Elder Financial Protection .pdf brochure from the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection
	More on fraud, scams, and telemarketing
	Benefits Checkup National Council on Aging
	Maine Food Stamps Estimator Pine Tree Legal Assistance

Contractor Issues	Home Improvement Scams (.pdf file)
	How Should I Handle a Bad Home Repair Deal?
	A Guide to Small Claims Proceedings in the Maine District Court State of Maine Judicial Branch

Grandparent's Rights

Seeing Your Grandchildren: Your Visitation Rights

Housing	Tenants' Rights in Maine (.pdf file)
	Eviction (.pdf file)
	Requesting Reasonable Accommodation (.pdf file)
	Predatory Lending (.pdf file)
	More housing materials

Long Term Care/ MaineCare	Paying for Long Term Care Can I Get Help Paying the Costs of Long Term Nursing Care? - FAQ's (.pdf file) Paying for Nursing Home Care: A Summary of Nursing Home MaineCare (.pdf file)
	Nursing Home Information (a .pdf brochure from the American Bar Association)
	Estate Recovery Will I Lose My Home if I Get Medicaid (MaineCare) - FAQ's (.pdf file) Estate Recovery - More Information (.pdf file)
	Appealing MaineCare denials or reductions in service
	Appealing discharges from nursing facilities

Medicare	Health Care Reform Information for People with Medicare
	Getting Help With Medicare Expense Maine Equal Justice Partners

Real Estate	Boundary Disputes
	Reverse Mortgages (.pdf file)

Social Security	How to Cope with Social Security Overpayments Pine Tree Legal Assistance
	A Guide for Representative Payees Social Security Administration
	Social Security Retirement Benefits Social Security Administration
	Supplemental Security Income (SSI) ElderLaw Answers
	What to Do When a Beneficiary Dies Social Security Administration
	What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits Social Security Administration
	When Your Social Security Benefits Are Taken to Pay Back Money to the Federal Government National Consumer Law Center
	You May Be Able to Get SSI Social Security Administration

Utilities	Help with Winter Utilities and Fuel Bills Maine Equal Justice Partners
	Guide to Rights and Responsibilities of Residential Utility Customers Maine Public Utilties Commission
	What are My Rights with My Electric Company? Maine Equal Justice Partners

Recently Widowed Seniors	A Legal Guide for Recently Widowed Seniors
	What To Do When You Are a Surviving Spouse

Important Note: The information provided at this web site and in these client educational materials is for informational purposes only. These materials should not be construed as rendering legal advice or constituting a legal opinion for specific situations. Instead, they provide general information about the law in effect at the time the materials were written. If you need help with regard to a specific situation, you should always seek the advice of a lawyer. Please call our Legal Services for the Elderly Hotline at 1-800-750-5353 or (207) 623-1797 (Augusta), and we will try to help you or refer you to someone who can.