As the silver tsunami hits, baby boomers redefine retirement, and Americans reject the tragic era of nursing homes and institutional aging, the critical question arises, What’s Next? Rajiv Nagaich, one of America’s preeminent retirement thought leaders, has the answer. Rajiv’s unique, pragmatic, and hopeful message for those planning for retirement and older adults and their families--—you can enjoy your retirement dreams and banish the nightmare of ending up in a nursing home, becoming a burden, or going broke--has helped thousands of Americans replace their biggest fears about retirement planning and growing older with the four Cs: Confidence. Control. Clarity. Connection.

Aging Options is heavily focused on the education of the public, attorneys and law students on the need to go beyond traditional estate planning. To that end I give seminars on Life Planning; host a popular radio show (Aging Options) in Seattle; teach at the University of Washington; publish a resource guide (Aging Options Resource Guide); provide information on aging-related topics on our website, AgingOptions.com; lead an organization of professionals whose survey areas intersect with those of Elder Law; and lecture regularly at various community and professional forums, including local and national National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. AGING OPTIONS SEMINARS: Since 2007, I have held four to five seminars each month in which I speak directly to community members about how Elder Law planning takes the basics of estate planning and builds beyond the legal documents and trusts to create a cohesive planning package that addresses all the issues of aging and creates a unified plan that elders and their family members can count on to help them address their aging concerns.AGING OPTIONS RADIO SHOW: In January 2007, I began the Aging Options Radio Show. This popular two-hour weekly call-in show on KTTH 770 in Seattle focuses on elder issues, and stresses the importance of pursuing planning for aging beginning while you are still relatively young and continuing throughout all the phases of life. The radio show accentuates the stature of Elder Law, and addresses how the law relates to issues of housing, finances and health for elders, as well as the role family members take on with the aging process. AGINGOPTIONS RESOURCE GUIDE: Since 2010, I have published the Aging Options Resource Guide. This regional guide provides a broad range of useful information on topics all along the aging continuum from Medicare to second marriages to the importance of health as an asset in an elder’s portfolio.

As with most Elder Law Attorneys, my practice is dedicated to assisting clients with all Elder Law related issues. Within that scope, my clients usually fall into two categories: crisis and non-crisis.CRISIS PLANNING: Clients who fall into this category need immediate assistance with placement and asset protection issues. Working with social workers and nurses, the case is developed from the perspective of providing the client the highest quality of life possible under the circumstances. The family is provided with guidance so that the illness with which the family member is dealing does not create a burden for their loved ones. Legal counsel works with social work and nursing staff to protect assets so that those assets can be used to enhance the quality of life of the client, provide relief to the family members, and honor the wishes of all concerned. NON-CRISIS PLANNING: Over time I have taken what I learned from the crisis cases and developed a practice that anticipates the possibility that the client might in the future have to deal with long term illness and require planning beyond the execution of legal documents. Traditional estate planning comprises assisting clients with securing how their assets will be distributed when he/she dies, determining who will manage the assets and health care issues for the client in case of incapacity until such time as the client dies, and establishing how the client wishes to die (choosing or eschewing life support). These traditional estate determinations make up what could be appropriately termed “dead law.” An Elder Law Attorney might add asset protection or Medicaid trusts into the mix. But these solutions fail to adequately address the more fundamental objectives of clients: planning to help them avoid institutional care in the future and minimizing the burdens their family will face on account of the client’s illness. The reality is that the solutions cannot be just legal solutions.

I have been a NAELA member since 2001. I am the only student lawyer who has sat on the NAELA board, and I represent a very small minority of NAELA members who started as student members. From 2008 to 2012, I served on NAELA’s Board of Directors.I have demonstrated my support for and leadership in NAELA in the following ways: • May 2011: Co-Chair, Annual Conference in Las Vegas;• 2010: Annual Meeting Committee;• 2010 – 2012: Chair, Diversity Committee; • 2007: Chair, UnProgram;• 2006-07: Member, PDPM (Practice Development/Practice Management) SIG Committee; • 2006-present: Board Member, SARPAC. In my role as a board member and chair of the Diversity Committee, I helped create the framework to develop a long term educational program aimed at better retention of members, better value to members and more reasons for non-members to consider NAELA. The work continues under the capable leadership of Professor Rebecca Morgan of Stetson University College of Law and other NAELA members.In 2011-2012, I worked on “The National Video Series on Elder and Special Needs Law,” a joint project of NAELA and Stetson University School of Law. The series’ aim was to help members train new attorneys and staff members.