Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate Keynote Speaker and Educator

Pamela D. Wilson is a speaker and educator on aging and caregiving related to elder law issues who understands family caregivers’ struggles in probate and estate planning matters. Her experience as a professional fiduciary in the roles of court-appointed guardian, medical and financial power of attorney, personal representative, and trustee, as well as being a care manager, provides insights for elder law, estate planning, and probate attorneys specializing in these areas.

Wilson is also an expert witness in various elder law, probate, guardianship, care management, and personal injury cases.

To learn more about Pamela, speaking topics, and read speaking testimonials, Download Pamela’s Speaking Kit.

You can also read or download a copy of Ms. Wilson’s C.V. to learn more about her professional experience and complete the form on her main speaker’s page to contact her regarding a speaking event or another request.

Pamela D Wilson Elder Law Retreat Video

Disclaimer: This video was prepared for the Colorado Bar Association Elder Law Retreat when Pamela was scheduled to speak but had another commitment. She created a short video combining legal terms and humor. In 2018, Ms. Wilson sold The Care Navigator. Today, she serves as an expert witness, speaker, educator, and consultant to families worldwide. She no longer serves as a court-appointed guardian, agent under a power of attorney, trustee, or personal representative for clients; however, she advises family members in these roles.

Family Conflict and Elder Care Concerns

As a professional fiduciary, Pamela witnessed the family turmoil that arises when estate planning documents are not initiated or when poorly drafted documents result in issues navigating care and managing financial projects. Family caregivers have no idea of the responsibilities of being designated a guardian or a power of attorney. Most lack the skills to navigate the healthcare system and other care services.

The list of care issues and family conflicts can be never-ending. These include substandard quality of care, medical errors, dysfunctional family situations, family conflict, professional boundaries by healthcare and care providers, difficult elderly parents, entitled or dependent adult children, battles over guardianship or powers of attorney, and contested court hearings.

Elder Law Speaker and Educator Testimonials

Pamela speaks on-site and online. All programs are uniquely designed and tailored to meet the needs of groups, organizations, and law firms whose employees are experiencing caregiving challenges.

Read what professionals from the legal community have to say about Pamela here.

Click here to read a legal testimonial about Pamela.

“Pamela D. Wilson provided a webinar for ElderLawAnswers Membership on family caregiving called “Trends in Family Caregiving: How Elderlaw Attorneys Can Support Caregiver Clients.”. The presentation that Pamela provided was informative and helpful for those practicing Elder Law and working with clients that provide care to family members. I highly recommend Pamela D. Wilson as a presenter with regard to this topic.”Rebecca A. Hobbs, Esquire, CELA for O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, P.C.

“Thank you again for agreeing to serve as faculty for the Colorado Bar Association Elder Law Retreat Program. CLE received many positive responses from the program. Our most sincere thanks for sharing your expertise.” Gary Abrams, Executive Director of Colorado Bar Association CLE

Click Here to Visit Pamela’s Bio Page

The Pressures of Family Caregiving

For many family caregivers, a caregiver’s role is a 24/7, never-ending responsibility that interrupts days, evenings, and weekends. Having a career and a personal life becomes blurred by caregiving responsibilities interrupting working caregivers on the job. As a caregiving and elder law speaker and educator, Wilson relates her professional experience being on call 24/7 to the ongoing challenges that caregivers face trying to balance personal and work lives.

Multiple calls from elderly parents every day, calls made to doctor’s offices to manage medical care—there’s always more to do. Coordinating care for aging parents can quickly become a full-time job and a full-time after-work non-paying job.

Caregivers feel pressured to respond to parents’ needs promptly to avoid worsening situations. Many become hypervigilant, waiting for the next worrisome phone call or expecting bad news. Family disagreements about who should provide care divide families.

What Do Family Caregiving and Practicing Elder Law, Probate, and Estate Planning Law Have in Common?

Attorneys in all areas of practice experience similar feelings as caregivers—that practicing law can take over their lives. Being a family caregiver is a life-consuming event.

Like family caregivers, attorneys experience anxiety and stress. Many turn to substances for relief. The emotional aspects of dealing with sick elderly parents or spouses benefit from Wilson’s experience as a speaker and educator. Many of these topics are discussed on podcast episodes of The Caring Generation.

Building an elder law, probate, or estate planning practice is time-consuming, especially with requirements to meet billable hours and source new clients. Practicing law can be an adversarial profession for attorneys who litigate matters related to guardianship, conservatorship, power of attorney, will contests, and similar matters.

Prevention is a High Priority

Attention to detail and heightened awareness to anticipate and prevent problems are common skills for attorneys and family caregivers.

Caregivers of elderly parents or spouses who have multiple health issues have to learn new skills and be attentive to medical care tasks like managing insulin, which can have deadly consequences if done incorrectly. Many caregivers learn through trial and error and experience.

Elder law, probate, or estate planning attorneys reading this article are aware of family caregivers’ stress and emotional ups and downs. This intersection of responsibility for the care of lives can be rewarding and burdensome. As a speaker and educator, Wilson shares everyday experiences to help family caregivers with the responsibilities related to elder care and elder law when they act as agents for elderly parents or spouses.

Loneliness and Isolation

Becoming a primary caregiver for an elderly parent or spouse can be isolating. Family caregivers spend over 80 hours a month plus hold down a full-time job to care for family members. Often, an adult child or a spouse bears most responsibility because other family members can’t or won’t commit to helping.

The idea of always being “on” is exhausting. There always seems to be a deadline or a time-sensitive event that requires ongoing or immediate attention.

These time commitments steal attention from activities contributing to physical health and well-being. Wellness activities like exercise, socialization, nutrition, and others are neglected because commitments and responsibilities are considered more important.

Caregivers find it challenging to ask for help, and attorneys can feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders when dealing with emotional and practical situations caregivers face.

According to Cigna and UCLA research completed before COVID in 2018, Americans are experiencing loneliness and a lack of connection with others. For caregivers and attorneys, all work and no play results in emotional and physical burnout. Finding balance is critical for health and well-being.

The Intersection of Work and Life

The changes in workplace situations resulting from COVID-19, with more employees—family caregivers and attorneys—working at home, have further blurred the separation of work and family time.  Having young children and elderly parents in the house makes it more difficult to focus mentally. Returning to work at the office is becoming more attractive for many employees who don’t have a home area for a separate office to accommodate productive work.

Family caregivers and attorneys daydream of finding a quiet place to hide for a few hours or getting a whole night’s rest with no interruptions. All of these pressures add up to physical and mental health concerns.

Making Responsible Decisions

Attorneys are held to high standards with severe repercussions for violating ethical standards and professional conduct. Lawyers have a duty to withdraw from a case if the ability to represent a client is questionable.

Family caregivers have the option of walking away. Few choose to abandon the care of an elderly parent or a spouse. Instead, caregivers become burned out and may rely on limited coping skills, which increases the likelihood of care situations that result in harm.

When family caregivers accept the agent’s role under the power of attorney, guardian, or conservator, stress increases. Medical care mistakes or financial missteps can result in litigation.  Potential litigation or family disagreements represent where elder law, probate, or estate planning intersects with family caregivers.

Solutions for Complex Elder Care Solutions

Caregiving speaker and educator Pamela D Wilson was a professional fiduciary from 2007 to 2018 with her company, The Care Navigator. From 2000 to 2007, she provided in-home care services for the elderly and disabled with her company In Home and Family Services. These combined experiences led Pamela to educate family caregivers and work with elder law, probate, and estate planning attorneys to meet the needs of complex care situations.

If you are an elder law, probate, or estate planning law firm seeking to educate staff or clients about elder care, complete Pamela’s speaking inquiry form.

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