Total Credits: 0.75 CLE
The latest on Dementia and Alzheimer’s, and how to ethically and compassionately carry out representation of clients and/ or families impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
FACULTY:
Lena Huang, Alzheimer's Association
| handout (11.3 MB) | 32 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Jay M. Polk is a judge in the Juvenile Department of the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County. From June 27, 2020 through July 2, 2023, he served as the Presiding Judge of the Probate and Mental Health Department, which since 2012 has experienced the greatest caseload growth of all the departments of that court. He served as the Associate Presiding Judge of that department from April 10, 2017, through June 26, 2020. From November 21, 2011, to April 7, 2017, Judge Polk was assigned to the Family Law Department and served as the Associate Presiding Judge of the Family Law Department for the Northeast Regional Court Center for approximately two of those years. He is the recipient of the Maricopa County Bar Association’s 2022 Judicial Officer of the Year Award. For nearly 20 years prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Polk limited his practice of law to contested and uncontested matters relating to guardianships, conservatorships, decedents’ estates, the abuse or exploitation of vulnerable adults, and estate planning for modest estates. In addition, he served as a mediator and arbitrator, as a guardian ad litem for minor children and incapacitated adults, and as judge pro tempore. Between 1999 and 2011, Judge Polk was an Arizona Licensed Fiduciary and, as such, served as a personal representative or special administrator for several estates, as well as the special conservator for an attorney. Before starting private practice, Judge Polk served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable E. G. Noyes, Jr., of the Arizona Court of Appeals (1993-94) and a law-trained bailiff for the Honorable Robert D. Myers of the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County (1992-93). Throughout his career, Judge Polk has helped draft numerous legislative bills in areas including probate, mental health, criminal, and family law. In addition, he has been involved in drafting court rules and rule amendments in the Rules of the Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, the Arizona Family Law Rules, the Arizona Rules of Probate Procedure and rules of procedure for court-ordered mental health evaluation and treatment cases and rules of procedure for sexually violent persons cases. He also has been a frequent speaker on probate, mental health, and family law matters. He is an editor of the 2022 and 2014 editions of the Arizona Probate Code Practice Manual, was an associate editor of the 2000 edition of that publication, and has been a regular contributor to the Judicial College of Arizona’s Probate Benchbook. Judge Polk currently is serving his second term on the Judicial Executive Committee of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County. In addition, he is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County. During his tenure on the family law bench, Judge Polk served as a co-chair of the Family Law Department’s Initiatives Committee and a member of that department’s Behavioral Health Committee. Between 2014 and 2015, Judge Polk assisted in creating the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County’s intelligent probate forms, and he presently is in the process of updating all of that court’s Self- Service Center probate forms. Judge Polk also has served on several Arizona Supreme Court committees, including the Steering Committee on Arizona Case Processing Standards (2018 – 2019), the Probate Rules Committee (2006 – 2008), the Committee on Improving Judicial Oversight and Processing of Probate Court Matters (2010 – 2011), the Task Force on the Arizona Rules of Probate Procedure (2017 – 2019), and the Electronic Signatures Workgroup (2022 – present). While serving on those committees, he often chaired subcommittees or workgroups. From July 2018 to June 2019, Judge Polk served as President of the Arizona Judges Association, and he was a member of the Executive Board from June 2014 until June 2020. Since November 2016, Judge Polk has been a member of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Advisory Committee, and, since 2011, he has been a member of the Fiduciary Board, which regulates Arizona professional fiduciaries. Judge Polk has served as the Judicial Liaison to the Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the Maricopa County Bar Association since May 2017, and he has served as the Judicial Liaison to the Elder Law, Mental Health, and Special Needs Planning Section of the State of Bar of Arizona since September 2018. Since June 2019, he also has been the Judicial Liaison to the Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona. While he was private practice, Judge Polk was actively involved in the Arizona Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Probate and Trust Law and the Mental Health and Elder Law Sections of the State Bar of Arizona, and he served on countless committees of those organizations. Judge Polk received his juris doctorate degree from Arizona State University in 1992. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science, with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1989. Since 2016, Judge Polk has participated in the Latina Mentoring Project, which provides mentoring relationships for Latina undergraduate and law students. Since June 2021, Judge Polk and his wife have been members of the West Point Parents Club of Arizona, which is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting the well-being and continued success of the United States Service Academies. From 2004 to 2006, Judge Polk served as President of The Council For Jews With Special Needs (now known as Gesher Disability Resources). In addition, he was a member of that organization’s Board of Directors from 1998 through 2007. Since 2006, Judge Polk has been a manager of Council Properties, L.L.C., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gesher Disability Resources that owns two other limited liability companies that manage group homes for persons with disabilities. When he was in private practice, Judge Polk volunteered for the Maricopa County Volunteer Lawyers Program. For two decades, he and his wife co-chaired the University of Chicago Alumni Club of Phoenix and the University of Chicago Alumni Schools committee. Judge Polk has been the recipient of numerous professional awards, including the following:
• Judicial Officer of the Year Award, Maricopa County Bar Association 2022,
• Bridging the Gap Award, Maricopa County Bar Association Family Law Section 2017,
• Craig C. Gordon Outstanding Arizona Chapter Member Award, Arizona Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Attorneys 2011,
• Leadership Award, Arizona Fiduciaries Association 2009,
• Eleanor ter Horst Distinguished Service Award, State Bar of Arizona Probate and Trust Law Section 2008,
• Selected for inclusion in 2011 Southwest Super Lawyers and Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, and
• Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated while in private practice.
T. J. Ryan is a senior partner with the law firm of Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold, LLP, in Phoenix. T.J.'s practice encompasses virtually all aspects of estates and trusts, including estate and business planning, probate and trust administration, and litigating contested issues related to estates and trusts. An AV Preeminent rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers in America selected T.J. as "Lawyer of the Year" in Trust Litigation for 2015. In 2017, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) named T.J. as a Fellow of the college. T.J. received his law degree from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in 2002, after graduating with a BBA from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Along with colleagues Darren Case and Brent Nelson, T.J. is the co-author of the Arizona Estate Planning and Probate Handbook, published by Thompson Reuters as a part of the Arizona Practice Series. T.J. has assisted with the editing of the Arizona Probate Practice Manual and the Arizona Attorneys’ Fees Manual (both publications of the Arizona State Bar) and served on the Task Force which revised the Arizona Rules of Probate Procedure in 2017-2019. T.J. served as the President of the Maricopa County Bar Association in 2015. T.J. is a native of Phoenix, Arizona who enjoys golf, Crossfit™, baseball, and spending time with his wife and two sons.
Teresa Lancaster started her life in Fargo, North Dakota where she graduated high school before moving to Arizona for college (and warmer weather). After graduating from the university of Arizona in 2005 and from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 2008, Teresa became member of the Arizona State Bar. She started her career at Bogutz & Gordon, P.C. in 2008 and became a Shareholder in 2015. She has focused her career in the area of Probate and Trust, becoming a certified specialist by the Arizona State Bar in 2015. Teresa is a member of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel, serves on the Arizona Fiduciary Board through the Arizona Supreme Court, was the past president of the Arizona chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and made the Best Lawyers list for 2022 and 2023. In her free time, she enjoys her family, including her husband and two daughters.
is an attorney at Gadarian & Cacy, PLLC. She is admitted to the State Bar of Arizona and the State Bar of New York. Prior to practicing law, Sarah worked on Wall Street doing investment banking and proprietary trading. During law school, she was a judicial intern for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (Hon. Margaret Sweeney) and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Hon. Michael Baylson). After law school, she worked with high-net-worth clients on Gift and Estate Tax issues for a boutique accounting firm and a public accounting firm. Sarah graduated from University High School in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University, in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a double major in Finance and Accounting. Sarah received her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, New York. In addition to her law practice, Sarah serves on the board of the Tucson Jewish Community Center and is involved with many other organizations in Tucson. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and running.
is a shareholder with the Tucson, Arizona law firm of Duffield, Adamson & Helenbolt, P.C. She practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, related litigation, and guardianships/conservatorships. Originally from New Mexico, Ms. Derksen has made Arizona her home since 2016 and enjoys the Southwest’s abundant sunshine and outdoor recreation with her family whenever she has the chance. She is admitted to practice before all Arizona state courts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Prior to her move to Arizona, Ms. Derksen practiced law in Louisiana and focused on litigation matters there (La. Bar license currently inactive). She received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a certificate in environmental law. She received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Tulane University with a dual major in Spanish and Environmental Studies. She looks forward to returning to New Orleans as often as possible to enjoy the food and music of her favorite city, and is also passionate about environmental justice and conservation causes which were at the forefront of her studies there. Shannon M. Derksen also serves on the Executive Council of the Arizona State Bar Probate and Trust Section and is a member of the Pima County Bar Association, the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, and the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southern Arizona, of which organization she is a Past President and is currently serving as Membership Chair. She also volunteers on the Site Council for Manzanita Elementary School and is an incoming member of the Board of Imago Dei Middle School in Tucson, a tuition-free private school for low-income students seeking to break cycles of poverty through quality education. She is also the President of the Tucson chapter of the Tulane University Alumni Club.
is a Community Engagement Manager at the San Diego and Imperial Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, where she works to spread awareness and educate communities about Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Lena is a San Diego native and holds a Master's Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego.