Personal Web Page for Katherine C. Pearson

Dickinson Law – Lewis Katz Hall

Pennsylvania State University
150 S. College Street
Carlisle, PA 17013

Brief Biography (2022)

  • Katherine C. Pearson is a Professor of Law and the Arthur L. and Sandra S. Piccone Faculty Scholar at Pennsylvania State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she regularly teaches courses on contract law, conflicts of law, elder law, nonprofit organizations law, and in recent years has also taught the survey course on wills, trusts and estates.  Sometimes her research and writing combines multiple areas of her teaching expertise, such as a recent article she published (with Pennsylvania attorney Douglas Roeder) on “Putting the Charity Back in Purely Public Charities,” 93 Pa. B. Quarterly 101 (No. 3, July 2022) where she discusses challenges under state and federal laws for organizations, including senior care organizations, relying on service fees to qualify as tax-exempt charities.
  • For more than twenty years, Professor Pearson’s academic focus in research and writing has been on laws and policies connected to aging. She served for more than ten years as director of Penn State’s Elder Protection Clinic (2001-2012), where students provided pro-bono representation of older adults on cutting edge legal issues. Although the Clinic has closed, Professor Pearson continues to use that important student-involved, practical experience to inform her writing and research. She is the author of articles and book chapters on long-term care, financing issues and filial obligations, and is the co-author of The Law of Financial Abuse and Exploitation (Bisel 2011), a book about protection of vulnerable persons from financial exploitation.
  • Professor Pearson has served in positions on national and state organizations for attorneys specializing in elder law, including the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and she has chaired the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Elder Law Section.
  •  A former Fulbright Scholar (U.K., Queens University Belfast, 2010), Professor Katherine Pearson’s work includes international, comparative analysis of laws and policies affecting older persons, including work as an international research consultant in the U.K. and Northern Ireland to promote better systems for safeguarding and adult social care. President Pearson’s international work took her to Cuba with a group of students for an embedded course on Introduction to Cuban Legal Systems, in January 2016.
  • In 2013-14, Professor Pearson served as a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Elder Law Task Force at the invitation of Justice Debra Todd, to examine issues of guardianships, abuse and neglect, and access to justice for older Pennsylvanians. The Task Force issued a report with 125 recommendations addressing guardianship and fiduciary duty issues in November 2014. The work to implement the recommendations and support older adults is ongoing.  In 2022, Professor Pearson is part of a Pennsylvania Academic Elder Justice Consortium, which meets regularly to discuss future goals.
  • In July 2016, the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Elder Law Section honored Professor Pearson with an “Excellence in Elder Law” award, in “recognition and appreciation of her superior professional efforts in the field of elder law, significant contributions to the legal profession, and noteworthy service to the elderly.”
  • Professor Katherine C. Pearson is a co-editor and a regular writer for the Elder Law Prof Blog, available at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/.  By 2016, the Elder Law Prof Blog had over 1,000,000 views by readers.

For Students: What is Elder Law?  What is Estate Planning?  Are they the same or different?  Here is my short introduction to the fields, dated Summer 2021

Recent “Hot” Cases or Statutes Discussed by Professor Pearson:

Robinson v. Carlsbad By The Sea Retirement Community, et al, Case No. 37-2016-00045688-CU-MC-NC, Superior Court of State of California, County of San Diego, (Verfied Complaint filed 12/28/2016.)

Gutowitz v. Transamerica, USDC-Central District of CA (August 14, 2015), discussed on Elder Law Prof Blog at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/2015/08/federal-court-applies-doctrine-of-reasonable-expectations-to-long-term-care-insurance-policy.html

Zahner v. Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Third Circuit, September 2, 2015, discussed at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/2015/09/third-circuit-rules-medicaid-applicants-short-term-annuities-are-not-resources-preventing-eligibilit.html

“Hot Topics” in Professor Katherine Pearson’s Research Agenda:

1. Examination of legal and financial implications of “senior living” options, including “Continuing Care Retirement Communities,” also known as “CCRCs” or “Life Plan Communities”

One form of retirement living offers a centralized location for a range of care options, from supported “independent” living to full-scale skilled nursing care. Such facilities are often called “Continuing Care Retirement Communities” or “CCRCs,” or similar names such as “Life Care Communities” or “LCCs.” In 2015, the industry adopted a new appellation, “Life Plan Communities,” to shift the focus away from negative public perceptions associated with “retirement” or “care.” The amenities and services provided by the facilities are usually the subject of a contract, with different types of contracts tied to different pricing structures. For example, the CCRC may promise specific, full services for a large up-front admission fee (sometimes ranging from $100,000 to $500,000) plus smaller monthly service fees. Other CCRCs may have a “fee for service” structure, with lower entrance costs but higher monthly fees. Because of the fees associated with these attractive models for long-term care, many states have adopted regulations that mandate certain disclosures or protections for residents. Professor Pearson’s research in this area focuses on regulatory models and how to protect the interests of current and future residents.

Examples of Professor Pearson’s Articles and Materials on Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) or Life Plan Communities:

2. Analysis of how and why Governments (state and national governments)  use “filial support” laws in an attempt to mandate that family members care for or financially support elders.

The word “filial” means “of, relating to or benefitting a son or daughter,” as in “filial respect” or “filial duty.” Since colonial times in America, states have struggled with how to provide for older adults who are unable to finance their elder years. One approach of lawmakers was to mandate that adult children (or other family members) provide care or maintenance to their parents. In the 21st Century, more than 20 states still have civil laws that mandate some form of financial obligation between parents and adult children. To distinguish them from “child support” or “spousal support” laws, academics have given such laws the label of “filial support” laws, although legislators may attempt to characterize them as “family responsibility” laws or use other titles suggesting routine familial obligations. Professor Pearson’s research has used Pennsylvania’s experience with filial support laws as a type of “ground zero” laboratory for analysis, and she compares filial support enforcement practices throughout the United States and other countries.

Examples of Professor Pearson’s Articles and Materials on Filial Responsibility and Support Laws:

 Media on Filial Support Laws

3.  Analysis of Legal Issues Arising from Arising in Caregiver Relationships:

4.  Analysis by Professor Pearson of other Law and Aging Policy Issues:

Elder Protection Clinic Materials (from 2005-2012)

Project to Define Third-Party Liability for Long-Term Care Costs

Conflict of Laws Articles by Professor Pearson

  • “Departing from the Routine: Application of Indian Tribal Law Under the Federal Tort Claims Act,” 32 Ariz. St. L. J . 695 (Summer 2000).
  • “Common Law Preclusion, Full Faith and Credit and Consent Judgments: The Analytical Challenge,” 48 Catholic L. Rev. 419 (Winter 1999).

Other Articles or Materials by Professor Pearson