Weighing Estate Tax “Portability” Against the Bypass Trust
NOVEMBER 9, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 41 Here’s a challenging problem for lawyers who focus on estate planning: how can we explain federal estate tax “portability” to clients in a way that helps them...
View ArticleExploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, or Not? You Judge
NOVEMBER 16, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 42 This week we’re going to ask you to be the judge. We’re going to tell you a story, then give you a moment to decide what you think should be the outcome of a...
View ArticleGood News: The IRS Simplifies Its Proposed ABLE Act Rules
NOVEMBER 23, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 43 The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act initially looked like it would provide important opportunities to people with disabilities. Although much work...
View ArticleCourt Orders Weekly Visitation for Grandmother of Child
NOVEMBER 30, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 44 When Mary Lansing (not her real name) gave birth to a daughter in August, 2013, her boyfriend (and the father of her daughter) was already in prison. Four months...
View ArticleHoliday Gifts for Older Family Members and Friends
DECEMBER 7, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 45 ‘Tis the season — the season of uncertainty about what gift to get for your grandparents, older parents or Aunt Myrtle. You want to be festive, you want to be...
View ArticleManagement of Risk in Guardianship and Powers of Attorney
DECEMBER 14, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 46 Imagine: you have just been named as guardian for your aging father. You are responsible for his medical care and decisions, his comfort and his placement. You...
View ArticleABLE Act Update: Arizona Residents Could Have Access Next Month
DECEMBER 21, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 47 We’ve written before about the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act and the possibility that Arizona might get its own version adopted in the next...
View ArticleCreating Your Trust: Dealing With Specific Assets
DECEMBER 28, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 48 When our clients establish revocable living trusts, we help them transfer assets to the trust’s name. That’s not unique — most law firms help clients through the...
View ArticleWe Are Creeping Up On a Quarter Century Here
JANUARY 4, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1 Note the “Volume” number above. Is it even possible that we’ve been doing this for 23 years? In that time, a number of topics have been perennially popular. We see a...
View Article“Decanting” of Trust for Medicaid Patient Challenged
JANUARY 11, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 2 Jane Murray (not her real name) died in 2003. She had created a number of trusts, including two for the benefit of her daughter Dana. Jane was very worried about...
View ArticleWoman’s Holographic Will Effective Despite State Law
JANUARY 18, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 3 It might seem odd that interstate problems in probate proceedings arise. After all, we have had 50 states and a handful of other jurisdictions gathered together in...
View ArticleDisappointed Heirs Not Permitted to Make Claim Against Dad’s Lawyers
JANUARY 25, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 4 Like a lot of Americans, Fred Brown (though that’s not his real name) had a complicated family life. He had been married twice, and had two daughters — Martha and...
View ArticleNursing Home Arbitration Provision Voided in Arizona Case
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 5 A recent series in the New York Times chronicled the increasingly common practice of including arbitration agreements in all sorts of consumer contracts. The series...
View ArticleMediation in Guardianship Proceeding Can Be Effective, But Raises Questions
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 6 Sometimes court proceedings are necessary in order to resolve differences of opinion — but almost everyone recognizes that it is good to seek resolution by a simple...
View ArticleConservator Has Authority Over Property In Another State
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 7 We live in an increasingly mobile world. That assertion is hardly controversial. The reality that America’s patchwork of over fifty separate legal jurisdictions can...
View ArticleDad (Mom), We Need to Talk
FEBRUARY 22, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 8 This week, a letter from Fleming & Curti, PLC attorney Amy Farrell Matheson, addressed to a father (not, as it happens, her father so much as your father): Dad,...
View ArticleYour Trust and Ownership of Real Property
MARCH 7, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 9 We occasionally get questions from our clients involving ownership of real estate — usually around the creation, funding or administration of a living trust. These...
View ArticleChanges in Social Security Claiming Strategies Arrive Next Month
MARCH 14, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 10 Our good friend Amos Goodall, a nationally-known elder law attorney in State College, Pennsylvania, wrote our newsletter for this week. Amos explains a particularly...
View ArticleYou Have a Trust — Now You Need a Beneficiary Designation
MARCH 21, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 11 You have decided to create a revocable living trust, naming your oldest daughter as successor trustee. Your trust directs that, upon your death, $10,000 is to go to...
View ArticleDispute Between Special Needs Trustee and Beneficiary’s Family
MARCH 28, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 12 A recent case from the Alaska Supreme Court addresses special needs trusts. It doesn’t break any legal ground (the decision actually focuses on an entirely procedural...
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