Agency Mistake No Basis For Retroactive Medicaid Eligibility
JULY 10, 2000 VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2 The federal-state Medicaid program was designed to make sure poor Americans would receive necessary medical care. It now pays for about half of all nursing home costs. Tragically, the program is so complicated that it often requires expert legal assistance to ensure that benefits are received in accordance […]
Lawyer For Proposed Ward Must Advocate Client’s Wishes
JULY 3, 2000 VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 At age 61 Sonny Lee is living at the College View Nursing Home in Frederick, Maryland. A little over two years ago Mr. Lee, a lifelong alcoholic, passed out in a public park, was hospitalized and ultimately placed in the nursing home. In recent months his condition has […]
Illegitimate Son Of Long-Dead Blues Singer Receives Royalties
JUNE 26, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 52 When Robert L. Johnson died in Mississippi in 1938, he was largely unknown. The 27-year-old had a musical gift, and he left a number of blues recordings. There did not appear to be any valuable property in his estate at the time, though, so no probate was initiated. […]
Indiana Nursing Home Patient Not Liable For CNA’s Injuries
JUNE 19, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 51 Carol Creasy worked as a certified nursing assistant at Brethren Healthcare Center in Flora, Indiana. She had worked at the facility for almost two years. Among the residents she helped care for was Lloyd Rusk, an Alzheimer’s patient with a tendency to be combative. Mr. Rusk was first […]
House Passes Estate Tax Repeal Bill, But Its Future Is Uncertain
JUNE 12, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 50 The big news in the elder law and estate planning field this week was the Friday passage (by the House of Representatives) of a bill to repeal the federal estate tax. The vote to repeal was lopsided, with a 279-136, with 65 Democrats joining the Republican majority. Does […]
Arizona’s “Orange Form” Permits Withholding Of CPR
JUNE 5, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 49 Living wills and health care powers of attorney may take care of most of the end-of-life medical decisions you (or a loved one) will face. But for many patients the final medical decisions must be made outside of the hospital setting. Rather than doctors and nurses, the treatment […]
Failure To Seek Lawyer’s Advice Can Be Foolish—And Expensive
MAY 29, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 48 People often try to solve their legal problems without the help of lawyers. Frequently they accomplish exactly what they want. Sometimes they complicate their own lives unnecessarily and expensively, when a little sound legal advice would have resolved the difficulty easily. Take, for example, the situation Montanan Boyd […]
Court Invalidates “Power of Appointment” In Home Deed
MAY 22, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 47 Lucille Lucareli had three sons: Les Lee, Leigh and Robert. She owned her home in Racine, Wisconsin, and not much else. In 1996 she gave her son Les Lee a durable financial power of attorney, and she also took some steps to plan for the possibility that she […]
Professionals Must Report Abuse Of Vulnerable Adults
MAY 15, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 46 Physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults is a growing problem not only in Arizona, but around the world. Such abuse is also a crime. Even the failure to report elder abuse may be a crime in some circumstances. Arizona law particularly protects “vulnerable” […]
Martin Luther King Killer’s Brother Fails In Attempt To Get Rifle Released
MAY 8, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 45 James Earl Ray was convicted in the 1969 murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray died in prison in 1998, although he had by that time filed at least eight separate appeals seeking his release. His estate now provides the legal world with an odd footnote. When Ray […]
