Valentine’s day has come and gone and it’s time for the end-of-the-month wrap up! This month we have stories about environmentally friendly estate plans, ERISA law suits and even a new February holiday (and this one isn’t limited to couples).
Estate Planning
Forbes wrote an article this month on uncomfortable issues you might find yourself facing when preparing your estate plans. The article tackles issues from family relations like disinheriting the despised son-in-law, spouse or the child who marries outside the faith, to the controversial disposal of your remains.
Valentine’s Day is for couples, but estate planning is not. In fact, estate planning could be especially important for individuals with no spouse, children or close family members because powers of attorney allow you to designate who should make important healthcare or financial decisions for you should you become incapacitated.
If you hope your estate plan will help the environment you may consider donating to a charity with conservationist causes. Or, if you have the land for it, an article out of the ACTEC law journal suggests setting up a conservation easement. Conservation easements can be a valuable strategy for ensuring that land remains protected.
Guardianships and Conservatorships
A disability rights group is suing New York over their guardianship system, alleging that it violates the right to due process and equal protection for people with intellectual disabilities. Predatory guardianships and conservatorships are not a new topic in the news. Britney Spears recently published a whole book about her conservatorship experience and Arizona recently changed it’s laws around guardianship trials. A few years ago, Netflix was even streaming a movie about predatory guardianships, although it didn’t really mirror the reality of what guardianships look like.
On the other hand, the family of former Beach Boy, Brian Wilson is seeking a conservatorship for the singer following his diagnosis with dementia. The family says he lacks capacity to make decisions for himself. Wilson did prepare power of attorney and advanced directives, they name only his wife as his agent with no successor. This follows Jay Leno filing for a conservatorship over his wife under similar circumstances just last month. For many with incapacitated loved ones who never got around to (or who never had capacity to) create powers of attorney, a guardianship or conservatorship may be the best option.
Elder Law Suits
We already told you about the disability rights group suing New York over their guardianship system, but that isn’t the only elder law lawsuit happening. In Houston two people in Houston have been accused of posing as funeral home directors to steal life insurance money. The two men allegedly forged licenses and stole thousands of dollars for funerals that would never happen.
In retirement news, the fiduciaries of the Honeywell 401(k) plan have been hit with a fiduciary breach suit under ERISA. Members claim that among other things, these fiduciaries engaged in self dealing. The claims are similar to those filed against the fiduciaries of Clorox, Qualcomm and HP in the last year.
Other stuff:
- In case we haven’t made it clear, at Fleming & Curti we practice elder law. If you’ve ever wondered exactly what Elder Law is Forbes broke it down in an article this month. Among the things elder law attorneys do- estate planning, guardianships and conservatorships, probates and estate administrations.
- A new paper in the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel analyzes the tax incentives behind getting married compared to the Medicaid incentives to get divorce.
- A NYT columnist answers the question: When a neighbor dies unattended, how should the building handle it?
- New Holiday Alert! February 1st is National Unclaimed Property Day.
One Response
Do you handle probate/trust litigation? Trustee has transferred title to trust real property into her own name without authorization. First proceeds from sale of house are to fulfill a $40,000 pecuniary bequest to trust beneficiaries. Beneficiaries have asked me to look for a trust litigation attorney. (I am a retired attorney and no longer handle such matters.) – Stewart Fleisher 303-594-9170