Elder Law Issues
“Reinventing Retirement: 389 Bright Ideas about Family, Friends, Health, What to Do and Where to Live”
Review by Robert L. McClelland, Esq., Lexington, Kentucky Reinventing Retirement, by Miriam Goodman When I look for a book on retirement planning, I want more than a financial planning book. Although financial planning is very important, retirement planning is broader. After all, isn’t our pursuit in “retirement” to “finally” be doing the things we want
The AARP Retirement Survival Guide — How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad
Review by Linda Greenberg, Esq., Palos Verdes, California Book by Julie Jason My review is on “The AARP Retirement Survival Guide – How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad.” The author, Julie Jason is a personal money manager who started her career as a securities lawyer 30 years ago. Her goal in writing
Amending Your Will–Caution: Do Not Try This At Home
FEBRUARY 20, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 7 OK — you’ve signed your will and paid the big lawyer’s fee. Now you want to make a change. Do you know how to modify your will? Can you do it without incurring another fee? Shouldn’t it be easy to make the change? All that might have been
The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read
Review by Christina Nevins, Esq., Boynton Beach, Florida Book by Daniel R. Solin Let me first say that I don’t usually enjoy reading financial planning books. Don’t get me wrong. I do read them, because I know that I need the information contained in them. I just don’t enjoy the process, finding that many are
Guardians Control Care Decisions, But Authority Is Not Absolute
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 6 A Texas probate judge appointed Frederick and Lorraine Cooper (see note below) as guardian of their adult developmentally disabled daughter Cathy in 2003. Three years later, Cathy moved into a group home in Grapevine, Texas. After Cathy had lived there for about two years, the group home operator
Book Review – Smart Women Don’t Retire
Smart Women Don’t Retire – They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time; The Transition Network and Gail Rentsch (June 2008). A review by Heather D. Barron, Esq. I reviewed Smart Women Don’t Retire – They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time. I specifically wanted to know how retirement differs for women
Maine Service Cutback Leaves Disabled Minor Without Program
FEBRUARY 6, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 5 Here’s an anecdote that we expect to see repeating itself over the next few years. It involves a fifteen-year-old boy with severe disabilities, and the Maine state Medicaid program. It also involves Maine’s efforts, like those of other states (including Arizona), to trim its eligibility roles for Medicaid,
Will Rejected in Illinois but Approved by Indiana Courts
JANUARY 30, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 4 We are frequently surprised by how much trouble people cause for their families and heirs by not taking simple steps to properly plan for their estates. One thread that often recurs involves a fear (or perhaps disapproval) of lawyers, leading to failure to get good legal advice about
Why You Should Not Create a Special Needs Trust
JANUARY 16, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 3 Let’s say you have a child with “special needs,” or a sister, brother, mother or other family member. You have not created a special needs trust as part of your own estate plan. Why not? We know why not. We have heard pretty much all the explanations and
Challenge to Three-Year-Old Trust Reformation is Dismissed
JANUARY 9, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 2 With the increased emphasis on (and use of) living trusts for estate planning, we lawyers are seeing more and more cases in which an old trust needs modification. Perhaps the tax laws have changed since a parent or grandparent died. Maybe what once made sense is less defensible
Court Rule Changes Will Affect AZ Fiduciaries in 2012
JANUARY 2, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 1 Two weeks ago we detailed some of the statutory changes facing guardians, conservators and other fiduciaries in Arizona beginning with the new year. At the same time the legislature was working on those changes, the Arizona Supreme Court was considering changes to the rules and procedures governing probate
Ohio Probate Judge Describes Court as “Superior Guardian”
DECEMBER 27, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 44 Carl Smith is a developmentally disabled young man living in Ohio. When he reached age 18, his mother Peggy Smith applied to the local probate court for appointment as his guardian. She was appointed, and Carl continued to live with her for the next several years. In 2005
Arizona Probate Court Changes Coming in 2012
DECEMBER 19, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 43 It is not exactly a secret that the Arizona probate court system has been widely criticized over the past two years or so. The Phoenix-area newspapers have been filled with stories about alleged abuses of the probate process. Many of those stories have focused on practices in the
Guardians’ Fees for Advocacy Work Disallowed by Court
DECEMBER 12, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 42 Last month we saw an interesting variation on fee requests for guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. A Washington State Supreme Court case dealt with the payment from wards’ estates to a professional fiduciary organization in unusual circumstances. James R. Hardman and his mother Alice Hardman are certified professional guardians
Probate Judge Sets Visitation Schedule in Minor Guardianship
DECEMBER 5, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 41 Most of the guardianship issues we deal with at Fleming & Curti, PLC, involve adults who have limited capacity or special needs. Sometimes, though, the subjects of a guardianship proceeding are minors; that can bring unique issues to the process. There are a few legal principles that govern
Paternity Testing Allows Unacknowledged Son to Share in Estate
NOVEMBER 21, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 40 Paternity testing has come a long way in the last few decades. You might reasonably think that it is now so easy to establish parentage that probate court disputes about the subject would be largely a thing of the past. If you thought that, you’d be wrong. Just
Some Thoughts About Guardianship and Conservatorship in Arizona
NOVEMBER 14, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 39 Let’s talk about guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. Before we do, though, let’s remember a couple of important principles: We only know about Arizona guardianship or conservatorship. Well, OK — we might know a thing or two about other states’ rules and procedures — but we only practice in
Patient With Dementia May Have Authored Valid Will
NOVEMBER 7, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 38 A woman has been diagnosed as suffering from dementia of the Alzheimer’s type, and she resides in an assisted living facility. She has short-term memory loss, is frequently forgetful and has difficulty with tasks like playing cards and operating her television set. Can she sign a new will?
Lawyer’s Move From Representing Widow to Estate is Problematic
OCTOBER 31, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 37 Floyd Spence, a Republican Congressman from South Carolina, was a long-time survivor of a heart-lung transplant and a (separate) kidney transplant when he died in 2001, at the age of 73. He was survived by his second wife, Deborah Spence, and four adult sons from his first marriage
Excessive Fee in Special Needs Trust Leads to Lawyer’s Suspension
OCTOBER 17, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 36 Lawyers are ethically prohibited from charging excessive fees. Period. It doesn’t matter if the lawyer has a fee agreement calling for an excessive fee. It doesn’t matter if the negotiated fee seemed reasonable at the time, but turned out to be excessive as things developed. It doesn’t matter
Marital Agreements and Death of One Spouse
OCTOBER 17, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 36 John and Marsha, contemplating marriage, want to enter into an agreement spelling out what will happen to their separate and community property if they later divorce, or when one of them dies. Or perhaps John and Marsha have been married for years, but are contemplating separation and maybe
Principles Governing Third-Party Special Needs Trusts
OCTOBER 3, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 35 Last week we tried to demystify some of the principles of self-settled special needs trusts, and to distinguish them from third-party trusts. This week we continue that education effort, focusing on the rules governing third-party trusts. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of special needs trusts. Those set
Principles of Self-Settled (“First Party”) Special Needs Trusts
SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 34 There is so much confusion about the difference between “self-settled” and “third-party” special needs trusts, that we want to try to explain and simplify some of the key concepts. Here are some of the most common questions (and misunderstandings): What is the difference between “self-settled” and “third-party” special
Book Review – Protecting Your Parents’ Money
Protecting Your Parents’ Money: The Essential Guide to Helping Mom and dad Navigate the Finances of Retirement Published: August 2011; paperback 260 pages Author: Jeff D. Opdyke — Financial columnist; wrote the Love & Money column; author of 6 books; 17 years at The Wall Street Journal writing about personal finance, family finance and investment
Trustees Are “Owners” of Home for Lien Protection Purposes
SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 33 It’s frankly a little hard to explain why trust lawyers get excited about the subject of this week’s article. After all, it seems to be about who will pay for the new doors in a home renovation in a pricey suburb of Phoenix. The bill was large —
Book Review: “How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free”
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (Retirement Wisdom that You Won’t Get From Your Financial Advisor), by Ernie J. Zelinski Reviewer: Nova D. Muhlenberg Bonnett, Esq. September 2011 Ernie Zelinski’s title is so very promising, particularly coming on the heels of his previous book, The Joy of Not Working, and his third work, Career
Book Review: “The Successful Retirement Guide”
: “The Successful Retirement Guide: Hundreds of Suggestions on How to Stay Intellectually, Socially and Physically Engaged for the Best Years of Your Life,” Kevin R. Price, Rainbow Books, Inc. 2009 Reviewed by Frederick C. Rieck, attorney This book was not a happy choice. In retrospect, it is clear that the title should have warned
Remainder Beneficiaries Not Entitled to Trust Beneficiary’s Financial Info
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 32 Imagine with us for a moment: you are the trustee of an irrevocable trust created by a now-deceased woman for the benefit of her daughter. The trust says that her daughter is to receive all the income generated by the trust. You are also given the discretion to
In-Home Caretaker Wages Deductible Based on Doctor’s Letter
SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 31 Queens (New York) resident Lillian Baral was in her early 90s. She lived at home, but she required full-time assistance with her care. In 2007 she paid two caretakers a total of $49,580 for live-in care (one lived with her for five weeks while the primary caretaker took
Estate Planning: It Shouldn’t Be About the Lawyers
AUGUST 22, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 30 Of course it usually makes sense to place your estate planning wishes in the hands of your lawyer to make sure documents are correctly drawn and your wishes carried out. Lawyers can be very protective of what they perceive as their clients’ wishes and best interests, and sometimes