APRIL 5, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 11 Tax time is upon us yet again — just like last year and the year before. Funny how it rolls around every twelve months. OK — “funny” might not be the best word. There is a certain irony in describing the tax deductions available to families raising or caring…
ELDER LAW ISSUES
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MARCH 22, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 10 This week’s Elder Law Issues was written by our friend and Maryland colleague Ron M. Landsman. He describes the resolution of a class lawsuit he initiated in Maryland, challenging that state’s practice of setting Medicaid patients’ co-payment amount too high to allow them to pay nursing home bills incurred…
MARCH 15, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 9 Older individuals often get married, of course, and sometimes face legal issues as a result of separation or divorce. The legal problems associated with the end of a late-life marriage are not necessarily different from those faced by younger divorcing couples. A recent Arizona Court of Appeals decision…
MARCH 8, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 8 {Ed. Note: this week’s Elder Law Issues was written for us by our friend, and nationally-known elder law authority, Prof. Rebecca C. Morgan. Prof. Morgan holds the Boston Asset Management Chair in Elder Law at the Stetson University College of Law, and she is the Director of Stetson’s Center for Excellence…
MARCH 1 , 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 7 Everyone should sign a living will and (perhaps more importantly) a health care power of attorney. You knew that already, right? But how should one go about preparing a living will? The answer is deceptively simple. Forms are widely available online, from health care providers and from…
FEBRUARY 22, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 6 The popular conception of the probate process and the making of wills is colored by misinformation from a number of sources. Movies, books and plays provide much of the misunderstanding, building an expectation of “the reading of the will” in a lawyer’s office (it just doesn’t happen), regular…
FEBRUARY 15 , 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 5 Despite being cloaked in arcane terms and arguments, the legal system usually makes sense in the real world in which it operates. Sometimes, however, it may take the legal system a few years — or a few centuries — to catch up with that real world. One…
FEBRUARY 8 , 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 4 A recent case out of Kentucky deals with a fairly arcane legal question, but it gives a chance to remind people about UTMA accounts and the rules governing them. The issue in that case: what duties does a UTMA custodian have to account to the minor beneficiary…
JANUARY 25, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3 The difficulty and cost of a probate proceeding can make it hard for heirs to collect small estates. Even the court filing fee can be prohibitively expensive if the decedent’s assets are very small. As a consequence most states have some sort of alternative to a full probate…
JANUARY 11, 2010 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 2 Recent changes in federal regulations affecting the Roth IRA now make this retirement savings plan available to wealthier individuals. We list some of the factors to consider in determining whether to convert your existing traditional IRA to a Roth IRA – so that you can discuss the matter…