OCTOBER 20, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 16 When Jessie Simmons signed powers of attorney giving her son Donald authority to handle her personal and financial affairs, she probably thought she was doing the right thing. After all, a power of attorney makes it easier for family members to take care of what needs to be…
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OCTOBER 13, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 15 Reported court cases involving prenuptial agreements sometimes seem to be confused and contradictory. State laws governing such agreements vary somewhat, but the outcome of a challenge is almost always dependent on the peculiar facts in each case. Consider the prenuptial agreement signed by John and Erin Hollett on…
OCTOBER 6, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 14 [NOTE: After this article was published and circulated, the Arizona legislature delayed the effective date of the Uniform Trust Code in Arizona for two years and then repealed the UTC altogether, and then re-adopted it in a significantly modified form. Readers need to check the current status of…
SEPTEMBER 29, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 13 The guardian of an incapacitated adult is often said to have all the powers that a parent would have over an unemancipated minor child. That legalism, however, fails to give much guidance about any limitations on the guardian’s power. For example: can a guardian pursue a divorce proceeding…
SEPTEMBER 22, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 12 When Nathan Sanders died in 1955, his will created a “perpetual” trust for the benefit of three hospitals in Dayton, Ohio. The trust was to be managed by a bank (ultimately Bank One Trust Co.), and the income paid out annually. Forty percent of the income was to…
SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 11 Betty Budd spent the last years of her life at Presbyterian Medical Center, a nursing home in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. When she died she owed $96,000 to the facility, and only had $28,000 left in her estate. After collecting that amount, the nursing home filed suit against Ms. Budd’s…
SEPTEMBER 8, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 10 When individuals look for ways to simplify the handling of their estates, they frequently decide to simply put their heirs’ names on assets. Parents, for example, often make their children joint owners on bank accounts—reasoning that the money will then be easier to get to if needed, and…
SEPTEMBER 1, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 9 Changes in federal Medicaid rules adopted in 1996 made most immigrants—including even legal permanent residents—ineligible for health care benefits. For immigrants in the country legitimately eligibility for Medicaid services is not available until they have been legal permanent residents for five years. Undocumented aliens, on the other hand,…
AUGUST 25, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 8 Any competent adult can sign a will disposing of his or her property—unless he or she has agreed not to do so. Though they may seldom be used, the law of most states permits individuals to enter into a contract not to change their wills (or, for that…
AUGUST 18, 2003 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 7 A decision by the Michigan Supreme Court is the most recent to address the issue of grandparents’ rights to visit their grandchildren. In the Michigan case, the state law giving grandparents rights was found to be unconstitutional. Not all states have reached the same result—Arizona courts, for example,…