APRIL 17, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 42 In order to avoid the probate process, or for income or property tax purposes, property owners often add children, spouses or others to the title on their homes. Sometimes those transfers turn out badly. When Jean and Samuel Owens married in 1970, they each had children from first…
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APRIL 10, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 41 Although most people might intend to use a lawyer to draft their wills and estate planning documents, there is no legal requirement that an attorney be involved. Often, in fact, non-lawyers prepare their own documents and do just fine. Sometimes they manage to complicate their estates and the…
APRIL 3, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 40 When a family member or friend becomes incapable of handling his or her own health care and finances it may be necessary to turn to the courts. Guardianship and conservatorship proceedings are governed by state laws, and the assumptions, procedures and even the language change from state to…
MARCH 27, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 39 Although nursing homes are more familiar to most Americans, nearly half of all elderly residents of institutions live in adult care homes. Often housed in converted residences, adult care homes usually provide personal care, supervision and activities for a small group of residents. Care in such facilities is…
MARCH 13, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 37 “Undue influence” is usually thought of in connection with provisions in a will. It can also be cited in attempts to set aside transfers made during life, as a recent North Carolina case illustrates. In early 1996 Irene J. Stephenson signed a deed conveying her home and sixteen…
MARCH 20, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 38 Suppose your adult son is disabled and receiving both financial and medical assistance from the government. While you do not consider yourself wealthy, you have worked hard all your life and managed to build a modest estate. If you leave your disabled child his share of your estate…
MARCH 6, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 36 Just over eighteen months ago Elder Law Issues reported on the tragic story of Robert Wendland (“Lack of Advance Directives Contributes to Family Tragedy,” August 10, 1998). Last week the California Court of Appeals added a new chapter to the Wendland story, and may have completely changed the…
FEBRUARY 28, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 35 The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 mandated changes in American nursing care. Chief among those changes: patients may not be restrained (either physically or chemically) unless it is medically necessary. How has that mandate fared in practice? Frail (usually elderly) nursing home patients may be unable to…
FEBRUARY 21, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 34 Esther L.K., an elderly Wisconsin woman (Wisconsin courts help preserve anonymity by using initials rather than last names), needed a guardian. Her family members assumed they would be appointed, but the court instead appointed a private fiduciary organization, Legal Guardianship Services, Inc. Esther’s daughter Patricia A.M. (with support…
FEBRUARY 14, 2000 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 33 Premarital agreements are increasingly common, particularly in second marriages and between older couples. Do agreements between couples really work? A recent Arizona case provides good evidence that premarital agreements really can protect both husband and wife. Christopher and Shelley Schlaefer were married in 1994. They had already signed…