MARCH 8, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 36 Lavina Kessler was 99 years old when she died in 1996. The Washington State woman left an estate of $2.4 million, including several parcels of valuable real estate. She also left a series of five wills and an expensive will contest proceeding. Ms. Kessler had known Frances and…
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MARCH 1, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 35 “Since the Revocable Living Trust avoids the expensive and lengthy legal process known as ‘probate’” proclaims a national insurance sales agency in its brochure, “it is fast replacing the Last Will and Testament as the preferred method for asset distribution.” Elsewhere, the same insurance agency promises that the…
FEBRUARY 22, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 34 Gayla and David Dodge were married in 1988. In the first two years of their marriage, the couple had two daughters, Tori and Kacy. Shortly after Kacy’s birth, Gayla Dodge was diagnosed as suffering from kidney disease. Over the next three years, Gayla Dodge was in and out…
FEBRUARY 15, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 33 The Connerwood Healthcare nursing home in Indiana had a history of problems with the care it provided to residents. Jeffrey Barcus was admitted to Connerwood in October, 1995, and his mother, Jennipher Forte, later alleged that the quality of care at Connerwood was what led to his death.…
FEBRUARY 8, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 32 In the first four months of each year, the Arizona legislature meets to consider possible changes in Arizona law. Usually a handful of the legislature’s ideas impact seniors and their support network. New laws introduced so far this year would bring mostly small, but good, changes. A few…
FEBRUARY 1, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 31 When Vera Smith first came to our office, she was looking for help with her estate plan. She had heard about living trusts and knew that she wanted to avoid probate on her death, but wasn’t sure whether the explanations she had heard applied to her situation. When…
JANUARY 25, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 30 The possibility of nursing home placement terrifies many seniors and their families. The specter of loss of control and dignity is part of the problem, but financial concerns may also be overwhelming. It does not help that accurate information is so difficult to obtain. Myths about nursing home…
JANUARY 18, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 29 Jack and Frankie Bemis were divorced in Nevada in 1972. At the time, Jack was expecting a distribution from a California trust within the year. As part of the divorce settlement, he agreed (and was ordered) to set up a $25,000 trust for the benefit of the couple’s…
JANUARY 11, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 28 Virgil Lamont Hamilton, a California child, was injured in a tragic swimming pool accident in 1982. Hamilton suffered severe brain damage, and will require total care and extensive medical treatment for the rest of his life. Since the accident, Hamilton has lived in a California state institution, Agnews…
JANUARY 4, 1999 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 27 About half the cost of all nursing home care in this country is paid by the federal-state Medicaid program. The program is available to individuals who have reduced their assets below $2,000 (not counting homes, autos and a handful of other exempt assets). When the nursing home resident…