Over the past three decades, the increasing costs of long term care have led many individuals and families to look for ways to preserve the assets which they have spent a lifetime accumulating. In that regard, the discipline of elder law has arisen and has been a focus of practice for many attorneys. As the […]
Last month, a New Hampshire Court set an irrevocable trust and declared the assets therein available resources which should have been spent on long term care prior to Medicaid eligibility by the individual who established the trust. Specifically, in the Petition of Estate of Thea Braiterman No. 2015-0395 (N.H. July 12, 2016), the New Hampshire […]
In 1992, Ann Mark created two irrevocable trusts for the benefit of her three children. An attorney, Jared Scharf, assumed the role of trustee of these trusts in 1997. In 2008, Scharf established three separate trusts – one for each child – from assets held by one of these trusts. In April 2010, Scharf invested […]
Mark Babyatsky died on August 25, 2014. He was 55 years old. He left behind a wife, Elizabeth, and their two minor sons. He was also survived by a daughter, Amanda, who was the offspring from a prior marriage. Shortly after he was buried, Elizabeth sought to disinter Mark’s remains and transfer them to another […]
Muhammed Belal Hussain died on March 10, 2013 with a will, which left 50% of the residuary estate to the Hussain Family Foundation, 25% to the decedent’s surviving brothers, and 25% to the decedent’s surviving nieces and nephew. The Foundation did not exist at the time of the decedent’s death. The attorney who drafted the […]
Joseph Rendeiro died on December 3, 2006. His Last Will and Testament, dated June 2, 2006, left a specific bequest of $10,000 to his granddaughter, Jessica Fagin, a $25,000 bequest to his sister, Mary Pereira, and the rest of his $2,218,733.66 estate to his son-in-law, Peter De Rosa who was also named Executor of the […]
Last month, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed the decision of a local Circuit Court which denied the request of a disabled party, James S. Corn, to establish a Special-Needs Trust on his behalf. James S. Corn, who is in his 50s, became disabled, suffering from memory loss. He receives both SSI and Medicaid. His partner […]
Ten years ago, the landscape of asset protection or Medicaid planning changed dramatically with the passage of the Deficit Recovery Act (DRA) of 2006. In relevant part, this act impeded prudent estate planning for individuals seeking to secure their assets from long term care costs by expanding the lookback period for gifting from three years […]
Over the past year, Bob Mason, a nationally elder law attorney from North Carolina, has created a podcast known as the Trust Hacker. In these podcasts, Bob interviews attorneys from all over the country regarding issues effecting trusts, estates, elder law and special needs planning. Recently, I was humbled to be interviewed by him. The […]
A never ending issue facing the court system is the establishment and enforcement of an individual’s obligation to support his or her minor children. A question which should be diligently explored in this area is the enforcement of that obligation if a parent dies prior to fulfilling all of his or her obligations. A recent […]
Connect with Capehart Scatchard