Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Estate Planning In A Second Marriage

Excerpt from: Huffington Post (click for full article)

 

Love may be lovelier -- but it is also a whole lot more complicated the second time around.

Record numbers of us will, one day, be in a second marriage. The pool of eligible second marriage candidates is vast as a result of both the high divorce rate and increased longevity.

But before saying "I do" (again), there are a few legal issues that merit consideration.

How should the new spouse be provided for in the estate plan? The competing interests here are typically one's adult children and the new spouse. There is an expectation that assets accumulated in the first marriage will, in some measure, inure to the benefit of the children of that marriage. On the other hand, the new spouse may not have sufficient assets to provide for retirement needs in the event that he or she is widowed.

Historically, the compromise solution was to provide that the estate be held 'in trust' for the lifetime benefit of the surviving spouse. During widowhood, the surviving spouse received income from trust assets. Some trusts also provided for distributions of principal, in the discretion of the trustee. Then, upon the survivor's subsequent death, the trust terminated and all remaining assets reverted to the adult children of the first to die.

Out Of State Guardianship Act Awaits Governor's Signature

Excerpt from: Wall Street Journal (click for full article)

 

Elder Law Attorney Ronald Fatoullah, principal attorney of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, was honored at the annual meeting of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association in January, 2013 in recognition of his "advocacy, drafting and persistence in creating the legislative initiative for the New York State Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act."

Now, both the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate have passed the New York State Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act (the "Act" or "Uniform Act"). The bill now awaits Governor Cuomo's signature. When signed, New York will be the 37th state (plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) to have adopted the Act.

With an increasingly mobile society, multi-state guardianship issues are not uncommon. These issues arise among snowbirds who may be residents of New York but spend their winters in Florida or another state, caregivers who may be moving sick family members in or out of New York, individuals who may be utilizing out of state health care providers, individuals who wander in or out of New York, and elderly persons who are victims of "granny snatching" into or out of New York State.

The Uniform Guardianship Act simplifies the law governing multi-state guardianship actions and will make it easier for individuals to act as guardians for their elderly parents and relatives, even if they live in states other than New York.

Schuette Informs National Mortgage Settlement Monitor About Concerns with Banks' Settlement Compliance

Excerpt from:(click for full article)

 

Attorney General Bill Schuette today sent a letter to Joseph A. Smith, Jr. head of the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight to alert him to concerns that certain terms of the National Mortgage Settlement are not being met by the banks that signed on.

"As we continue to sort through the aftermath of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, Michigan homeowners can rest assured that we will hold all five banks accountable to the terms of the national morgtage settlement," said Schuette.

"I take any violations of the requirements of the settlement very seriously, and as a member of the monitoring committee, will work closely with all involved to ensure that the settlement is properly enforced," noted Schuette in the letter to Smith.

What to Do After Your Child’s ADHD Diagnosis

Excerpt from: Lifescript (click for full article)

 

Your child has just been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). What are your next steps? Read on to find out about treatments and more...

You know your child is bright and engaged. So why is he doing so poorly in school? Why are teachers reporting that he can’t sit still and concentrate on tasks, or that he disrupts class? The problem – and the answer – isn’t as uncommon as you might fear.

About 6% of the population in most developed countries is born with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is characterized primarily by inattention and hyperactivity.

When a child is diagnosed with ADHD, “often there’s enormous relief for the family,” says Susan Zuckerman, Ph.D., a psychologist in White Plains, N.Y. “Finally, parents know ADHD is the reason for the challenging behavior of their ADHD child. It isn’t the child’s fault or theirs.”

Knowing there’s a neurological diagnosis changes how parents respond to their child, Zuckerman adds.

“Parents become much more patient,” she says. “Some of the yelling stops, frustration eases and parents now really want to help their ADHD child manage the disorder.”

Dow 15,000 and the retirement crisis ahead

Excerpt from: Washington Post (click for full article)

 

The Dow’s cracked 15,000 and the S&P is at record highs, so it’s time to pop open the champagne and celebrate, right?

Well, absolutely, if you’ve got a bunch of money in the stock market.

Which means first you’d have to be an American with savings.

Which means you’re a rare American, indeed.

“Dow 15,000” is the perfect time to take stock of an unappreciated part of our national predicament. Yes, we face a jobs crisis, a schools crisis, an immigration crisis, an infrastructure crisis, an inequality crisis and a college affordability crisis (just to name some current favorites).

But the sleeper crisis, the Next Big Shoe To Drop, is the retirement crisis.

Unresolved Emotional Conflicts Drive Post-Death Disputes

Excerpt from: JDSupra (click for full article)

 

No family is perfect.  And while all litigation is emotional, our experience is that almost all trust and estate litigation is driven by underlying emotional disputes among family members.  And death, like divorce, can open the floodgates of those disputes.  Long simmering sibling rivalries come to a boil.  Suppressed anger towards step-parents or step-children bursts forth.  Children who felt minimized by their parents assert themselves.

If these disputes are recognized during lifetime, they can be addressed in the estate plan.  Decisions such as who to name as fiduciary or how to structure a gift to a particular family member can minimize the opportunities for those disputes to arise.

But sometimes those disputes only come to light after death, causing the estate administration to spin out of control and result in litigation.  And some beneficiaries use that litigation as their grieving process.  Ironically, those emotions also act as a roadblock to reaching a rational resolution of the legal disputes.

Parents leave severely autistic son at Ottawa social services agency in ‘desperate act’

Excerpt from: Canada (click for full article)

 

An Ottawa couple’s painful decision to leave their severely autistic son at a social services agency this week was an act of desperation fuelled by 10 years of frustration.

Amanda Telford took her 19-year-old son Philippe to the Ottawa office of Developmental Services Ontario on Tuesday after she and her husband Alex decided they could no longer handle him.

“I really love Philippe and I am so sure about what we’re doing,” Alex told the Toronto Star.

“We feel very strongly that we did what we were being led to by the system. This was a very desperate act.”

Philippe on Wednesday went to his “regular school,” a program for autistic people at Ottawa Tech High School, Alex said, and was staying temporarily at a hospice.

The Assemblyman, His Brother, And Funding For The Disabled

Excerpt from: WGRZ (click for full article)

 

 

23 Ways To Communicate With A Non-Verbal Child

Excerpt from: Friendship Circle Blog (click for full article)

 

“Just because a person can’t speak doesn’t mean they have nothing to say.” A very important reminder from a parent of a non-verbal child.

Communication is a basic human need, allowing people to connect with others, make decisions that affect their lives, express feelings and feel part of the community they live in.

People with little or no speech still have the same communication needs as the rest of us.  We may just have to work a bit harder to find a communication strategy that works.

Bad News For Seniors and Widows In Particular

Excerpt from: Mullen & Giarusso (click for full article)

 

It has been called the State Budget Busting Act, the Charity Chilling Act, the Nursing Home Bankruptcy Act, the Boon To Private Insurance Act and many more. This is because the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 dramatically impacts various sectors of the economy and society as a whole. Of course, seniors will suffer the most from these new changes. Your elderly clients or friends will find it much more difficult to qualify for Medicaid assistance for nursing home stays, and will be subject to harsher penalties for gifting.

Some of the most alarming changes brought about by the DRA include:

• The waiting period for asset transfers has been increased from three years to five years. If it is determined an asset was transferred (given away) for less than fair market value during the new five year look-back period, a penalty will be assessed, making the applicant ineligible for Medicaid for a number of months, even years. This means a nursing home stay will have to be paid for privately. How many of your elderly clients or friends have the ability to predict the state of their physical and mental health three years from now, let alone five?

• The penalty period for giving assets away now starts at the time the person enters a nursing home and is otherwise eligible rather than at the time of the asset transfer. Obviously, this change can dramatically increase the amount of time an applicant will be ineligible for assistance.
• A cap of $750,000 has now been imposed on the value of an exempt residence, beyond which there will be no exemption for a homestead—the average person’s most valuable and cherished asset.