Lawyer’s Move From Representing Widow to Estate is Problematic
OCTOBER 31, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 37 Floyd Spence, a Republican Congressman from South Carolina, was a long-time survivor of a heart-lung transplant and a (separate) kidney transplant when he died in 2001, at the age of 73. He was survived by his second wife, Deborah Spence, and four adult sons from his first marriage […]
Excessive Fee in Special Needs Trust Leads to Lawyer’s Suspension
OCTOBER 17, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 36 Lawyers are ethically prohibited from charging excessive fees. Period. It doesn’t matter if the lawyer has a fee agreement calling for an excessive fee. It doesn’t matter if the negotiated fee seemed reasonable at the time, but turned out to be excessive as things developed. It doesn’t matter […]
Marital Agreements and Death of One Spouse
OCTOBER 17, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 36 John and Marsha, contemplating marriage, want to enter into an agreement spelling out what will happen to their separate and community property if they later divorce, or when one of them dies. Or perhaps John and Marsha have been married for years, but are contemplating separation and maybe […]
Principles Governing Third-Party Special Needs Trusts
OCTOBER 3, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 35 Last week we tried to demystify some of the principles of self-settled special needs trusts, and to distinguish them from third-party trusts. This week we continue that education effort, focusing on the rules governing third-party trusts. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of special needs trusts. Those set […]
Principles of Self-Settled (“First Party”) Special Needs Trusts
SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 34 There is so much confusion about the difference between “self-settled” and “third-party” special needs trusts, that we want to try to explain and simplify some of the key concepts. Here are some of the most common questions (and misunderstandings): What is the difference between “self-settled” and “third-party” special […]
Trustees Are “Owners” of Home for Lien Protection Purposes
SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 33 It’s frankly a little hard to explain why trust lawyers get excited about the subject of this week’s article. After all, it seems to be about who will pay for the new doors in a home renovation in a pricey suburb of Phoenix. The bill was large — […]
Remainder Beneficiaries Not Entitled to Trust Beneficiary’s Financial Info
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 32 Imagine with us for a moment: you are the trustee of an irrevocable trust created by a now-deceased woman for the benefit of her daughter. The trust says that her daughter is to receive all the income generated by the trust. You are also given the discretion to […]
In-Home Caretaker Wages Deductible Based on Doctor’s Letter
SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 31 Queens (New York) resident Lillian Baral was in her early 90s. She lived at home, but she required full-time assistance with her care. In 2007 she paid two caretakers a total of $49,580 for live-in care (one lived with her for five weeks while the primary caretaker took […]
Estate Planning: It Shouldn’t Be About the Lawyers
AUGUST 22, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 30 Of course it usually makes sense to place your estate planning wishes in the hands of your lawyer to make sure documents are correctly drawn and your wishes carried out. Lawyers can be very protective of what they perceive as their clients’ wishes and best interests, and sometimes […]
How To Revoke Your Revocable Living Trust, Will or Power of Attorney
AUGUST 8, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 29 Last March we told you a good story about revocation of a living trust, though we cautioned you not to use the same method. A year before that we told you about another colorful character and how he revoked his will. Both of those court cases made us […]
