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A question arose today in an online ask-a-lawyer forum that I monitor, so I decided to write a blog post about the subject because this does come up every so often. The two most common questions people ask with respect to adoption and inheritance are: Can an adopted child inherit from adoptiv...

Older parents are becoming more common, driven in part by changing cultural mores and advances in infertility treatment.

While the 2017 federal tax cut means most estates won't be subject to the federal estate tax in 2018 and 2019, state estate tax is a different matter. Some states are not going along with the increase in the federal estate tax exemption.

How frequently you should review your estate plan depends on how old you are and whether there has been a significant change in your circumstances. If you are over age 60 and you haven't updated your estate plan in many decades, it's almost certain that you need to update your documents. After that, you should review your plan every three years or so. But if you're younger, you don't need to do so nearly as often.

Many people are vaguely aware that Medicaid (not to be confused with Medicare) can collect from decedent's estates for amounts paid for the decedent's care during lifetime. What they do not know is that state laws on this vary widely. This is because Medicaid is a federal-state partnership program, and the federal laws governing the Medicaid program give states some latitude in designing their estate recovery programs. Some states are "standard recovery" states and some states are "expanded recovery" states, in the parlance used by elder law attorneys.

I get calls often from people moving to another state and wanting to know if they are going to need to have their estate plan updated. This is a very good question, and the answer is . . . it depends. That is what attorneys always say, right?

Every six months or so I get a call from someone, usually hailing from Illinois or Florida, wanted to form a "land trust" for the property they have acquired or are about to acquire in Tennessee. They get very frustrated when I tell them there is no such thing. They are familiar with "land trusts", know all about them, and are utterly convinced that I must not be a very good lawyer if I don't know about them. I do know about them; they just aren't a thing in Tennessee (or most other states for that matter). I try to explain that if they tell me what they are actually trying to achieve, we can probably get to the same place using different tools.

The Center for Medicare Advocacy is partnering with the John A. Hartford Foundation to help people caught in the web of “outpatient” Observation Status. According to their infographic available here, a hospital billing classification of "outpatient", sometimes also called "observation status", can result in Medicare patients paying out of pocket for hospital stays, hospital prescriptions and even nursing home care.

As your parents age and require more assistance, you might find yourself in a complicated predicament. Some elderly parents require more involved assistance than others with everyday activities such as meal preparation and getting dressed or bathed. With the high cost of hiring live-in caretakers and assisted living facilities, you might find that you have no choice but to leave your job and move in with either or both of them to act as their full-time live-in caretaker.

I get calls a lot from people asking how they should title their house. The answer is . . . you guessed it . . . it depends. First, it depends a LOT on whether you are married or single.

I have lost count of the number of times I have met with potential clients who are convinced that they need this or that document or amendment or whatnot, but they at least have open minds, and by the end of the meeting they realize that what they actually need is completely different, and far superior to what they had in mind.

It doesn't happen very often, fortunately, but every once in a while I get a call from an individual wanting me to prepare a particular document that he or she specifies by name. The only concern the caller has is how much it is going to cost. The caller is resistant to answering questions. That is like calling a doctor and asking him or her to write out a prescription for a certain pharmaceutical but refusing to provide your medical history and symptoms and refusing to allow a physical examination. Most doctors (the good ones anyway) will send you packing. You see, doctors don't sell drugs (the good ones anyway); they sell diagnoses and advice. And most doctors tailor that advice to your particular condition.

I often get asked who inherits if someone dies without a will.  This is called dying "intestate", and there are laws that specify who inherits.  The persons that inherit are called "heirs at law".  This post covers who inherits if a person domiciled in Tennessee dies without a will.  State laws v...

Legendary singer Aretha Franklin was thought to have died without a will, but the recent discovery of handwritten documents in her home is calling that into question. A representative of her estate has asked a Michigan probate court to determine if any of the documents could be considered a val...

Movies, television, and books like to present wills in dramatic ways--handwritten notes, videos, deathbed utterances--but what actually makes a will valid? The law varies depending on what state you live in, but there are some basic rules.  The legal requirements for a will are fairly simple. ...

Older Americans with a life insurance policy that they no longer need have the option to sell the policy to investors. These transactions, called "life settlements," can bring in needed cash, but are they a good idea?  If your children are grown and your mortgage paid off, you may decide that ...

Raising a grandchild can be tough financially, but grandparents should be aware that there is a tax credit available that could help them. Working grandparents who are supporting their grandchildren may qualify for the earned income tax credit, which could reduce the amount they pay in taxes ...

This is a bit off topic for this blog, I know, but the unfortunate reality is it is about something that affects us all. I myself get a phishing scam email at least once per week, sometimes more.  I am often tempted to play along for a while to waste the bad actor's time, but unfortunately that w...

Have your prepared for your digital death? According to an excellent online article entitled Your Guide On Digital Death (and How to Handle It): "Digital assets and possessions can carry both sentimental and monetary value, but they aren't generally given much thought. Only 2.3% of the survey p...

The folks at ConsumerAdvocate.org have created a comprehensive guide to reverse mortgages - what they are, who they're best suited for, and their pros and cons.  This guide includes rankings of various reverse mortgage companies based upon transparency & reputation, loan options and availability....

The median cost of a private nursing home room in the United States increased to $100,375 a year in 2018, up 3 percent from 2017, according to Genworth's Cost of Care survey, which the insurer conducts annually

You are turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare, but as a healthy senior do you really need to also sign up for Medicare's supplemental coverage? Not signing up initially can be very costly down the road.

Hospital patients who need additional care after being discharged from the hospital are usually sent to either an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) or a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Although these facilities may look similar from the outside, Medicare offers very different coverage for...

The IRS is increasing the amount taxpayers can deduct from their 2019 income as a result of buying long-term care insurance.

Technological advances have made it easier to stay connected with loved ones all the time. This has included the ability to install cameras in a loved one's nursing home room. These so-called "granny cams" have legal and privacy implications.  The benefit of putting a surveillance camera in a ...