The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Those Crazy Europeans!

This crazy story popped up on my Google Reader today, and since it has a very indirect connection to elder law I thought I would share it with readers. 

It looks like a Dutch television station is ready to launch "The Big Donor Show" in which a terminally ill person has to decide which of three young patients will receive her donated kidney.  Both of the country's political parties are demanding that the show be sacked.  But the broadcaster, BNN, is going to air it this Friday night anyway.  This show is from the creators of "Big Brother".  The full story is at BBC News.

I'm going to reserve editorial comments, but perhaps the not-so-obvious benefit of the show is that it will certainly draw attention to the worldwide shortage of organ donations.

While we're on the subject, please take a few moments to look this blog called, Give a Kidney.  The author is Harry Kiernan, owner of HarryCo and a very active member of the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce.  His blog is a humorous and compelling account of an enormous act of kindness.

Happy Memorial Day!

No post today in observance of Memorial Day.  Please give some thoughts today to our brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe, in regards to military conflicts both past and present.

Thanks and I hope everyone enjoys what's left of the long weekend.

What Happens if a Beneficiary is Locked Up?

This issue is, thankfully, not one that comes up very often for my clients.  But it is certainly not unprecedented, so I thought that some of my readers might find this interesting.  What if you pass away and one of your beneficiaries is incarcerated?  Here are the relevant Connecticut laws in that situation...

First, the State of Connecticut is entitled to be reimbursed for the expenses it has incurred for keeping your beneficiary locked up, but the state cannot receive more than 50% of the beneficiary's inheritance, after litigation expenses.

Second, once the inmate's attorney requests the amount of the state's lien, in writing, from the Commissioner of Correction, there must be an answer witin 45 days or the state is barred from imposing a lien on the inheritance.

Third, I'm not aware of any case law on this, but the state's right of recovery only extends to "inmates" in the statutes.  So, arguably, a beneficiary who is under house arrest will not have to worry about a state lien.

Please note that this law also applies to inmates who receive a financial windfall from a settlement or favorable judgment in a personal injury matter.  If that's the case, then the state's lien only applies to causes of action that an inmate brings within the 20-year period following his/her release.

In any case, if someone in your family becomes incarcerated then that would be a very good time to update your will!

Nursing Home Checklist

I ran across a very good, comprehensive nursing home checklist that has been generated by Medicare.  If you think your loved one may need a nursing home in the foreseeable future then it would be helpful to run through the questions on this list with the nursing home director for each facility that you are considering.  Asking these types of thoughtful questions is also a way to send a message to the nursing home's administrators that you are serious about the quality of care provided to your loved one.

Another good approach is to chat with visitors who have a family member residing in the facility.  They are the ones who can give you a relatively accurate and honest assessment of the overall quality of that particular nursing home. 

Think Twice Before Creating an Education Trust

Right now I am working with clients who are setting up support trusts for their young children.  The plan is that if the parents pass away unexpectedly then their estate will be split up into equal shares for each child, but the funds will not go directly to the children, even if they have reached the age of majority (18) at that time.  The clients have determined that each child would get an amount that is too much for an eighteen year-old to handle responsibly.  Therefore, a family member will manage their funds for them while distributing a certain percentage of the trust funds outright at certain ages.  Total distribution will be completed for each child when they reach the age of 35.

My clients' first thought was that the trust would contain language mandating that the funds be used only for higher education.  This is a perfectly normal and understandable inclination for any parent in light of the impact that one's level and quality of education has on success in life. 

But if you have similar sentiments, you should think twice before limiting the use of trust funds to education expenses only.  Most parents simply assume that their children will go to college someday.  In reality, not most, but many children ultimately decide to strike out into the world without a college degree.  And this does not necessarily translate into life-long failure.  In fact, Bill Gates, the richest man on the planet, never graduated from college. 

For children who go the "Bill Gates route",  the trust funds may be better spent on start-up capital for a well thought-out business, or maybe a down payment on a first home or capital improvements to real estate.  But if the trust language indicates that the funds can only be used for higher education then the money for that child will essentially be locked up until some far-off date when the money could have been very useful in the meantime. 

It's certainly a personal decision, but you should always consider the alternative approach, which is naming a very reliable trustee and simply giving him/her wide discretion to use the money in the best interests of the children.  Then you can always supplement your will with a letter or memo indicating your general wishes while not creating any legal obligations for the trustee.

State Legislators Override Rell's Veto on Medicaid Bill

On Tuesday the Democratic super-majority in the Connecticut legislature was successful in its efforts to override Gov. M. Jodi Rell's veto of a bill which dealt with the Department of Social Services and Medicaid waivers.  Please click here to read my earlier post on this issue which contains the particulars of the bill.

Although the Governor's spokesperson claims that the bill is flawed because it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy to the system, I think this is a very good political development for my Medicaid clients.  The authority to request Medicaid waivers is an important power which can dramatically alter the Medicaid landscape in Connecticut.  Giving that authority to the legislature instead of a single person means that any contemplated waivers will receive a higher level of scrutiny before being submitted to the federal government.

I will continue to keep you posted here on legislative developments that are pertinent to Medicaid, estate planning and probate law.

"Where Do I Keep My Will?"

This is one of those standard questions that nearly every client asks me after their will or living trust is finally executed, and it is a vitally important question.  I have more than enough stories about the angst and chaos that has ensued when families cannot locate the original will after a loved one passes.

Let me start out by saying that I'm not a fan of keeping your will in a safe deposit box at a bank even though most clients assume that such a box is the top candidate.  Unless you have someone else's name on the list as a signatory, it is very difficult (albeit not impossible) for someone else to gain access to the box.  Also, even if the family knows that you have a safe deposit box, it is often difficult for the family to determine which bank and at which branch the box is located.  Those tiny, little keys don't really tell you anything...other than the fact that it opens a safe deposit box somewhere.

What I usually tell clients is that they should keep their wills wherever they keep their other important documents.  That location is different for every client, but if the family knows that all of the important stuff is in your file cabinet, or a strong box, or your bottom dresser drawer, or the freezer (I did have one client who argued that that was the most fireproof place in his house!) then it shouldn't be a problem for your loved ones to find your will upon your passing. 

Ideally, having your will in a strong box at home (with your other important documents) is the best arrangement since such boxes are usually fireproof.  But don't panic if you don't have one since the chances of a fire that completely destroys your house and everything in it are quite slim.

However, if you have one of those families in which good chemistry is somewhat lacking and there are some family members who may be motivated to destroy your will, then you may have to be a little more secretive.  In fact, the safe deposit box at the bank with a trusted person as a co-owner would probably be the best way to go in that situation.

Kudos to Glastonbury Senior Center for Accreditation

The Glastonbury Senior Center has certainly come a long way.  The seniors in our town had to deal with a relatively disjointed program which had lunch, computer classes, exercise classes and crafts all in completely different locations. 

But that was a couple of years ago.  Then Glastonbury's beautiful Riverfront Community Center opened in the fall of 2005 and the senior center was finally able to keep all of its activities and operations under one roof.  Since the big move, the senior center's programming has increased by 31%, lunch attendance has gone up 61% and the average daily number of seniors participating in programs jumed from 160 to 225. 

And now, to cap off all of the improvements, the Glastonbury Senior Center has earned the much sought-after accreditation of the National Institute of Senior Centers.  The honor has been given to only seven senior centers in Connecticut and only 126 centers nationwide.

Congratulations to the center's coordinator, Maryleah Skronski and her crew.  Well done...you've made the town proud!

Thanks for Supporting "Team Jake"!

This post is an enormous "thank you" to all those who sponsored me in the Brain Tumor Society's 50-mile "Ride for Research" which took place in Waltham, Massachusetts yesterday.  The local Glastonbury community really pulled together this year for Jake Gainey, a local 7 year-old boy who suffers from a pediatric brain tumor and assembled nearly 100 riders to form "Team Jake".  I was able to collect just over $1,200 for the cause, Team Jake collected over $152,000 (2nd most successful team in the event) and the event itself generated approximately $1.3 million for brian tumor research! 

This was my first experience participating in a charity bike ride and despite the cold, rainy conditions, it was still a great day.  I was able to chat with many people who have been touched by brain tumors in one way or another and they all had sad yet inspiring stories.  If you're interested, I have published a more detailed post on my experiences yesterday on my Glastonbury Running Blog.

Thanks again!  The word on the street is that Team Jake will be back at the Ride for Research next year (Amy and I are going to switch roles with her riding and me watching the kids), so if you're interested in joining the team then start training...we'd love to have you!

75 Year-Old Blows the Doors Off Younger Runners

Most of my clients know that I'm an avid distance runner who has been relatively competitive for nearly 20 years.  So I'm inspired when a runner who is old enough to be one of my Medicaid planning clients is running marathons nearly as fast as I am! 

Canadian Ed Whitlock is 75 years old and he smashed the world record for the fastest marathon in his age category by running the 26.2-mile distance in 3 hours and 8 minutes at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon back in September.  Just to put this in perspective, I am 34 years old and I trained pretty seriously for the Boston Marathon last month and I ended up finishing in 3 hours and 4 minutes.  Ed would have been practically breathing down my neck despite the fact that he's over 40 years older than I am!

If I ever meet Ed I plan to ask him one question...how in the world does he keep his knees intact?