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Living Arrangements for our Adult Children

Wednesday, March 19th, 2025

Anne and Bill have an adult child who lives with them. Their forty-five-year-old Charles has significant intellectual and developmental disabilities (“IDD”). Charles does not mix well with others. He has lived in the family residence all forty-five years. Anne and Bill will leave a lot of money in the trust created for Charles upon their deaths. But a financial analysis shows that the $3 million will not sustain the house in the trust and Charles’ needs over his lifetime.

Revocability of Powers of Attorney under Delaware Law

Tuesday, February 25th, 2025

Delaware statutes distinguish between a financial power of attorney, called a Durable Personal Power of Attorney, governed for non-commercial purposes by 12 Del. C. § 49A, and a health-care power of attorney (including an advance health-care directive for purposes of this article), governed by 16 Del. C. Chapter 25.

New Year’s Checklist: Appoint a Co-Trustee Before Emergency

Friday, January 24th, 2025

Recently, my law partner wrote on the importance of informing your family of your estate plan, choosing the right people for the right jobs, being mindful in your distribution choices, and overall, promoting family harmony - views shared by none other than Warren Buffet in his recent Wall Street Journal article.

Key Benefits of Delaware’s New Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act

Friday, December 13th, 2024

This is the next installment in our series on Delaware’s new Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act, which was signed into law on September 30, 2024 and goes into effect in one year on September 20, 2025. Delaware is the first State to fully enact the Uniform Act (and made some Delaware-specific additions), and other states have legislation pending. The new Act completely replaces our existing Act of the same name. The new Act has a new Optional Form that completely replaces our old form.

ALERT: Delaware’s New Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act:

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

First Major Overhaul to Delaware Health Care Statutes in 30 Years

The first major overhaul to Delaware’s Health Care statutes was signed by the Governor on September 30, 2024, to go into effect in one year on September 30, 2025.

Food No Longer In-Kind Support and Maintenance for SSI Benefits

Wednesday, October 9th, 2024

The new rule we first reported on in our May 2024 Blog became effective September 30, 2024, a blessing to Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) recipients who are subject to what’s called the In-Kind Support and Maintenance (“ISM”) rules

Your Adult Children Need to Be Prepared For Your Incapacity and Passing

Monday, September 23rd, 2024

A USA Today article published in the August 18, 2024 edition of the News Journal (linked at the end of this Blog) explained the perils of probate, which we often cover in our Newsletter and Blog. 

Treasury and IRS Release Final Regulations on Required Minimum Distributions

Wednesday, August 14th, 2024

Since February 2022, when Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Proposed Regulations implementing changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules for individual retirement accounts and employer plans under the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act, attorneys and financial professionals have awaited Final Regulations.

First-Ever Federal Regulations for Adult Protective Services

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

Until recently, Adult Protective Services (APS) has been funded and administered wholly at the state or local level. As a result, there is wide variation in APS services and practices between, and even within, states.

Food No Longer to Be Considered In-Kind Support and Maintenance for SSI Benefits

Monday, May 13th, 2024

In March 2024, the Social Security Administration issued a new rule that favors disabled individuals applying for or receiving Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”). Under the new rule, starting September 30, 2024, food will no longer be considered in-kind support and maintenance (“ISM”) in ISM calculations.

Can My Lifetime Fiduciary Pay My Final Bills?

Friday, April 5th, 2024

A fiduciary is someone who acts for another pursuant to legal authority to do so.

A fiduciary can act for a living individual. The most common sources of legal authority for a fiduciary to act for a living individual are: a power of attorney, a guardianship, and a trust.

Government Overreach or Necessary Law? Corporate Transparency Act Struck Down

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

A U.S. District Court in Alabama declared the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) unconstitutional in the battle between privacy rights and organized crime. In National Small Business Association v. Yellen (Case No. 5:22-cv-01448)

Assisted Living in the News

Friday, February 2nd, 2024

Assisted Living has been in the news for at least the past year, both locally and nationally. For our clients this is a prime issue.

Ohio Court Finds that an Agent using a Power of Attorney is not Personally Liable for cost of a Nursing Home

Friday, January 19th, 2024

Thanks to Professor Katherine Pearson of Dickinson Law School for bringing this case to our attention.

On May 1, 2023, an appellate court in Ohio found that the daughter's role as agent acting under a power of attorney prevented her from becoming personally liable for her mother's costs of care.  The daughter appears to have properly cooperated or assisted in the original Medicaid application. 

States with the Best (and Worse) Elder-Abuse Protections 2024

Friday, January 12th, 2024

A recent article compared all 51 states and D.C. for reporting, investigating and acting upon abuse of the elderly. That article is found below. Several experts provide insight on Elder Abuse and reporting.

Where does Delaware stand? Forty-six out of the fifty-one. At the bottom? California, which recently made all its residents eligible for Medicaid without regard to the amount of resources one might have.

Your Estate Plan is More Than Your Will: The Importance of the Annual Review Your Estate Plan is More Than Your Will

Friday, December 29th, 2023

Ask anyone the first word that comes to mind when they hear the term “estate plan.” The answer is likely “Will.” But your estate plan is much more than your Will. Your assets dictate what your estate plan documents are or should be.

How Medicaid Penalizes Gifts: The Rules

Tuesday, December 5th, 2023

Prior gifts harm Medicaid applicants by delaying when Medicaid starts. The delay is directly linked to the total gift value over a five-year period. This delay significantly harms persons needing care now. We see this time and again. Below we explain the basic rules on how Medicaid penalizes gifts.

Social Security overpayments: Tips to prevent them

Friday, November 3rd, 2023

If you receive Social Security retirement benefits, one of the best ways to prevent overpayments is to check the earnings history Social Security has on record for you. You can do this before you retire.

Social Security Ramps Up Disability Overpayment Efforts

Friday, October 20th, 2023

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is trying to reclaim billions of dollars from many of the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable — payments it sent them but now says they never should have received. During the 2022 fiscal year, the agency clawed back $4.7 billion of overpayments, while another $21.6 billion remained outstanding, according to a report by SSA’s inspector general. One consequence is a costly collection effort...

Big Win for Disability Advocates in Health Equity Research

Friday, October 6th, 2023

One of our core missions is to provide legal services to persons with disabilities and their families in estate and long-term care planning. A great many of our clients have special needs or have a loved one who does.