Blog: News Legal & Financial Professionals Could Use

Florida Statutes Chapter 744 which governs guardianship proceedings was amended relating to the settlement of claims for incapacitated adults and minors effective July 1, 2015. Here are the highlights: Confidentiality: The portion of the court file relating to the settlement of a claim is confidential.  A party must establish good cause and only then is the…

This month’s ‘Tips and Tales’ focuses on what needs to be done before distributing proceeds to a client who receives Medicaid or SSI benefits. Feel free to use this checklist in your office: At inception of the lawsuit ask the client whether he/she receives Medicaid, SSI, Food Stamps, HUD housing (or other financially sensitive government benefits). Document your file. Request a copy of…

If you have followed the caselaw interpreting Ahlborn you know that it has been a long winding road with many attempts by state Medicaid agencies to access the entire settlement, not just the portion attributed to medical expenses. Most recently in 2013 Congress sought to strengthen the Medicaid third-party liability act when it passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In section…

Does your case involve a minor? As you are aware a judge in most jurisdictions will assist in the determination of the settlement and settlement funds when you have a personal injury or wrongful death case where one of the claimants is a minor. In most of these cases there are a couple of options to…

We all know by now that we have an affirmative duty to notify CMS of the initiation of a third-party liability lawsuit as well as the settlement of that action.  Unfortunately it takes an extremely long time to get CMS to provide the amount of its conditional liability payment. A few years ago CMS announced its (delayed)…

When people get divorced, they often think about rewriting their Last Will & Testament to remove their former spouse as a beneficiary. There are actually more issues than that which need to be addressed timely. If you are newly divorced, you should have a: 1. Written medical advance directive designating an advocate to make medical decisions 2. Designation of guardian…

  The use of a special needs trust (SNT) as a planning tool to preserve settlement proceeds and maintain government benefits eligibility should not be presumed appropriate for every client. For many years there have been articles and advertising focusing on the benefits of special needs trusts.  Special Needs Trusts are, in fact, a gift given to us…

Effective July 1, 2012, a new Florida law takes affect concerning beneficiary designations on employee benefit plans.  Under current law, when a divorced individual dies if their Last Will & Testament designates their former spouse as a beneficiary that provision is void. Even if a divorced individual dies without changing their Will the former spouse is treated as…

Hindsight is twenty-twenty and it is always easier to assess what should have been done after the fact. Consider some very simple yet powerful planning tips for your and your friends’ young adult children. Tale: A.B. was nineteen (19) years old when he was hit by a police vehicle during a police chase.  A.B. suffered traumatic…

  No matter how great your professional success, you and your family are doomed to be the subject of an expensive and time-consuming guardianship proceeding in the future if you do not have a plan. So… How many of you have a legal plan to manage your financial and medical affairs in the event of incapacity…