Blog: Tips & Tales

Daunting. Overwhelming. Frustrating. The thought of moving almost always evokes these negative feeling when people consider the myriad tasks involved. No matter your age moving is always stressful. For older adults relocating is all the more challenging since they are usually downsizing into a smaller apartment, condominium or senior living community. Often there is no…

9 Insider Tips for Filing An Insurance Claim After A Disaster When it comes to filing a homeowners or business insurance claim after a hurricane, fire or other disaster, rarely is it simple. Insurance and the laws that govern it, are by nature, complex. Add to that, the uniqueness of your situation, and an insurance…

This month’s ‘Tips and Tales’ focuses on the invaluable benefits of a well drafted Durable Power of Attorney. Tale:   Jane Smith was involved in a catastrophic automobile accident.  Although rendered a paraplegic her cognitive abilities were not affected.  Since she was able to speak and communicate it was not necessary to pursue legal guardianship in order for her to…

Tale: John Smith’s 88-year old Mother suffered a stroke and became paralyzed on one half of her body.  The family was unable to care for her at home and decided that she would receive the best care in a skilled nursing facility.  John was given a Durable Power of Attorney by his Mother prior to…

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…

Plaintiff’s receiving a settlement want to have it safely and conservatively invested.  As attorneys, we share their concern about dissipation of the settlement perhaps for different reasons.   To safeguard the client (sometimes from their own fiscal irresponsibility) structured settlements are an option.  The use of a structured settlement can be a double-edge sword as explained below.…

Imagine you have litigated a nursing home negligence case for years and you finally have received a reasonable offer to settle.  As you present the news to your client he says “do I have to pay back the Medicaid lien? If I do there won’t be much left for me and I won’t settle.”  You quickly…

Do you know that you can designate different beneficiaries under your I.R.A. (Individual Retirement Plan) than under your 401(k) plan? A 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse whereas an I.R.A. does not. The reason for this is that a 401(k) is an employee based plan that is governed by the federal laws of ERISA…

If you have ever had a settlement which needed to be protected by a special needs trust (SNT) then you probably know that federal law requires the Medicaid lien to be repaid at the death of the beneficiary.  No one has a crystal ball to forecast the size of the Medicaid lien or, the value…

Imagine this scenario: You successfully obtained a settlement for a couple whose child was severely injured.  You collaborated with an elder law attorney to create a special needs trust to protect the settlement proceeds and preserve the client’s government assistance.  Several years later you get a call from one of the client’s that the couple is divorcing and asking…