State may recover from estate of Medicaid recipient’s spouse 
Published: August 17, 2012
Tags: estate planning, Medicaid
Federal law did not preempt the state’s ability to recover from a husband’s estate what was once community property during his marriage to a Medicaid recipient, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled.
Estate planning tools may vanish in 2013
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: August 7, 2012
Tags: estate planning, estate tax, federal law, gift tax
WASHINGTON – For estate planning attorneys, the unstable nature of federal tax law has become the new normal. But the prospect of skyrocketing estate tax rates and the potential loss of key estate planning tools with certain federal laws set to expire is spurring them to get their clients to act – and quickly.
The tax implications of the health care law
By:
Correy Stephenson
Published: July 19, 2012
Tags: estate planning, health care reform, IRA, retirement planning, Roth IRA, surcharge tax, taxation, trusts and estates
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the health care law late last month, the decision upholding the individual health insurance mandate made headlines.
But lost in the details and unknown to many was the 3.8 percent surcharge tax on net investment income set to take effect Jan. 1, 2013.
Wife may be eligible for Medicaid despite annuity
Published: July 12, 2012
Tags: annuity, estate planning, Medicaid, Medicaid planning, Medicare, Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act
A married couple’s purchase of an annuity for the husband did not necessarily render the wife ineligible for Medicaid, the 10th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
Supreme Court term: More than health care and immigration
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: July 5, 2012
Tags: DNA, estate planning, fair labor standards act, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, GPS, ineffective assistance of counsel, religious discrimination, search and seizure, sentencing, Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – While the nation has focused on the big cases the U.S. Supreme Court saved for last this term – rulings upholding the majority of the federal health care law and striking down several provisions of the Arizona immigration enforcement statute – the term was marked by several other big cases that will have a major impact, particularly in the employment, criminal and family law context.
Medicaid preempts Pa. special needs trust rules
Published: June 22, 2012
Tags: estate planning, Medicaid, preemption, special needs trust
Federal law generally preempts the provisions of a state law designed to prevent the abusive manipulation of special needs trusts to ensure Medicaid eligibility, the 3rd Circuit has ruled in affirming judgment.
Supreme Court rules: State law trumps biology
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 30, 2012
Tags: assisted reproductive technologies, estate planning, family law, in vitro fertilization, intestacy, Social Security, Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – As the use of assisted reproductive technologies continues to increase, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has family and estate planning attorneys warning their clients of unforeseen consequences from decades-old federal and state laws governing children’s benefits.
Gay man may sue for interference with inheritance
Published: May 7, 2012
Tags: estate planning
A gay man may be able to sue the sister of his deceased life partner for intentionally interfering with his expected inheritance, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Estate tax guessing continues
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: February 23, 2012
Tags: estate planning, estate tax, estate tax exemption, federal budget, President Obama
WASHINGTON – With little chance of long-term federal estate tax reform passing in Washington any time soon, attorneys are again trying to plan as best as they can – not only for their clients, but also for themselves.
Creditors can’t touch life insurance proceeds
Published: February 16, 2012
Tags: estate planning, trusts and estates
State law protects the proceeds from a life insurance policy that were paid into a trust created by an insured from the insured’s creditors, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
