Source: https://www.mcguffey.net/resources/blog/blogger/dmcguffey
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 01:00:45+00:00

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Annuities are complex financial products which frequently earn the seller high commissions. Because commissions are high, salesmen frequently use high-presure tactics. A recent article in the Pittsburg Post Gazette discribes how many seniors are harmed by abusive sales tactics.
Kathleen Audia is sixty three (63) years old this year. She has been hearing impaired since childhood, and lost total hearing when she was fifty-five (55). Her primary language is American Sign Language; she does not read lips well enough to understand more than a small portion of conversations.
In 2015, Kathleen fell. She had a deep cut to her head, called a laceration. Kathleen was admitted to a hospital and, after discharge (and after spending a few days at another facility), she became a resident at Briar Place Nursing and Rehabilitation (in Illinois). While at Briar Place, Kathleen was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, balance and gait issues, osteoarthritis, and low back pain.
Euthanasia – Are we there?
On January 29, 2018, CNN reported that a British Court ruled in favor of doctors, and against parents, holding that doctors could withdraw life support for a severely disabled child. Baby Isaiah was born by emergency cesarean after his mother experienced a rupture in her uterus. At birth, he had no audible heartbeat or respiration, but was revived. Doctors argued it was not in Isaiah’s interest to prolong his life.
Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending life to releive pain and suffering. Technically, withdrawing life sustaining treatment is not considered euthanasia, but in most cases the withdrawal of treatment is at the patient’s request, not the government, not the medical community, and not insurers. The notion that a patient controls his or her own care, including the right to refuse treatment stems from Cruzan v. Director, Mo. Dep’t Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990) and related cases.
On December 28, 2017, CNN reported the beating of an eighty-six year old man with dementia who was a resident in an assisted living facility. Apparently a younger resident accused the older gentleman of eating his cupcake. The younger resident then beat the older man more than 50 times during a two minute period. No staff were present at the time of the beating.The facility had been sanctioned for other incidents, with two administrators having been arrested on charges of neglect of the elderly.
It is critical that family members visitloved ones in a nursing home or assisted living facility. If you see irregularities, report them to the administrator. If the administrator does not correct the situation, report it to the local ombudsman. If that doesn't resolve the situation, speak with an attorney.
A video clip from Dr. Phil shows him interviewing the wife of someone with a chronic illness, pointing out the strain on caregivers. One of the points made is that you can't give what you don't have, so you must make time to take care of yourself. The clip is available at the following link.
Have you ever wondered what's different about a Certified Elder Law Attorney and other lawyers? The following article describes the rigorous examination, which is only one element of the process.
The SEC approved: (1) the adoption of new FINRA Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults) to permit members to place temporary holds on disbursements of funds or securities from the accounts of specified customers where there is a reasonable belief of financial exploitation of these customers; and (2) amendments to FINRA Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information) to require members to make reasonable efforts to obtain the name of and contact information for a trusted contact person for a customer’s account. New Rule 2165 and the amendments to Rule 4512 become effective February 5, 2018.
Lola Norton was a nursing home resident. After her death, her husband brought a wrongful death claim against PruittHealth - Taccoa. The alleged injuries are unimportant for purposes of this blog article.
The nursing home responded to the lawsuit by showing where Kim, Lola's daugher and agent under Lola's power of attorney, signed an arbitration agreement. Presumably it was part of the admissions package. In other words, the nursing home didn't want a jury deciding the case.
You have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance); andYou live in one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia; andYour combined savings, investments, and real estate are not worth more than $27,250, if you are married and living with your spouse, or $13,640 if you are not currently married or not living with your spouse. (Do NOT count your home, vehicles, personal possessions, life insurance, burial plots, irrevocable burial contracts or back payments from Social Security or SSI.) If you have more than those amounts, you may not qualify for the extra help. However, you can still enroll in an approved Medicare prescription drug plan for coverage.
Filial responsibility is a name given to laws that make third parties (usually adult children) responsible for support for indigent family members. These laws are based on English "poor laws" from the 16th Century. Many states, including Georgia, have these laws on the books. Georgia's version, however, has been a toothless tiger for the most part. The Georgia statute is found at O.C.G.A. § 36-12-3. There, it provides that the “county” providing care for a pauper may bring an action against a father, mother or child to recover support provided to the pauper. These days, however, counties rarely provide support, so it’s difficult to imagine how a claim could be brought.
By contrast, Pennsylvania has a broader filial responsibility statute. In Health Care & Ret. Corp. of America v. Pittas, 46 A.3d 719 (Super. Ct. of Penn. 2012), a nursing home sued a son for his mother’s unpaid nursing home bills. The case went to arbitration, where the son won. However, the nursing home appealed the case and the arbitration award was reversed in the Common Pleas Court, and upheld on appeal. On appeal, the son objected to the Court placing on him the burden to prove he was unable to pay, because other family members were not held liable with him, because the Court refused to consider other potential sources of payment such as Medicaid, and because his mother was not indigent. The Court rejected each of the son’s arguments, but noted that if Medicaid was ultimately approved, then he would have no responsibility to pay the bill.
Is a husband liable for his wife's debts (or vice versa), Part 2?
Recently, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decided a case (Key Equipment Finance, Inc. v. Overend) that causes us to revisit the question of spousal liability. We care because the 11th Circuit (a federal appeals court) covers Georgia, and the case involved a question of Georgia law.
George Overend borrowed money from KeyBank to finance the construction of a medical imaging center. After he borrowed money, he transferred a one-half interest in his home to his wife's revocable trust. Overend's business venture went bankrupt, and when KeyBank tried to collect it's money, KeyBank argued that it could set-aside the homeplace transfer as a fraudlent conveyance.
Is a husband liable for his wife’s debt (or vice versa)?
Many families assume that one spouse is liable for the other’s debt. In Georgia, that’s typically not the case. O.C.G.A. § 19-3-9 specifically provides that the separate property of each spouse shall remain the separate property of that spouse, except in limited circumstances.
In Walton Elect. Membership Corp. v. Snyder, 226 Ga. App. 673 (1997), a creditor attempted to collect from one spouse a debt owed by the other. Specifically, Deborah Patton had a contract with Walton Electric to provide electricity. Later, she moved in with Howard Snyder, who also had his own contract with Walton Electric. When Howard and Deborah got married, Deborah had an unpaid, past due balance with Walton Electric. After Walton Electric discovered Howard and Deborah were married, it added Deborah’s past due bill to Howard’s account. Howard objected and refused to pay the bill. Walton Electric then disconnected Howard’s power, so Howard sued. In finding that Howard was right, and that he was not liable for Deborah’s debt, the Georgia Court of Appeals cited to O.C.G.A. § 13-5-30. There, Georgia law provides that a promise to answer for another’s debt must be in writing, and signed by the person undertaking the debt. Further, in the Snyder case, the Court found that the contract must be an original obligation. What is that important? Walton Electric tried to claim that Howard signed a membership agreement when he joined Walton Electric. Ordinarily, if a married couple joins, they become joint members. However, Howard joined Walton Electric as a single person and Walton Electric was not authorized to unilaterally change the agreement just because he was married. To create a joint obligation, a new contract, with new consideration, would be required if Howard was to become liable for Deborah’s debt.
The short answer is "yes, you can" sell your house. However, there may be consequences.
A home is usually an exempt resource when you apply for Medicaid. Cash from the sale of a home, is not exempt and counts toward your $2,000 resource limit. Therefore, if you sell your home, you must report the sale to Medicaid within 10 days and you will probably be kicked off of Medicaid until you do something with the cash. One option is to spend the cash on nursing home care until you're broke and then go back on Medicaid. That;s probably not a good choice because that does nothing to enhance your circumstances or your quality of life. Another option is to speak with a Certified Elder Law Attorney about ways you can plan for your future needs, or the future needs of your spouse or children (especially if you have disabled children or grandchildren).

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