Using a No-Contest Clause in Wills and Trusts

Posted by Dan Steven on Mar 11, 2014

If you are worried that disappointed heirs could contest your will or trust after you die, one option is to include a “no-contest clause” in your estate planning documents. A no-contest clause provides that if an heir challenges the will or trust and loses, then he or she will get nothing. A no-contest clause may be a good idea if you have a beneficiary who may be upset by the...

Effort to Fix Medicare’s ‘Observation Status’ Loophole Gathers Steam

Posted by Dan Steven on Feb 24, 2014

Support is building for legislation to correct a technicality in Medicare law that is preventing thousands of hospital patients from being covered for a subsequent nursing home stay. Medicare pays all or part of the costs for up to 100 days of a nursing home stay, but only if the patient was first admitted to a hospital as an inpatient for at least three days. To avoid financial penalties from...

Medicaid Expansion Signups Hindered by Fear of Estate Recovery

Posted by Dan Steven on Feb 6, 2014

A fear that the government will seize their house after they die is causing some people to not sign up for expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A long-standing provision in Medicaid law allows states to recoup Medicaid costs by putting a claim on the home or other assets of older deceased Medicaid recipients. In 1993, Congress passed a law requiring that states try to recover...

Probate v. Non-Probate: What Is the Difference?

Posted by Dan Steven on Jan 11, 2014

When planning your estate it is important to understand the difference between probate and non-probate assets. Probate is the process through which a court determines how to distribute your property after you die. Some assets are distributed to heirs by the court (probate assets) and some assets bypass the court process and go directly to your beneficiaries (non-probate assets). The probate...

The Google Book Scan Lawsuit Decision

Posted by Dan Steven on Dec 21, 2013

 I have written before about the Author’s Guild copyright infringement lawsuit against Google for its unauthorized digitizing of copyrighted works.  Now, after eight years of litigation, we have a decision. Briefly, in 2005 the Author’s Guild and other plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Google for its “Book Search,” alleging that Google violated the copyrights of authors and...