Michael B. Cohen's Latest Blogs

The recent Lifetime Network documentary series on the famed daytime television talk show host, Wendy Williams, has again put the spotlight on guardianship. A couple of years ago, Britney Spears conservatorship was in the limelight until she was “freed”. The cases are clearly different as Williams has cognitive issues as she has been diagnosed with frontal temporal dementia (which leads to a loss of function of the frontal and temporal lobes) and aphasia (which affects the ability to speak and understand speech).

Although planning for disability and death should always be considered in estate planning, the potential need for public benefits or loss of valuable public benefits (such as Medicaid or Veterans’ benefits) should not be overlooked.

U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois has proposed a bill that would end Medicaid estate recovery (Medicaid estate recovery is the process to recoup care costs such as nursing home care, care at home, medications, etc.) from the estate of the deceased Medicaid recipient. Typically, the most common resource that the state seeks reimbursement is from the recipient’s home (although sometimes other exempt resources under Medicaid rules such as cars, mineral interests, businesses essential for self-support, etc. are also pursued).

Is a photocopied form signed by the testator (the one who makes the will), before 2 witnesses a valid will? What if the will is only initialed by the testator? What if the testator signs with an “X”? What if the will was signed by only 1 witness, but the will was notarized? The answers may surprise you, but in some cases the answer to the questions above as to whether the will is valid or not is “yes” (although sometimes more proof is required).