The Case of the 50 Year Probate
January 23, 2009 by RickBryan
In the December 9, 2008 edition of the New York Law Journal, journalist Noeleen G. Walder writes an excellent description of a case which has been winding through the Surrogate’s court for more than fifty years after the decedent’s death. The decedent, Max Sakow, died in 1956, and left behind a multi-million dollar real estate empire up in the Bronx, and a one page handwritten will. Needless to say, while Mr. Sakow may have thought his planning to be simple and straight-forward, in the end it has ended up as fifty years worth of fighting among his children. It’s impossible to image Mr. Sakow had intended this result, but his lack of planning has nevertheless cost untold millions of dollars in unnecessary fees and expenses. One of the most effective ways of avoiding probate and the result experience by the Sakow family is to hold assets in trust, so that at death the property held by the trustee is managed according to the terms of the trust. Of course trusts are not without their own problems, and without knowing all the facts it’s unclear whether a trust would have prevented the case of the fifty year probate. Nevertheless, it’s a sorry state of affairs, and hopefully someone will take the Sakow case to heart and plan appropriately.
Medicaid Reference Guide – New York State Department of Health
January 21, 2009 by RickBryan
The place to find the answer to just about any question relating to Medicaid is in the state’s Medicaid Reference Guide. Each state has their own, since Medicaid is a federal program administered by the states individually. That’s one reason the Medicaid rules can vary from state to state, so people need to be careful about what they read or hear on TV: those rules may not apply in New York.
Fortunately, New York’s well-run agency, the Department of Health, publishes our Medicaid Reference Guide on their website:
Medicaid Reference Guide – New York State Department of Health.
It would be easier for users if the Guide were in html format, and if the updates were incorporated into the body of the Guide itself. Nevertheless, those are quibbles in relation to the importance of having ready access to the full ‘rules and regulations’ relating to the administration of the Medicaid system in New York.
US Court Blasts First Unum; Arbitrary, Capricious and Unscrupulous
January 12, 2009 by RickBryan
An important consideration for insurance agents who either target attorneys in their niche market, or who work jointly with attorneys on behalf of each others’ clients, is to bear in mind that lawyers are keen to weigh the end result of the sales process and take the ‘fluff’ with a grain of salt. In other words, polished presentations and marketing materials are great, but at the end of the day what counts is whether the insurer is going to stand by its commitments.
That’s why you should heed the US Court of Appeals (Second Circuit) recent decision in McCauley v. First Unum, (decided December 24, 2008). This is an important case for several reasons. In this case, First Unum denied a tax attorney’s claim for Long-Term Disability (LTD). Here are the relevant facts from the Court’s opinion:
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