Category

New Cases
05
Jun

Medicaid Applicant’s Right to Use House Placed in Trust Does Not Render Trust Assets Available, Massachusetts High Court Rules

June 5, 2017
Reversing a lower court, Massachusetts’ highest court ruled that two Medicaid applicants’ trusts were not available...
01
Jun

Ethics Committee Says it’s OK for a Judge to Tweet

June 1, 2017
In a recent opinion, the Massachusetts Committee on Judicial Ethics ruled that a judge may ethically maintain...
15
May

Nursing Home Cannot Compel Arbitration When Capacity of Resident Who Signed Admissions Agreement is Questionable

May 15, 2017
James Patterson entered Care One at Moorestown on September 3, 2014. He had various serious...
01
May

In Litigation Over Lost Will, Appeals Court Remands Case, Ruling Decedent May Have Destroyed Will With Intent To Revoke It

May 1, 2017
Before his death, Arthur Zito was the subject of a contested guardianship litigation, in which...
09
Apr

Son Who Unduly Influenced Mother Could Be Appointed As Her Guardian; Evidence Did Not Support Court’s Change Of Beneficiary Designation On TOD Account; Counsel Fees Denied Because Litigation Was A “Fight Between Brothers”

April 9, 2017
In 1997, Evelyn Worley’s son Dwight assisted her in opening a $100,000 Transfer On Death...
26
Mar

Dispute Between Adult Children About Their Parents’ Nursing Home Placement Is Not Domestic Violence

March 26, 2017
This case arose from the conduct of siblings who held divergent views regarding placing their...
12
Mar

Frivolous Litigation Sanctions Denied Because Supporting Certification Used Term “May Be” Instead of “Am”

March 12, 2017
The decedent, Kathryn Parker Blair, had executed a will bequeathing her estate to her siblings...
05
Mar

Decedent’s Children Have Authority Over Funeral Arrangements, Even When Children Are Omitted From Will

March 5, 2017
In Old Bridge Funeral Home v. Pruckowski , the Mrs. Pruckowski died leaving a Last...
27
Feb

Summary Judgment Appropriate in Probate Lawsuit Involving Allegations of Incompetency and Undue Influence

February 27, 2017
The Appellate Division affirmed a summary judgment ruling by a trial court in a probate...
24
Feb

Appeals Court Upholds $21 Million Punitive Damage Award in Elder Abuse Lawsuit

February 24, 2017
A California court of appeals affirmed a jury award against the owner of a construction...
22
Feb

Second Circuit Bars Medicaid Penalty: Trusts Not Countable Since Beneficiary Had No Authority To Direct Distributions

February 22, 2017
In Simonsen v Bremby(2d Cir., No. 16-204-cv, Feb. 15, 2017), the daughter/Medicaid applicant filed suit...
06
Feb

Legal Fees Denied in Estate Lawsuit Because Both Parties Responsible for Protracted Litigation Over Small Estate

February 6, 2017
Robert Grafer, Jr. was the executor of his mother’s estate. He and his sister Laura...
29
Jan

Appeals Court Clarifies Right of Surviving Spouse Who Received Medicaid To Share In Deceased Spouse’s Estate

January 29, 2017
As 2007 began, Arthur Brown, who was then seventy-eight years old, and his wife, Mary,...
03
Jan

Court Rules Asset Transfers to Child Before Entering Nursing Home Not Made To Qualify for Medicaid

January 3, 2017
A New York appeals court ruled that a Medicaid applicant successfully rebutted the presumption that...
19
Dec

Court Permits Law Firm To Enforce Refunding Bonds To Satisfy Its Legal Fee Award

December 19, 2016
The defendant, William Lewis, was the administrator of his deceased mother’s estate. In connection with...
24
Oct

U.S. Supreme Court to Define What an “Appropriate” Education Is for Children with Disabilities

October 24, 2016
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., public...
12
Oct

Preliminary Injunction Denied in Lawsuit to Prevent Medicaid Agency from Counting Dead Husband’s Assets

October 12, 2016
A U.S. district court denied a preliminary injunction to a Medicaid applicant who sued New...
10
Oct

Court Directs Son and His Family to Vacate Mother’s Home, Allowing Home to be Sold to Pay for Mother’s Care Needs

October 10, 2016
The plaintiff, Marjorie Fister, is the mother of defendant Kevin Edward Fister. In 2010, the...
27
Sep

Summary Judgment Reversed: Claim That Lifetime Transfers Were Made To Avoid Decedent’s Obligations To Daughter Under Divorce Agreement Can Proceed

September 27, 2016
When he died in 2012, the decedent, retired physician Henry D. Rubenstein, left his insolvent...
13
Sep

Wife’s Death, After Executing Property Settlement Agreement But Before Final Divorce, Constitutes Waiver of Husband’s Right To Inherit

September 13, 2016
A few months prior to her death, Basabadatta Pattanayak and her husband Sandeep Srinath executed...
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