Articles Posted in Asset Protection

Wills play an important part in the estate planning process. The best estate plans, however, include more than wills. Instead, the best estate plans anticipate the numerous complications that can arise at the end of a person’s life.

Advance Healthcare Directives

Medical powers of attorney and living wills serve an important role that wills simply do not touch. A medical power of attorney can be used to appoint someone to make healthcare decisions in case you become incapacitated. A living will can be used to determine what type of life-prolonging measures you would like if you end up on life support. 

State plans for medical assistance under federal Medicaid law must comply with certain requirements located in Title 42 U.S.C. § 1396a.4, but do not always do so. In 2018, the United States District Court for the District of Alaska in the case of Disability Law Center of Alaska v. Davidson denied a motion for summary judgment on three claims alleging that Davidson who in her position as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services had violated federal Medicaid law. 

The violations of which the Center was accused were: failure to provide adequate notice on how to apply for and access applied behavioral therapy, not reimbursing for ABA under the program, and not providing ABA services under the program with reasonable promptness. In arriving at its decision, the court noted that the Disability Law Center had the burden under federal law of establishing that Davidson had deprived them of the following rights: the right to notice of availability of ABA services, the right to be reimbursed for ABA therapy, and the right to have ABA therapy provided. 

The court’s subsequent decision subsequently supported the position that any state that has elected to participate in federal Medicaid programs must be prepared to provide services identified under the federal statute as mandatory. This case underscores the right that many individuals in the United States have to Medicaid benefits.

One of the common responses that many people have as they learn about estate planning is that there are a number of estate planning documents. In addition to things like wills, living wills, advance directives and powers of attorney, there also also a number of other important documents.

In New York there are Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) forms. This article briefly reviews what MOLST forms do and situations where you might need one of these documents.

The Role of MOLST Forms

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Northport Health Services v. Posey recently reversed a lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment in a wrongful death action. One son in the Posey family in this case had signed the admission agreement of his brother at a resident rehabilitation center owned by Northport, which included an arbitration agreement. Northport then sought to compel arbitration and the district court granted this motion. The brother then appealed claiming that the district court misapplied the third-party beneficiary theory to the case because there was no underlying agreement between the Posey family and Northport. 

Making the decision to place a loved one in a rehabilitation center after they are in the hospital can be a difficult decision. Reviewing the associated terms of any agreements concerning a loved one’s care are just one of the many things that you should make sure to do. Fortunately, by following the advice below, this process can be made much easier. 

# 1 – Plan for Discharge as Soon as Possible