Holmes, Holmes & Neisent P.L.L.C.

Articles

To Drive or Not To Drive Published in The NAELA News

I was recently appointed by the Court to represent a lady who did not want her children appointed as her guardian. I met with her in her home so I could observe her living situation. Her home was very neat and she was very well oriented there, but her short-term memory was not good about some matters. She definitely did not want her children to take over because "I can manage. I will know when I need their help."

Publish Date: 8/1/1995

The Need For Lawyer Involvment Published in The NAELA News

Federal law provides: "A nursing facility must provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident in accordance with a written plan of care which..." 42 USCA § 1396r(b)(2).

Publish Date: 4/1/2002

Special Needs Trust Published in OKC Community Foundation

OKC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION what is a Special Needs Trust? Special Needs Trusts (SNT), also sometimes called Supplemental Needs Trusts, are Trusts which hold, manage, and distribute assets and income under Trust provisions which prevent disabled beneficiaries from being ineligible for government benefits. SNTs can be Testamentary Trusts (a trust established under a Last Will and Testament) or Intervivos Trusts (a trust established during life). SNTs have special provisions which can prevent the assets and/or the income of the Trust from being counted as a resource (asset) or income to the beneficiary.

Publish Date: 12/1/2001

Read Between The Words Published in The NAELA News

An Oklahoma inheritance statute, enacted over ninety years ago, provides in part: 84 O. S. §215: "Inheritance by and from illegitimate child." For inheritance purposes, a child born out of wedlock stands in the same relation to his mother and her kindred, and she and her kindred to the child, as if that child had been born in wedlock. For like purposes, every such child stands in identical relation to his father and his kindred, and the latter and his kindred to the child, whenever: (a) the father, in writing, signed in the presence of a competent witness acknowledges himself to be the father of the child; . . . b) the father publicly acknowledged such child as his own, receiving it as such, with the consent of his wife, if he is married, into his family and otherwise treating it as if it were a child born in wedlock, . . ."

Publish Date: 3/1/1995

Proving For Your Pets Published in The NALEA News

Author: DAVID ALLEN DORFMAN VIA NAELA, New York City Attorney For many people, particularly the elderly, a pet is an important and comforting part of life, and the care and well-being of the pet is a primary concern. With this in mind, there are situations in which a pet owner should carefully plan for the care of the pet. They are as follows:

Publish Date: 12/1/2002

Power Of Attorney "Watch Dog" Published in The NAELA News

A Durable Power of Attorney is a very powerful document. There are serious concerns that the attorney-in-fact could abuse the authority given in the document.

Publish Date: 11/1/1994

How Much Do You Charge For A Simple Will? Published in The NAELA News

Dear Prospective Client: Thank you for inquiring, "How much do you charge for a simple will?" It is a question I am frequently asked. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Asking a lawyer this question is somewhat like calling a medical doctor and asking, "Doctor, how much will you charge for treating the pain I have in my abdominal area?" Obviously, the physician would have to examine the patient, obtain a history, etc., before he could give a reasonable reply.

Publish Date: 10/1/1996

Hiring A Caregiver Published in Office

Hiring A Caregiver Check List

Publish Date: 12/1/2002

Dyign At Home Published in The NAELA News

Many of our clients express their desires to stay at home until they die. Many elderly clients have told me they NEVER want to go to a nursing home. They would rather die. Last summer I had a client who was in a nursing home after being discharged from a hospital with a gastro-intestinal feeding tube. She had been hospitalized because of weakness from poor nutrition. Her son (in his 40's, unemployed) lived with her. The other children advised he had a drinking problem and was not assisting his mother enough to keep her properly nourished. My client mentally was alert, oriented and was to be discharged in the next few days after removal of the feeding tube.

Publish Date: 9/1/1994

Don't Let Them Published in The NAELA News

During the November, 1995, NAELA Institute - Suite 810, Hyatt Regency Hotel Center, Denver, Colorado, 5:00 a.m. - asleep, my right shoulder itches, half awake, can't get my hand inside my pajama to scratch myself, frustrating and very uncomfortable - fully awake, I scratch my right shoulder with my left hand, immediate satisfaction, what a relief!

Publish Date: 10/1/2000

Designing A Special Needs Trust (SNT) Published in The NAELA News

When I got out of law school I was fortunate to go to work for a wise "old" lawyer who gave me good advice, such as: "A form is just a checklist and every form is an incomplete checklist." "A form should never be used until you know what every provision means and why the provisions are in the document."

Publish Date: 12/1/2000

Can I Make My Own Will Published in The NAELA News

Always an interesting topic when talking to non-lawyers is the subject of handwritten Wills. "I have heard that all you have to do to make a Will is write it out, sign it and have it notarized," or something similar, is a common comment.

Publish Date: 10/1/1996

Benefit The Primary Beneficiary Published in The NAELA News

Often times when we are counseling with clients about preparing wills, the client has several friends, relatives or charitable organizations that they want to benefit, in addition to the primary beneficiaries. Therefore, wills are frequently drawn with special bequests, leaving the residue of the estate to the primary beneficiary.

Publish Date: 2/1/1996

Benefit The Beneficiary Published in The NAELA News

Consider the beneficiary(ies). Estate planning for the elderly involves drafting wills and trusts. Remember that in doing this estate planning, we are helping our client to benefit the beneficiary -- the spouse, children, relatives, and contingent beneficiaries. Frequently, clients will have disabled or minor beneficiaries. Intervivos or testamentary trusts may provide for special and delayed distribution provisions to benefit the beneficiary. As attorneys, we must insure that our estate planning provides the greatest benefit to the beneficiary and not just insure that a beneficiary receives an inheritance.

Publish Date: 5/1/1995