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July 09, 2013 at 12:56 PM
I was speaking across the U.S., conducting Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars about estate planning. One of the cities I presented to was Gulfport, Miss. I often tell estate planning attorneys about the Glenn Neasham case, as it is an “outlier” or among the most appalling cases in America.
When I told the attorneys in Mississippi about the California case of a criminal conviction for selling an annuity, they were not surprised. The attorneys in Mississippi said the people in California are nuts anyway. Amazing! The people in Mississippi look down on the people in California? However in this case, they may be right.
See also: Glenn Neasham: victim of geography?
The solution
In any event, one attorney suggested a solution that he has used for all his clients over age 70. He has them obtain a statement of good health from their physician. Why? He said he does it for estate planning purposes, so the beneficiaries will not challenge the will or estate plan. And best of all, Medicare pays for it! So simple and such a good idea.
Debate then followed about whether this statement should be obtained for clients as young as 65 years of age, since Medicare would pay for it. In any event, it seems like a good solution.
The issue of dementia came up in reference to a recent study that found that 50 percent of Americans will suffer from dementia by age 80, and some even younger.
