Wal-Mart plans to offer coffins for sale to its customers.  Steel coffins will run $895, bronze cost $2,899.  Customers can plan ahead by paying for the caskets over 12 months with no interest. The retailer is offering caskets at prices that undercut most funeral homes.  Funeral home are required to accept caskets provided by third […]

There is a good article that summarizes some of the proposals for covering about 11 million of the nation's uninsured using the existing Medicaid programs operated by the States.  A proposal our governor has called the mother of all unfunded mandates.  

The Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that a clause in a trust that provided an inheritance be divided among grandchildren, but disinherited any that married outside of the Jewish faith, was enforceable.  In the suit, only 1 of the grandchildren had married a Jew, with the rest being married to Gentiles.  The disinherited grandchildren sued […]

The recently revealed putative heir of Steve McNair's isn't his after all.  The results of paternity tests released yesterday reveal that Clover Lee's 17 year old daughter is not the former Titan's daughter. 

Co-authors Andrew Mayoras and Danielle Mayoras, who publish the Probate Lawyer Blog,  have published a new book, "Trial & Heirs."  The book uses real stories of the rich and famous to illustrate estate planning errors to help readers steer clear of these same erros as they plan for their own "heirs." The stories cover well […]

The other day I received a phone call from a former client's child whose mother's condition had changed from the time we did planning for her mother.  Through the conversation I was able to point out opportunities for saving a significant portion of the mother's assets, about $200,000, and qualify her immediately for about $1,000 […]

Yesterday my client was informed by a Medicaid case worker that the $6,500 fee that they paid me for planning their estate was a "rip-off."  Under the case worker's analysis, the client should return all transferred assets, spend down all of the parent's money, and when the assets got down to $4,000, they will qualify […]

The other curious thing about the healthcare debate as it relates to Mississippi is the claim by Republicans that malpractice reform will play a significant roll in reducing healthcare costs.  Mississippi enacted significant malpractice reforms about 5 years ago under the argument that high malpractice premiums were driving doctors out of the state.  The reforms […]

The Shelby County Health Care Corp., known locally as The MED, has dramatically increased its lien filings in Tennessee Circuit Court, relying on a state law giving hospitals the right to perfect their lien within 120 days of a hospital discharge.  Lien filings increased from a number so small it was unreported in 3rd Quarter […]

There is a potential new heir to the Steve McNair estate. In papers filed Friday, Clover Lee claims that McNair is the father of her 17 year old daughter.  If that is proven to be correct by DNA testing, the 60% of the football millionaire's estate set aside for his children will be divided 5 […]