West Michigan is blessed with many business owners who are very generous and give to a variety of non-profit organizations and causes. The most common way they give is by making cash distributions from the profits of the business. In other words, the business owner takes a distribution, pays tax on it, and then gifts… continue reading
Elder Law Seminar October 22, 2019
Learn How a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Works to Protect Your Home
A couple months back, I wrote about the Medicaid Rules, how they apply to your home, and introduced the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. This month, I would like to further explain the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust and how it is used to protect your home. To start, let’s review the general structure of a Medicaid… continue reading
SELECTING A TRUSTEE: INDIVIDUAL OR TRUST COMPANY?
A trust is a great way to ensure that your final bills will be paid, your personal property will be distributed, and your remaining assets will be distributed or held in trust per your wishes. A trust also allows for someone to manage the trust assets for your benefit while you are still alive but… continue reading
Options and Requirements for an Original Will Before & After Death
An original document (versus a hard copy or electronic copy) is less meaningful to people who regularly deal with digital documents and electronic signatures. People growing up in a digital age do not always connect the importance of having possession of the actual document that a person signed with a pen! However, the original Last… continue reading
A Season for Boating Can Be a Season for Liability
Summer is here and we’ve gotten the weather almost all of us look forward to each year. With our access to Lake Michigan, boating is an important summertime activity. Like driving a vehicle, boating comes with a potential for accidents and liability. If you own a boat and are interested in protecting yourself from this… continue reading
Happy 4th of July
Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys 2019 Conference
Attorney Ron VanderVeen spoke at the June 2019 joint educational meeting of Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys and the Michigan Public Law Group about initial responses to construction failures and resulting litigation. Mr. VanderVeen has significant experience in representing clients relating to construction contracts and construction related litigation. Special thanks to Vince Duckworth for doing a wonderful… continue reading
Promissory Notes Losing Value in Medicaid Planning
The Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) that processes applications for those who need assistance paying for assisted living or nursing home care has changed the treatment of promissory notes. Formerly, Medicaid-compliant promissory notes were non-countable assets that did not really impact eligibility for benefits. But now, promissory notes are always going to be:… continue reading
