Back in the day, when I started practicing law, clients would often come in with the notion that they needed a “quitclaim” deed (or “quick claim” deed as some would call it). I never understood why that term seemed so magical to people, but it did. And so, I would spend time in client meetings figuring out if they needed a deed at all, and then explaining what the difference was between a quitclaim deed and other common types of deeds. Today, clients come in similarly excited about needing a “ladybird” deed. As it was with the quitclaim deed in years past, so it is with the ladybird deed these days. People just seem to like the name or the notion of it.
With a new administration in Washington, come increased attention to our tax laws, including laws that tax assets when people die. For estate planning attorneys, this increased interest bring with it the possibility that changes may come which will impact their clients., and which may change the way they should be planning for clients in the future.
From the perspective of the child who moved to New Jersey 30 years ago, the sibling who moved back into the family home to live with (and be supported by) his aging mother is a ne’er-do-well scam artist who took advantage of and manipulated his mother as her health declined so that, in the end, her entire estate passed to him by one means or another. From the perspective of the son who lived with his mother during those final years of life, he sacrificed to allow his mother to enjoy her final years in a safe environment outside of assisted living, and she favored him out of appreciation for that sacrifice.
A client with hearing loss contacts your office wanting to draft an estate plan. She relies on American Sign Language (ASL) for most of her communication. You freeze, what do you need to have to do? The answer is simple: you need to provide her with the aids or services that are required for you and her to have a normal attorney-client relationship. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), that will likely include a qualified ASL interpreter at your expense.