COA Issues Misguided Opinion on Medicaid Planning

By Doug Chalgian on May 22, 2022

  In the end, the only thing that matters about this case is that it is unpublished.  And that’s good.  Otherwise, Conrad v Michigan Department of Health and...

Read More ›

COA Upholds Separate Maintenance for Medicaid Planning

By Doug Chalgian on March 19, 2022

  Stacy v Stacy, involves the validity of a separate maintenance agreement entered into for Medicaid planning purposes. [Click on the name to read the case.] Husband is...

Read More ›

SBO Trusts Are Safe Again

By Doug Chalgian on March 9, 2021

In a one sentence update, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced yesterday that “solely for the benefit policy for spouses trust will not take effect...

Read More ›

Notable BEM Changes

By Doug Chalgian on March 2, 2021

This post is about Medicaid long term care benefits in Michigan, and assumes some general understanding on the part of the reader with respect to Medicaid planning and...

Read More ›

COA Delivers Lump of Coal to Medicaid Planners

By Doug Chalgian on December 18, 2020

In the combined cases of Schroeder v DHHS and Almy v DHHS , the Michigan Court of Appeals’ imposes severe punishment on the use of probate court protective...

Read More ›

SBO Trust Part 2: Meaning Revealed

By Doug Chalgian on July 31, 2020

UPDATE: The start date for the policy discussed in this post was moved until at least March 1, 2021.   Just a month ago I wrote about new...

Read More ›

SBO Trusts Targeted Again

By Doug Chalgian on June 25, 2020

Yesterday, DHHS released a proposed policy which is summarized as follows: Effective October 1, 2020 all transfers by the applicant or the applicant's spouse to a trust established...

Read More ›

New Medicaid Case Revisits Spousal Income Diversion

By Doug Chalgian on June 21, 2019

A newly released unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals looks again at the authority of the probate court to issue a protective order in the context of...

Read More ›

Cautious Optimism Greets MSC Decision on SBO Trusts

By Doug Chalgian on May 10, 2019

The SBO Trust is back – or is it? Yesterday the Michigan Supreme Court released its long awaited decision in the case of Hegadorn v The Department of...

Read More ›

Medicaid Planners Get Rare Win from COA

By Doug Chalgian on May 23, 2018

The Michigan Court of Appeals has issued an opinion regarding the appropriateness of using probate court protective orders to obtain spousal support orders in situations where such orders...

Read More ›

Doug Chalgian

About The Author: Doug Chalgian

I am an estate planning, probate litigating, elder law attorney. This is a blog for clients and professional colleagues. In it I offer my ideas about the state of the law and the practice of law. I believe we are living through a unique period during which the law (which is traditionally slow to change) and society are attempting to evolve to address the explosion of people living long lives. I find these developments fascinating and enjoy being involved in this evolution.