In In Re Estate of Kurtzman, 366 Ga. App. 725 (2023), Bette Kurtzman, 85 years old, had dementia and was residing in an assisted living facility. In December of 2020, Kurtzman’s daughter, Amy, and brother, Myron, filed a Petition for Guardianship and Conservatorship. Bette Kurtzman objected to the petition, alleging she had nominated her son, […]
Blog
Moratorium on Nursing Home Staffing Standards On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law. One of its provisions placed a moratorium on the Biden Era minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Specifically, Section 71111 of the OBBBA provides: Subchapter B—Preventing Wasteful Spending SEC. 71111. MORATORIUM ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RULE […]
There are a few major changes for elders in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. First, as discussed in numerous articles cited below, it appears that reductions in funding will cause home and community-based services to be limited. This could mean more seniors are forced into nursing homes because they lack support to remain home. […]
Recent Supreme Court Medicaid Case In Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (US 6/26/2025), the Supreme Court decided that two plaintiffs did not have a right to use 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to enforce the any-qualified-provider provision in 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(23)(A). The abortion part of the case is not important for our analysis. This […]
As an initial proposition, all relevant evidence is admissible. See Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 402. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). Since then, expert testimony (subject to Rule 702) is not relevant unless it is “(1) scientific knowledge that (2) will assist the […]
Improper Use Spoils Trust Is it possible to spoil a trust by misusing it? The answer was “yes” in S.P. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (N.J. Super. App. Div. 2025). In that case, a brother wanted to provide housing for his sister. He did this by establishing and funding a trust that […]
2025 Legislative Changes During its 2025 session, the Georgia Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, two new laws impacting guardianships and conservatorships in Georgia. The first was HB 36. The second was SB 98. Both laws become effective July 1, 2025. HB 36 Code Section 29-4-1 now expressly provides there is no presumption that a […]
ADLs and IADLs Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living describe basic skills for getting through the day. Sidney Katz is credited as the first to use this term in 1950. “The ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL), such as bathing or dressing, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), like […]
Video Wills You might wonder whether you can make a video recording of yourself stating who gets your stuff and use the video as your Will. Well, as Jesse Beck’s family found out, that probably doesn’t work. At least not yet. In Estate of Beck, 557 P.3d 1255 (Mont. 2024), Jesse made a recording on […]
