No Mayo, Please

Alyssa Gilderhus was 18 years old when she suffered a ruptured aneurysm. She was given a 2% chance of survival when she arrived at the Mayo Clinic. Miraculously, she survived and was transferred to the Mayo’s rehab section. Her mother soon became disenchanted with her care and requested that various personnel not attend to her daughter while voicing her displeasure on Facebook posts in all caps. She eventually asked for a transfer to a different hospital.

The Mayo Clinic refused the transfer request alleging that Alyssa could not make decisions for herself. The hospital also sought guardianship of the patient. Frustrated, Alyssa’s family engaged in a cloak and dagger move with Alyssa escaping the hospital and fleeing Minnesota so she could not be returned to the hospital.

A South Dakota hospital saw Alyssa and prescribed medication and sent her home. Alyssa graduated from high school this year after being named Prom Queen.

One point, one plug, and one comment.

1. When she turned 18, Alyssa should have executed a health care power of attorney and a HIPAA Release so her mom could access her health care records and legally make medical decisions for her during her incapacity.

2. I always advise my clients to have their children execute those documents when they turn 18 and definitely before leaving for college. My fee is $150.

3. I would tend to follow the advice of doctors at the Mayo Clinic over those at a rural South Dakota hospital. But if a mother who posts on Facebook in all caps with exclamation points wants to follow different advice for her daughter’s care, she, not a social worker, should have the right to make that decision.

Photo Credit:  Engebretson family
License:  Fair Use/Education

Chain of Fools

When Aretha Franklin died last week after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, she allegedly did not leave a will.   She is survived by her four sons, one of whom has special needs, who will receive equal shares of her estate.  Her niece asked to be appointed as representative of her $80 million estate.  Aretha’s copyright attorney told reporters that when there is no will, “there will always end up being a fight.”

Some points of relevant interest:

1.  No one wins a long battle with pancreatic cancer.  See Jobs, Steve.  Prepare a will.

2.  When a woman dies without a will, there should not be a dispute because there are no illegitimate children to contest heirship.

3.  The niece’s fee for serving as personal rep. could be $1.6 million.  One of the sons should have first dibs on this role.

4.  Surprisingly, Madonna did not ask to be appointed as personal representative.

Photo Credit:  Jae C. Hong/AP
License:  Fair Use/Education (from linked article)

Closing a Chapter

Janice and I dropped Jack at Ohio State on Saturday, closing the "married with children at home" chapter of our lives. He did not take the super hero lunch box.

Seether

In a story only tangentially related to estate planning, Victoria Salt died when she was 2 days old. Her father, George, visited her grave in Manchester, England semi-annually since 1988. On a recent visit, he learned that her grave was actually in a different part of the cemetery because the marker had been in the wrong place. He said he was gobsmacked by this revelation.

Three points of no significance:

1. This is sad for Mr. Salt who showed incredible love for his daughter.

2. Americans should adopt gobsmacked as part of the vernacular.

3. The grave surrounded by squirrels is Veruca Salt’s.

Photo Credit:  Google Earth Images
License:  Fair Use/Education (in linked article)

Piece of Britney (Part 2)

Since her breakdown in 2007 and early 2008, Britney Spears’ finances have been controlled by her co-conservators - her father, Jamie Spears, and attorney, Andrew Wallett. The conservatorship was to assist Britney with managing her financial affairs after she shaved her head, performed poorly at the MTV Video Awards, and locked herself in her bathroom with her young son for 24 hours.

Recent court filings show that Britney earned $56 million last year and spent $385K. Predictably, her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, wants to triple the $20K/month child support he receives from Britney. The one time back up dancer has six kids - two with Britney, two with his first wife, and two with his current wife - but only earns $35K/year. Britney and her co-conservators oppose the increase request. The child support will end in any case when their youngest son turns 18 in 2024.

Several points:

1. If the conservatorship has limited Britney’s spending to $385K, it is clearly working so why end it?

2. $240K should be more than sufficient for K-Fed’s two sons with Britney. He likely needs the extra cash to support his other 4 children.

3. Some of Britney’s favorite stores per the filings are Target, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Ralph’s, and McDonalds. You can take the girl out of Louisiana but apparently you cannot take Louisiana out of the girl.

Photo Credit:  Reuters/Mario Anzuoni - RC1AEDAB9420
License:  Fair Use/Education (from linked article)

iPhone JD

Jeff Richardson is a New Orleans attorney who writes a blog named iPhoneJD. He posts about matters concerning iPhones (and other iOS devices) and the practice of law. He asked me to write a post about the apps I prefer. Because I have too much free time, I obliged.

His Old School

Peter Knoll was the heir to the Hans Knoll furniture fortune. After his father died when he was 13. Peter dropped out of Columbia University after a few semesters and allegedly never worked a day in his life. Knoll died earlier this year from hypothermia in his $10 million NY townhouse which was without heat since 2014.

Described as complicated and eccentric, and suffering from diabetes and melanoma, Knoll left $50K to each of his 3 children who reside in Florida and $100K to each of his grandchildren. He also left various sums to other friends and acquaintances and the bulk of his estate to a boarding school he attended in Vermont in his teens. His son is contesting the will alleging that the boarding school unduly influenced him into leaving most of his estate to it.

Three points:

1. Complicated and eccentric does not mean mentally incompetent.

2. Complicated and eccentric people do complicated and eccentric things such as ignoring their children in favor a boarding school they attended long ago.

3. We all know that NY is cold in the winter while Florida is warm, but if the children had visited their dad in the winter and realized he did not have gas in his house, he might have left them more than $50K.

Photo copyright:  Handout (in linked article)

License:  Fair Use/Education