From electronic wills statutes to federally mandated reporting requirements for small businesses, we have recently seen some significant developments in estate planning and business law. To ensure that you stay abreast of these legal changes, we have highlighted a few noteworthy developments and analyzed how they may impact your estate planning and business law practice.

When someone is unable to manage his or her own affairs, a guardian or conservator may be appointed. The person who is unable to manage his or her affairs is termed the ward. A person appointed to protect the ward’s health and well-being is a guardian; a person appointed to protect the ward’s financial affairs is a conservator.

Medicaid laws can be cumbersome and tricky. Federal statutes set out the framework for certain Medicaid eligibility rules, and states can interpret them differently. One such rule can be found in 42 U.S. Code § 1396p(d)(4)(C), which covers transfers to pooled trusts. Based on differing interpretations of this statute, some states impose a transfer penalty when an individual over age 65 transfers funds within the look-back period to a pooled trust; some states do not. Minnesota has the former rule, but in a recent case, it did allow a Medicaid applicant over age 65 to transfer funds into a pooled trust without the imposition of a transfer penalty.

In this case, David moved into a long-term care facility. His siblings sold his home. David petitioned a court to transfer his proceeds into a pooled special-needs trust. The court issued an order allowing the transfer. Disbursements from the trust were limited to the sole discretion of the Trustee, and they could only be made for items or services not covered by Medicaid. David was 65 years old at the time the funds were transferred to the pooled trust. Because Minnesota penalizes transfers to pooled trusts for folks 65 years and older, David was assessed a penalty period where he wasn’t eligible for long-term care Medicaid benefits. David appealed.