June 5, 2014
On June 4, 2014, a new Operations Memorandum was published by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services with respect to Estate Recovery in Wisconsin. While it is important to bear in mind that an Operations Memo and the Wisconsin Medical/Medicaid Assistance Handbook are not the law, but rather guidelines for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there is some positive news contained in the most recent Estate Recovery Operations Memo.
Life Estate Update and Estate Recovery
If the Operations Memo continues to be followed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, even though it is not technically the law, any Life Estates created prior to August 1, 2014 willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. not be subject to Estate Recovery and willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. therefore be grandfathered into the new law.
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In addition, liens willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. not be placed against Life Estates created prior to August 1, 2014. This is good news for clients and others who have Life Estates in Wisconsin created prior to August 1, 2014.
If you have read prior posts about the Wisconsin Budget Bill by our estate planning attorneys, you willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. note that whether or not Estate Recovery would be made retroactive against Life Estates has been a concern and something that we have been fighting on for over a year.
Again, we must stress that this is something that we willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. continue to monitor on an ongoing basis, as the Operations Memo is not law and can change at any time without legislative action.
Joint Tenancy Update and Estate Recovery
In addition, the Operations Memorandum sets forth additional rules for joint tenancyOwnership of an asset titled in the names of one or more persons and may have the feature of right of survivorship to the surviving owner. real estate where the joint tenancyOwnership of an asset titled in the names of one or more persons and may have the feature of right of survivorship to the surviving owner. was created prior to August 1, 2014 or subsequent to August 1, 2014. This area is more complicated as it depends upon whether the joint tenancyOwnership of an asset titled in the names of one or more persons and may have the feature of right of survivorship to the surviving owner. real property is a home or other type of real property. We willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. monitor this closely and flush out this law as to how it willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. apply to other joint tenancyOwnership of an asset titled in the names of one or more persons and may have the feature of right of survivorship to the surviving owner. assets.
Life Insurance Update and Estate Recovery
The Operations Memo does extend Estate Recovery to life insurance policies created on or after August 1, 2014, regardless of whom the insurance policy designates as beneficiaryA person who will receive something, possibly cash or real estate or personal property, through a Will or trust or income from a Will or Trust. A beneficiary can be a Specific Bequest beneficiary or a Residual beneficiary..
Other Non-Probate Assets
It does not appear that other non-probate assets willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. receive the favored grandfathering in that the above asset category of Non-Probate assets willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. receive. However, we willA written document that sets forth and names the personal representative who will be in charge of overseeing the probate process and names the specific bequest and residual beneficiaries of property who are to receive and inherit assets and property through probate. A Will does not avoid probate, and must be properly drafted and executed to be legal. A Will can also avoid the use of a surety bond in many instances and can help utilize an “informal” Wisconsin probate process if it has the proper clauses and attestation clause. continue to monitor these changes and the laws implementation.
Need More Information?
At Wokwicz Law Offices, we always welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your estate planningPlanning in advance of disability, incapacity, or death to make sure that key life issues have been addressed while the person is still of sound mind and able to understand and sign key documents such as Power of Attorneys, Power of Attorneys for Health Care, Wills, and Trusts to form a strategy and provide for the administration and disposition of his or her assets upon death or upon incapacity. needs or questions. We appreciate that this new Wisconsin Budget Bill is proving a challenge to understand. Please call our estate planningPlanning in advance of disability, incapacity, or death to make sure that key life issues have been addressed while the person is still of sound mind and able to understand and sign key documents such as Power of Attorneys, Power of Attorneys for Health Care, Wills, and Trusts to form a strategy and provide for the administration and disposition of his or her assets upon death or upon incapacity. attorneys today at (262) 658-2181.