At the time of his death, Mr. Kincade had been living with his girlfriend Amy Pinto-Walsh. He was also apparently separated, though still married to, his wife Nanette Kinkade. It was Ms. Pinto-Walsh who made the 911 call reporting his death.

During that call, Ms. Pinto-Walsh apparently stated that Mr. Kincade had been drinking heavily the previous night. Mrs. Kincade, along with attorneys from the Kincaid Family Trust, quickly filed for a restraining order against Ms. Pinto-Walsh that prohibited her from saying more about the circumstances of Mr. Kincade’s death. Ms. Pinto-Walsh had been Mr. Kincade’s personal assistant, and as such had signed a confidentiality agreement. The restraining order claims that she violated the terms of that agreement when she revealed information about his death, and also claims that she threatened to reveal more personal information and details about how Mr. Kincade ran his business.

Though a California court granted the restraining order, it has not yet apparently been served on Ms. Pinto-Walsh, and representatives of the parties indicate that the conflict has been settled between them privately. Whether this legal battle will lead to more battles over the rather sizable estate Mr. Kinkade is assumed to have, only time will tell.

Even if you are young and aren’t too worried about dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, you should create your estate plan to specifically address what happens in the event you are incapacitated. Here’s what you need to do:

Lesson 1: Make your choices known.

Even if you lose capacity, you can make it easier for your healthcare providers and family to know what you want. By creating advance medical directives and powers of attorney, you can both set your wishes in writing and give someone else the power to make choices for you should the time come. However, you must create these documents while you still have the cognitive ability to make choices.

Lesson 2: Take action today.

Diseases and accidents can strike us at any moment. Many people are reluctant to create estate plans because the thought of dying is so intimidating. But waiting doesn’t help the problem get better or make the reality go away. You need to act now while you can.

Childcare

If your child is faced with a sudden reality of both parents dying, who will step in to take over parenting duties? By creating an estate plan the parents get to choose who becomes the child’s guardian and who was responsible for educating, caring for, and raising the child. If not, a court will have to step in to appoint a guardian, a process that could leave someone you may not approve of as the legal caregiver to your child.

Financial Care

Let’s say you and your spouse are injured in an accident and are no longer able to care for yourselves or anyone else. Who will manage your property? How will they do it? If you haven’t created an estate plan, the answer to these questions is often unclear. A court will have to step in and name someone as a conservator of your state. This process can be long and expensive and is largely unnecessary as long as you develop an estate plan that makes provisions for such an event.

The Pew Center on the States also reports that Florida is one of the worst states for providing low-income children with dental care through Medicaid. In 2009, less than 26 percent of Florida children on Medicaid saw a dentist. 36 Florida counties, more than half, do not have a single pediatric dentist who accepts Medicaid payments.

The cause of this lack of dental care for low-income children is often attributed to the low rates paid to dentists by the Medicaid system. The Pew studies also showed that low-income families on Medicaid had very limited access to dental care unless they paid in cash.

Regular dental exams are a key component of preventative health care, especially in children. A lack of proper dental care can lead to significant medical problems, ranging from strokes to diabetes and even death. Children who fail to receive adequate dental care can be forced to go through tooth extractions and root canals before they are 10 years old.

The previous regulations stated that only low income families with children, elderly patients and those with disabilities were eligible to receive Medicaid coverage. The new requirements expand the number of eligible recipients by basing eligibility requirements on income levels. The requirements state that anyone with the yearly income of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level can receive Medicaid coverage. This includes those who are working yet to do not earn enough to meet the minimum poverty level. For an individual, this means you must make about $15,000 or less, while for family of four you must have a household income of less than about $30,650.

However, the Supreme Court is currently hearing a case challenging the constitutionality of the health care law. Filed by the Attorneys General of 26 states, the challenge states that the law is not constitutional and should not be implemented. Whether the court will agree with this argument and reverse the entire law, or portions of it, will only be known once the court issues its final ruling later this summer. Until then, those who stand to become eligible for Medicaid under the expanded eligibility criteria will have to wait to know the court’s final decision.

This is one of the more enduring myths about Wills that owes its existence to its repeated use in movies and popular fiction. The dramatic scene where your lawyer reads the terms of your Will to your family and suddenly everybody becomes aware of your wishes is almost entirely fictitious. There is no legal requirement in any state for any such ceremony. In order to create a legally valid Will, you must create a document that complies with your state’s laws and, after you die, have the document approved by the court. However, there is no requirement for you to have anyone read your will out loud or assemble your beneficiaries in the same place at the same time.

Common Belief 2: My will can be kept in secret.

While you can make your Will and choose who receives your property, your Will becomes public as soon as it is admitted to probate court. Once this happens, anyone who wishes can inspect your Will as it will become part of the public record.

Common Belief 3: I can read my wishes aloud and make a videotaped Will.

Though you may create a videotape or other recording that accompanies your last Will and testament, the videotape itself is not a legally valid Will. No state allows you to create a videotape Will, though you can create a written Will and have it accompanied by a videotape. You may want to do this if, for example, there is some question about your mental competency or your ability to make your own choices without being unduly influenced by others. This may help establish the validity of the Will, but it is not in itself a valid Will.

Ms. Parks lived much of her life in the city of Detroit, and when she died there in 2005 she left behind personal memorabilia and intellectual property estimated to be worth between about $8 million and $10 million. Ever since her death the nonprofit institute she founded, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, and 15 of her nieces and nephews have been engaged in an ongoing struggle about who was the legal owner of the property.

Late in 2011, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling by a Michigan appeals court and gave the property to the nonprofit Institute. This month, the probate court judge presiding over the Parks estate case indicated he would issue final orders transferring the property to the Institute. The orders would also make it clear that any proceeds from the sale of any of the memorabilia be divided between the two parties, with the Institute receiving 80% of the proceeds and the remaining 20% going to the 15 nieces and nephews.

To create a pet trust you must write a document that contains very specific terms. A trust is a fictitious entity much like a corporation. The trust can own property but only for the benefit of a specified person, known as the beneficiary. Another person, called a trustee, is responsible for managing the trust property. When you create a trust you must name the beneficiary, the trustee, and ensure that you transfer property to the trust.

Question 2: When do I create a trust?

You can create a trust at any time, but the key question is not when you do it, but rather, when the trust becomes effective. If you create a Will that directs for the creation of a trust, the trust will not become effective until after you die. On the other hand, you can also create a pet trust while you are still alive, known as a living trust or an “inter vivos” trust.

Question 3: How much money should I transfer to the trust?

The amount of money you need to properly care for your pet will differ depending on the kind of animal you have, its life expectancy, needs, and other factors. The key legal question is not really how much you transfer to the trust, but whether that amount is reasonable. If you transfer too much money to the trust your family may challenge it and the court might declare it invalid.

When it comes to common-law marriages, there are many myths and misconceptions out there. Let’s take a look at what a common-law marriage is and how it can impact your estate plan.

Common-Law Requirements: To be married through common-law, you must get married in a state that recognizes common-law marriages. There are only 9 of these, and Florida is not one of them. If you live in a common-law state, you can become married if you met all the legal requirements. To be married through common-law you must be of legal age, live together, agree to enter into marriage, and make it known to the public that you are husband and wife.

Spousal Rights: A couple married through common-law is a married couple in every sense of the word. This means that spouses have the right to inherit from one another when the other spouse dies. However, simply calling yourself a common-law couple is not sufficient. If you believe you have been married through common-law you will have to prove it to a court in order to receive an inheritance. If you have a question about common-law marriage or how it can affect your estate plan, you should contact us right away.

The security breach highlights some troubling issues associated with anyone giving their personal information to a healthcare provider, even those that use Medicaid. The hackers were able to steal the data because a state computer administrator used a simple password. The Medicaid recipients themselves had no way of either preventing the attacks from taking place or knowing that it had happened in the first place.

The stolen Medicaid data likely contained sensitive information such as patient names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates, tax identification numbers, and billing codes. Essentially, the breach allowed the hackers to obtain all the information necessary to open false accounts under the patients’ names. The Utah Department of Health has stated that anyone affected by the theft should monitor his or her financial accounts and credit reports. It is also offering a free year’s worth of credit monitoring services to those affected.